All good things come to an end.
Northern Illinois learned this lesson "the hard way" — which has been a team slogan for quite some time now. The Huskies snapped an eight-game bowl streak, dating back to 2007. Also broken was Northern Illinois' impressive run of six-consecutive MAC West titles.
Despite the pain of missing out on postseason play and ending a season below .500, Rod Carey and the Huskies showed a return to normalcy toward the end of the 2016 season. The Black and Red finished the campaign 5-3 in conference play, emerging victorious in four out of their last five contests.