2013 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2013 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) member during the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Rod Carey, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 12–2 with a mark of 8–0 In conference play, they won the MAC West Division title, and advanced to the MAC Championship Game, where they lost to East Division champion Bowling Green. Northern Illinois was invited to the Poinsettia Bowl, where they lost to Utah State. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

Fresh off their Orange Bowl appearance the previous season, the Huskies went undefeated until the MAC Championship Game. This garnered national attention with the anticipation of another Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowl appearance. Starting quarterback Jordan Lynch finished third in voting for the Heisman Trophy. The season marked the Huskies' sixth consecutive trip to a bowl game and their second consecutive bowl game loss.

Iowa
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Jordan Lynch threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more, as the team came away with their second win of the season.

Eastern Illinois
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Jordan Lynch threw for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and Northern Illinois scored on a kickoff return and an interception return to rout Purdue 55–24. It's the first time a Mid-American Conference team has beaten two Big Ten foes during the same regular season, and the Huskies made it look easy, tying the MAC record for victory margin over a Big Ten school. Toledo beat Minnesota by 31 in 2001.

Kent State
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Cameron Stingily ran for a career-high 266 yards and two scores as Northern Illinois remained undefeated with a 38–24 win over Kent State.

Akron
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The Huskies used their defense and kicking game to beat Akron 27–20 on Saturday night after the offense went 1 for 15 on third-down conversions.

Central Michigan
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Lynch had three rushing touchdowns and was 20 for 30 through the air for 155 yards and another score to help Northern Illinois (7–0, 3–0 Mid-American) extend the nation's best conference winning streak to 20 games. Lynch rushed for 316 yards, an FBS record for a quarterback, and the 23rd-ranked Huskies stayed unbeaten with a 38–17 victory at Central Michigan.

Eastern Michigan
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UMass
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Ball State
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Toledo
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Western Michigan
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Bowling Green (MAC Championship Game)
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Utah State (Poinsettia Bowl)
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Awards

 * Jamaal Bass


 * All-MAC First Team Outside Linebacker


 * Ken Bishop


 * All-MAC First Team Down Lineman
 * 2x MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week (Weeks 3, 10)


 * Da'Ron Brown


 * All-MAC Second Team Wide Receiver


 * Rod Carey


 * MAC Coach of the Year


 * Dechane Durante


 * All-MAC Third Team Defensive Back


 * Tommylee Lewis


 * All-MAC First Team Wide Receiver
 * 1x MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week (Week 3)
 * 1x MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 5)


 * Tyler Loos


 * All-MAC First Team Offensive Lineman


 * Jordan Lynch


 * Vern Smith Leadership Award
 * MAC Offensive Player of the Year
 * All-MAC First Team Quarterback
 * 7x MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week (Weeks 1, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13)


 * Mathew Sims


 * 1x MAC West Division Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 1)


 * Cameron Stingily


 * 1x MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week (Week 6)


 * Jared Volk


 * All-MAC Second Team Offensive Lineman


 * Jimmie Ward


 * All-MAC First Team Defensive Back


 * Joe Windsor


 * All-MAC Third Team Down Lineman