Iowa @ Northern Illinois preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2007 ) Iowa 16, Northern Illinois 3

Want to win a bar bet? Ask your buddy who enters 2012 with the longest winning streak in the FBS. The answer is Northern Illinois, which seeks a 10th straight win against Iowa at Soldier Field in Chicago in the opener for both teams. The reigning Mid-American Conference champions haven’t lost since October 2011. They're coming off their first league title since 1983. Meanwhile, tradition-rich Iowa is coming off its second straight disappointing season. But Iowa has reason for optimism: The Hawkeyes are 7-0 all-time against Northern Illinois and have won their last 11 season openers.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU LINE: Iowa -10

ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS (2011 record: 11-3, 7-1 MAC): The Huskies have 15 starters returning, mostly on the defensive side. If they don’t repeat as conference champions, it will be because of an inexperienced offense (three returning starters). The Huskies’ biggest loss is standout quarterback Chandler Harnish – the MAC championship game MVP who became the NFL draft’s “Mr. Irrelevant.” Harnish passed for 3,216 yards and rushed for 1,379 more while accounting for 39 touchdowns in 2011. His replacement is redshirt junior Jordan Lynch, who is considered a better rusher than Harnish. Look for Northern Illinois to run and run often. The Huskies finished 12th in the FBS in rushing (234.1 ypg) and scoring (38.3 ppg).

ABOUT IOWA (2011 record: 7-6, 4-4 Big Ten): The Hawkeyes are trying to bounce back from a second straight sub-par season and the buzz word in Iowa City is “change.” Yes, head coach Kirk Ferentz – the most tenured coach in the Big Ten - is back for his 14th season, but many of his assistants are new. Senior quarterback James Vandenberg (3,302 yards, 25 TDs, 7 INTs in 2011) will be working with a new offensive coordinator, as former Texas OC Greg Davis returns from a year-long hiatus and takes over for Ken O’Keefe. New defensive coordinator Phil Parker has work to do with just five starters returning. Iowa finished a middling 60th in the FBS in total defense (378.9 ypg) last season.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Parker and O’Keefe had worked for Ferentz since he took over the program in 1999.

2. Vandenberg, who’s on the Davey O’Brien watch list, led the Hawkeyes to the biggest comeback in school history (24-3 deficit) against Pittsburgh last season.

3. The Huskies haven’t lost since a 48-41 defeat at the hands of Central Michigan on October 1, 2011.

PREDICTION: Iowa 35, Northern Illinois 27