I know we are in a dark place right now, but the sun will come up. Just something to remind you what the football team, from a small teachers college in a small rural town in the northern part of Illinois, has done:
https://niuhuskies.com/sports/2016/6/13/...-html.aspx

And keep in mind only two NCAA football teams have wining undefeated records against two of the most storied programs in college football, Alabama and Notre Dame.
And those two schools are Oklahoma State and little old US.

GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m sorry but I hate these posts.

We may be the worst team in all of FBS. People should be freaking out. It is not time to take a deep breath

NIU Huskies 4 life! But we need some urgent action to correct this … Harley hasn’t shown he can head coach and handle the defensive calling … they need to change now !

And if things weren't bad 3nough the Packers spanked the Bears. Now I have to deal with Packer fans

We are bad, but I don't think we are one of the worst teams in college football. I an optimistic that we can win a couple of games. We have too good of a QB to be that bad. We move the ball well, just can't finish drives. Our lack of experience and size on the Dline in particular are what hurts us. If we can finish drives we can finally get over the hump. New coach and group of players next season and lets see what happens. Basketball season starts soon. Until then, I will just enjoy watching our games on Saturday with good fiends instead of having to take a half day vacation to drive up on a cold sleeting Tues or Wed night and sit with a couple hundred people.

(10-11-2026 10:51 PM)7 Wrote:  I’m sorry but I hate these posts.

We may be the worst team in all of FBS. People should be freaking out. It is not time to take a deep breath

I agree. If ***** not ok say something. Let everyone ******* know. You don’t make changes by being cool with it.

We suck. This staff is insanely bad.

Blow the whole damn thing up

How are the “Fire Harley” and “Coaching Candidates” threads helping NIU?

Criticizing performance is fair, but publicly calling for a coach’s firing and discussing replacements while they’re still on the job can hurt recruiting, undermine team morale, and create instability. Recruits and their families see these discussions and may question NIU’s leadership and future, potentially choosing another school.

These threads also reflect poorly on NIU, its fan base, and the university’s reputation. We can demand accountability and improvement without hurting the program we support. Opinions are welcome, but they should be thoughtful and consider the consequences for NIU.

And then people wonder why the team is not doing well.

(10-12-2026 11:50 AM)HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Wrote:  How are the “Fire Harley” and “Coaching Candidates” threads helping NIU?

Criticizing performance is fair, but publicly calling for a coach’s firing and discussing replacements while they’re still on the job can hurt recruiting, undermine team morale, and create instability. Recruits and their families see these discussions and may question NIU’s leadership and future, potentially choosing another school.

These threads also reflect poorly on NIU, its fan base, and the university’s reputation. We can demand accountability and improvement without hurting the program we support. Opinions are welcome, but they should be thoughtful and consider the consequences for NIU.

And then people wonder why the team is not doing well.

oh brother lol

Before placing all the blame on Coach Harley, consider the roster he inherited. Coach Hammock brought in relatively few FBS transfers, raising questions about the team’s depth and experience. This isn’t Harley’s recruiting class, and he’s had no time to rebuild the roster. But, he does have a promising recruiting class.

Hammock’s departure in February 2026 also left NIU facing a coaching transition late in the recruiting cycle.

Would another coach really do better under the same circumstances? Holding Harley accountable is fair, but so is considering the challenges he inherited before judging his performance.

(10-12-2026 11:50 AM)HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Wrote:  How are the “Fire Harley” and “Coaching Candidates” threads helping NIU?

Criticizing performance is fair, but publicly calling for a coach’s firing and discussing replacements while they’re still on the job can hurt recruiting, undermine team morale, and create instability. Recruits and their families see these discussions and may question NIU’s leadership and future, potentially choosing another school.

These threads also reflect poorly on NIU, its fan base, and the university’s reputation. We can demand accountability and improvement without hurting the program we support. Opinions are welcome, but they should be thoughtful and consider the consequences for NIU.

And then people wonder why the team is not doing well.

No I don’t wonder. I see this staff and am not confused as to why we suck.

Holding hands and singing about how great everything is when it sucks will not help. If things are going poorly call it out. Doesn’t matter what team you’re on. Be an agent for change for the better. Not an echo chamber weirdo.

(10-12-2026 12:09 PM)7 Wrote:  

(10-12-2026 11:50 AM)HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Wrote:  How are the “Fire Harley” and “Coaching Candidates” threads helping NIU?

Criticizing performance is fair, but publicly calling for a coach’s firing and discussing replacements while they’re still on the job can hurt recruiting, undermine team morale, and create instability. Recruits and their families see these discussions and may question NIU’s leadership and future, potentially choosing another school.

These threads also reflect poorly on NIU, its fan base, and the university’s reputation. We can demand accountability and improvement without hurting the program we support. Opinions are welcome, but they should be thoughtful and consider the consequences for NIU.

And then people wonder why the team is not doing well.

oh brother lol

Can you name just one positive these posts bring to NIU or the team, beyond making yourself feel better? Criticism is fair, but it should serve a purpose and help the program, not just tear it down.

(10-12-2026 12:19 PM)HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Wrote:  

(10-12-2026 12:09 PM)7 Wrote:  

(10-12-2026 11:50 AM)HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Wrote:  How are the “Fire Harley” and “Coaching Candidates” threads helping NIU?

Criticizing performance is fair, but publicly calling for a coach’s firing and discussing replacements while they’re still on the job can hurt recruiting, undermine team morale, and create instability. Recruits and their families see these discussions and may question NIU’s leadership and future, potentially choosing another school.

These threads also reflect poorly on NIU, its fan base, and the university’s reputation. We can demand accountability and improvement without hurting the program we support. Opinions are welcome, but they should be thoughtful and consider the consequences for NIU.

And then people wonder why the team is not doing well.

oh brother lol

Can you name just one positive these posts bring to NIU or the team, beyond making yourself feel better? Criticism is fair, but it should serve a purpose and help the program, not just tear it down.

None of our posts matter. We’re just idiots posting on a message board. Trying to spit on me and telling me it’s raining isn’t going to magically fix things either.

(10-12-2026 12:10 PM)HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Wrote:  Before placing all the blame on Coach Harley, consider the roster he inherited. Coach Hammock brought in relatively few FBS transfers, raising questions about the team’s depth and experience. This isn’t Harley’s recruiting class, and he’s had no time to rebuild the roster. But, he does have a promising recruiting class.

Hammock’s departure in February 2026 also left NIU facing a coaching transition late in the recruiting cycle.

Would another coach really do better under the same circumstances? Holding Harley accountable is fair, but so is considering the challenges he inherited before judging his performance.

I've tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but the lack of aggressiveness on offense is telling. Not using trying to go downfield with 41 seconds and three timeouts left in the first half was a horrible call. Playing conservative when you're 0-4 (now 0-5) and average 10 points a game is not good coaching.

Take a deep breath......because we will be under water for sometime.

The team needs to know that mom called and she said you’re doing great.

(10-12-2026 12:14 PM)BigChilla Wrote:  No I don’t wonder. I see this staff and am not confused as to why we suck.
Holding hands and singing about how great everything is when it sucks will not help. If things are going poorly call it out. Doesn’t matter what team you’re on. Be an agent for change for the better. Not an echo chamber weirdo.

When you were singing a whole different tune:

I can’t describe enough how overrated Iowa probably is. They are leaning heavy on a run game with 3 new linemen - and it’s not like they were 5 star studs just waiting for their turn. They are just meh recruits starting in place of missing pros.
Their QB is less experienced than any of ours. And the strength of the D is the secondary. So I am not concerned.
The D line has depth - the DTs 1-5 on the depth are about the same. I’m not super concerned about them being gassed game one.
Maybe our backers will get tired?
I just need someone to explain Iowa’s path to a 32 point win. Hammock has put us so far back in everyone’s eyes we are out here as a 32 point dog to a mid offense. Because we could not score last year.
Harley held a very good San Diego state team to a very low scoring game, and their line was legit gigantic.

If you don’t know Harley or this staff (which again can be excused because sanders is still the “Co-OC”…which means he gets coffee for the real OC) you can be excused for believing that this team is bad. And let’s say you are so far removed you have only seen news articles about Hammock that were positive after the ND win you can be excused for thinking this team is going to be worse.

No it’s explaining, before hand, how all the experts have the one wrong. NIU is a different team. This will be a fun game and kept within 32 points.

I bet on the team. It’s a win for me. Do you think the only way to be Iowa is with a rocket arm qb? Iowa isn’t very good. This won’t be a blowout. It will be a fun game. Our team will pass. And play solid defense. It’s going to be enjoyable.

I disagree that our posts on here don’t matter. A lot of people (boosters, among them) read these posts to get a read on how the most rabid fans in the fanbase feel. So while it may feel like an echo chamber, it gets read, for better or worse. There are a lot of examples of fan boards making a difference.

With that said, we shouldn’t be expected to mute our dissent when there is something incredibly wrong with the program. Before Hammock, we were able to paper over a lot of systematic problems by lucking into good coaches who could build programs over years. Then we hired a guy who really had no clue what he was doing. When NIL/rev share and the portal arrived during his tenure, his coaching skill could not mask how utterly broke we have been for many years. He was the exactly wrong guy to have at the helm when that dam burst. And now the mask is off for everyone to see what we are.

I’ve been a fan for almost twenty years now and this is by far the most in the toilet our program has ever been. If you look at how other fans outside our program view NIU, it’s with head-scratching sympathy (“Man, what happened to them, they used to be good?”) or derision (MAC fans loving how we thought we were too good for the MAC only to be one of the worst teams in the country). There needs to be drastic action taken *right now* before we lose the fanbase for a generation. By not calling for that, you’re only contributing to the decline of the program.

Again, it’s not an NIL or transfer portal issue. Stop making excuses for Hammock. He was bad. Bigchilla is right too, he had no idea how to build a staff. Whiffed on every coordinator hire he made other than Benedetto.

(10-12-2026 07:05 PM)7 Wrote:  Again, it’s not an NIL or transfer portal issue. Stop making excuses for Hammock. He was bad. Bigchilla is right too, he had no idea how to build a staff. Whiffed on every coordinator hire he made other than Benedetto.

Ain't that sad? I look back on past assistants from other regimes who went on to do bigger and better things. But other than Benedetto, who else will amount to anything special?

I tried to breath deep, starting hacking up a lung. I'll stick to complaining! :) ESPN Gamecast says we have a 30% chance to win vs Wyoming, but to most of us this feels way too high.