Rivalries are not created; they’re born.

Just like a human, these games grow, develop and take shape.

What started as just another game on the schedule becomes an anticipated event. Revenge is desired for the prior loser; the honor of the last victor must be defended.

Soon the game becomes a circled date every year. And finally, once fully developed, it’s more than a game. A rivalry can become a season-defining moment.

That’s what NIU and Toledo will play at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Glass Bowl in Toledo.

“It’s just one of those games coming through [former] coach Novak and coach [Jerry] Kill that they stressed; it’s Toledo,” said NIU senior safety David Bryant. “They had a little winning streak there too.”

That winning streak was more than just a couple games.

Prior to 2005, the last time the Huskies celebrated a victory against the Rockets was in 1989.
Although NIU beat Toledo in 2005, it didn’t end another losing streak until 2008. Last season marked the first time the Huskies beat the Rockets in DeKalb since 1972.

Although in the past four years the Huskies and Rockets have an even 2-2 record against each other, the younger players still see this game as a crucial rivalry.

“It’s tough to feel the intense feelings that the older guys do,” said NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish. “But it’s tradition, and we’ll keep carrying it on.”

And carrying on the tradition is key, as recent success doesn’t mean their rivalry is square. Toledo owns the overall series with a 28-8 game advantage.

And if that isn’t enough motivation for NIU (3-2, 1-0 MAC), Bryant and the other Huskies who traveled to Toledo in 2007 have a sour taste in their mouth. That year, the Rockets ran up the score, producing a 70-21 win.

“I talked to coach Novak a bit, and heard it’s a tough place to play,” Kill said. “You have to give Toledo credit. They’ve been pretty good over the years, and they’ve beaten a lot of people at home.”

This season, Toledo (3-3, 1-1) has a 1-1 record at the Glass Bowl, with a 54-38 win over Colorado on Sept. 11.

But the Rockets are coming off a 58-26 home loss to Western Michigan. And Toledo remembers last season, when it lost 38-7 at NIU’s homecoming. Now the Rockets see the
Huskies as their next step to becoming MAC champions.

“We’re still able to achieve the goals that we set,” said Toledo head coach Tim Beckman. “We play Northern Illinois this week and we have to win that football game to be in the hunt to be a conference champ.”

With a rivalry game that decided the MAC West Championship in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005, Beckman isn’t far off in seeing the implications of the contest. But Toledo will most likely be without quarterback Aaron Opelt. Beckman told the Toledo Blade Wednesday that the senior was “questionable.”

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