NIU’s victory has local flavor

Huskies have 15 from Wisconsin on roster

Big Ten schools might want to stop scheduling Northern Illinois for nonconference football games.

In a minor upset (or is it?) Saturday, the Huskies knocked off Nebraska in Lincoln, 21-17.

But this is nothing new for Northern Illinois, which has defeated a Big Ten school in four of five meetings under fifth-year coach Rod Carey, who was born in Madison and was an assistant at UW-Stout from 2000-’06.

The Huskies, whose campus in DeKalb, Ill., is about 121 miles southwest of Milwaukee, are well represented by players from the area.

According to NIU’s roster, 15 players are from the state, including offensive lineman Nathan Veloz of Oak Creek High School, linebacker Alex Schwab of West Allis Hale, offensive lineman Alex Schlee of Germantown, kicker Josh Orne of Kettle Moraine, defensive tackle Marcus Kelly of Waukesha West, offensive lineman Vincent Hughes of Franklin, Calvin Dassow of Sussex Hamilton and Jackson Abresch of Arrowhead.

The Huskies (2-1) of the Mid-American Conference returned two interceptions for touchdowns to go up, 14-0, before the Cornhuskers knew what hit them.

“In the grand scheme of things, it’s one game,” Carey said. “We’ve been here before in a situation like this . ... Are we going to enjoy it for 24 hours? You bet.”

While defeating Nebraska (1-2) isn’t what it used to be, the Huskies became the first team not in a Power Five conference or major independent to win in Lincoln since Southern Mississippi knocked off the Cornhuskers in 2004.

Nebraska hosts Wisconsin in a Big Ten game Oct. 7.