The 2012 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented
Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the
Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the
2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Northern Illinois compiled an overall record of 12–2 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the MAC West Division title. The Huskies advanced to the
MAC Championship Game, where they beat
Kent State to win the program's third MAC championship. Northern Illinois was invited to the
Orange Bowl, where they lost to
Florida State.[1][2] Second-year head coach
Dave Doeren led the team during the regular season and the MAC title game before resigning to become the head football coach at
North Carolina State University.[3]Rod Carey was appointed interim head coach for the
bowl game. The team's 12 wins was the most in any of the program's 113-year history.[4]
Since the MAC was a non-automatic qualifying (non-AQ) conference for the
Bowl Championship Series, its conference champion had to finish 16th or higher in the BCS rankings and be ranked ahead of at least one AQ conference champion to qualify for a BCS game.[5] With their win in the MAC Championship Game, the Huskies moved to No. 15 in the final BCS rankings, while
Louisville, champion of the
Big East Conference, was ranked No. 21. As a result, Northern Illinois received a BCS bid to the Orange Bowl.[6] It was the first major-bowl appearance in program history and the first major-bowl appearance for any MAC team.
The season marked the Huskies' fifth consecutive trip to a bowl game. The team played home games at
Huskie Stadium in
DeKalb, Illinois.