It’s been one of those years for Northern Illinois .

Very little has gone right for the 2-7 Huskies, and the bad news on Wednesday began as soon as the ball was kicked off.

Toledo returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, marking the beginning of the end for NIU in an eventual 42-3 loss. Adding to the sting was who returned the kick: former Huskie Trayvon Rudolph.

“Dynamic football player,” NIU coach Thomas Hammock said.

The look of dejection on Hammock’s face as he answered questions inside a classroom in Toledo’s ROTC building wasn’t just about Wednesday night. The pain came from a season that’s spiraled downward. NIU was picked to finish in the top half of the Mid-American Conference, yet the Huskies have just one MAC win as the calendar nears mid-November.

But even

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