2008 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2008 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Jerry Kill, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 6–7 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing fourth in the MAC's West Division. Northern Illinois was invited to the Independence Bowl, where they lost to Louisiana Tech. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

2008 Northern Illinois Huskies football
Independence Bowl, L 10–17 vs. Louisiana Tech
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	6–7 (5–3 MAC)
Head coach	Jerry Kill (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Limegrover (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tracy Claeys (1st season)
MVP	Larry English
Captains	Eddie Adamski Britt Davis Larry English Alex Krutsch Tim McCarthy Dan Nicholson Craig Rusch Matt Simon
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
Seasons ← 2007 2009 →

2008 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Buffalo x$		5	–	3					8	–	6
Bowling Green		4	–	4					6	–	6
Temple		4	–	4					5	–	7
Ohio		3	–	5					4	–	8
Akron		3	–	5					5	–	7
Kent State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Miami (OH)		1	–	7					2	–	10
West Division
Ball State x		8	–	0					12	–	2
Central Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	5
Western Michigan		6	–	2					9	–	4
Northern Illinois		5	–	3					6	–	7
Toledo		2	–	6					3	–	9
Eastern Michigan		2	–	6					3	–	9
Championship: Buffalo 42, Ball State 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	6:00 pm	at Minnesota*	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	BTN	L 27–31	44,029
September 6	6:00 pm	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		L 26–29	26,262
September 20	2:00 pm	Indiana State*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 48–3	20,936
September 27	12:00 pm	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN Plus	W 37–0	17,159
October 4	6:00 pm	at Tennessee*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	PPV	L 9–13	99,539
October 11	3:00 pm	Miami (OH)	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 17–13	17,444
October 18	3:00 pm	Toledo	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 38–7	22,092
October 25	3:00 pm	Bowling Green	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CSNC	W 16–13	17,163
November 5	7:00 pm	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN (Bronze Stalk Trophy)	ESPN2	L 14–45	14,373
November 12	7:00 pm	Central Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN2	L 30–33 OT	13,543
November 18	6:00 pm	at Kent State	Dix Stadium Kent, OH		W 42–14	2,267
November 25	6:00 pm	Navy*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPNC	L 0–16	17,950
December 28	8:15 pm	at Louisiana Tech*	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	ESPN	L 10–17	41,567
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Central time

Northern Illinois on offense against Tennessee

Coaching staff

• Jerry Kill, head coach
• Tracy Claeys, defensive coordinator^[1]
• Matt Limegrover, offensive coordinator^[2]
• Pat Poore, quarterbacks coach^[3]
• Rob Reeves, running backs coach^[4]
• Brian Anderson, tight ends coach^[5]
• Harold Etheridge, offensive line coach
• P. J. Fleck, wide receivers coach, recruiting coordinator^[6]
• Tom Matukewicz, linebackers coach^[7]
• Jay Sawvel, defensive backs, special teams coach^[8]
• Jeff Phelps, defensive line coach^[9]
• Brad Brachear, graduate assistant (defense)^[10]
• Nate Griffin, graduate Assistant (video)^[11]
• Nick Deuel, video coordinator
• Brad Kopp, assistant video coordinator
• Brandon Staley, graduate assistant (recruiting, operations)^[12]
• Marc Webel, graduate Assistant (offense)^[13]
• Adam Clark, director of football operations^[14]
• Eric Klein, sports performance^[15]