For Northern Illinois University, the end of a long season culminates with an early quest for the bronze stalk.
The Huskies and Cardinals have agreed to make their annual Mid-American Conference game a battle for the bronze stalk. DeKalb artist and sculptor Renee Bemis is designing the trophy.
Technically, the stalk debuts at next year's NIU-Ball State contest. In a season of lost dreams, multitude of injuries and few victories, the Huskies (2-9, 1-5 MAC) need any source of motivation to build some momentum for next year.
This afternoon's MAC West contest (3 p.m.) pits two teams with different objectives. The Cardinals (6-5, 4-2) defeated Toledo 41-20 to become bowl-eligible. A victory over the Huskies would enhance Ball State's slim chances for the MAC's third bowl game.
The Huskies, simply put, are playing for pride. Nine seniors will be playing their final game in an NIU uniform, with kicker Chris Nendick the most celebrated player of the group.
Nendick has an opportunity to close out his career by scoring a point in every single game. The senior holds a school-record 48-game scoring streak entering the Ball State contest. Nendick's stellar career includes many highs: two bowl games, one MAC title game and several school records. He booted a game-winning field goal at Central Florida in his freshman year to help the Huskies earn a bid to the 2004 Silicon Valley Classic.
?It's the last chance to put the red jersey on,? Nendick said. ?It's very special. The last four years have flown by and I cannot believe this is my last game as a Huskie in my college career. It's been great. I've had great teammates and a great coaching staff. NIU has been a great place and a great experience.?
The nine-player senior class - Nendick, Chris Acevedo, Brandon Davis, Zach Holycross, Saul Ibarra, Tom Kelly, Cas Prime, Mark Reiter and Adam Schroeder - have won 75 percent of their home games.
Davis said the seniors don't want to end their careers with a loss.
?If we can go out on a ?W? it will feel that much better,? Davis said. ?The last two games have charged us up a bit to try and win to finish out the season.?
Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak said a victory would help establish momentum for off-season conditioning.
?Coming off a victory at the end is huge because it gives you a little bit more momentum and the off-season is just a little bit more enjoyable,? Novak said. ?I'm not saying it will make a difference in our season opener next year, but it will definitely make the off-season feel a lot better.?
The Huskies need a strong effort to topple the Cardinals. Last week, the Huskies scored 24 points against a porous Navy defense. The Cardinals, led by quarterback Nate Davis, average 32.0 points and 437.3 yards per game. Ball State posted a 34-31 overtime victory at Navy earlier this season. The Cardinals blew out the Rockets, who tallied a 70-21 victory over the Huskies.
Sophomore Ryan Morris is expected to get his third start at quarterback against the Cardinals. Starter Dan Nicholson is suffering from a concussion and season-long shoulder injury.
Reiter said the Huskies don't plan on backing down from the favored Cardinals.
?We have kind of had our backs against the wall the whole season and it was just getting worse and worse every week,? Reiter said. ?The win against Kent State and the battle that we gave Navy kind of helped that out. It has definitely turned our momentum around and we can try to get a good taste in our mouth by giving Ball State a better game than they think.?
The Huskies and Cardinals have agreed to make their annual Mid-American Conference game a battle for the bronze stalk. DeKalb artist and sculptor Renee Bemis is designing the trophy.
Technically, the stalk debuts at next year's NIU-Ball State contest. In a season of lost dreams, multitude of injuries and few victories, the Huskies (2-9, 1-5 MAC) need any source of motivation to build some momentum for next year.
This afternoon's MAC West contest (3 p.m.) pits two teams with different objectives. The Cardinals (6-5, 4-2) defeated Toledo 41-20 to become bowl-eligible. A victory over the Huskies would enhance Ball State's slim chances for the MAC's third bowl game.
The Huskies, simply put, are playing for pride. Nine seniors will be playing their final game in an NIU uniform, with kicker Chris Nendick the most celebrated player of the group.
Nendick has an opportunity to close out his career by scoring a point in every single game. The senior holds a school-record 48-game scoring streak entering the Ball State contest. Nendick's stellar career includes many highs: two bowl games, one MAC title game and several school records. He booted a game-winning field goal at Central Florida in his freshman year to help the Huskies earn a bid to the 2004 Silicon Valley Classic.
?It's the last chance to put the red jersey on,? Nendick said. ?It's very special. The last four years have flown by and I cannot believe this is my last game as a Huskie in my college career. It's been great. I've had great teammates and a great coaching staff. NIU has been a great place and a great experience.?
The nine-player senior class - Nendick, Chris Acevedo, Brandon Davis, Zach Holycross, Saul Ibarra, Tom Kelly, Cas Prime, Mark Reiter and Adam Schroeder - have won 75 percent of their home games.
Davis said the seniors don't want to end their careers with a loss.
?If we can go out on a ?W? it will feel that much better,? Davis said. ?The last two games have charged us up a bit to try and win to finish out the season.?
Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak said a victory would help establish momentum for off-season conditioning.
?Coming off a victory at the end is huge because it gives you a little bit more momentum and the off-season is just a little bit more enjoyable,? Novak said. ?I'm not saying it will make a difference in our season opener next year, but it will definitely make the off-season feel a lot better.?
The Huskies need a strong effort to topple the Cardinals. Last week, the Huskies scored 24 points against a porous Navy defense. The Cardinals, led by quarterback Nate Davis, average 32.0 points and 437.3 yards per game. Ball State posted a 34-31 overtime victory at Navy earlier this season. The Cardinals blew out the Rockets, who tallied a 70-21 victory over the Huskies.
Sophomore Ryan Morris is expected to get his third start at quarterback against the Cardinals. Starter Dan Nicholson is suffering from a concussion and season-long shoulder injury.
Reiter said the Huskies don't plan on backing down from the favored Cardinals.
?We have kind of had our backs against the wall the whole season and it was just getting worse and worse every week,? Reiter said. ?The win against Kent State and the battle that we gave Navy kind of helped that out. It has definitely turned our momentum around and we can try to get a good taste in our mouth by giving Ball State a better game than they think.?
