There are a lot of questions circling NIU heading into the 2026 season.

Who’s at quarterback? Can the team score more than 10 points per game? Other things not involving the offense.

The spring and the fall should provide clarity on that. But last month, the Mountain West provided clarity on where the Huskies will be heading in their first year in the new conference, and which teams will be heading to DeKalb.

So what better way to spend some time in early January than looking at the 2026 college football season?

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

2025 record: 9-4 overall, 5-3 Mountain West

2025 bowl game: The Rainbow Warriors came from behind to beat Cal, 35-31 in the Hawaii Bowl. It was their third bowl win in a row, having won the Hawaii Bowl in 2019 against BYU and the New Mexico Bowl in 2020 against Houston.

Head-to-head vs. NIU: Never played. Shocking, right? Though the women’s soccer teams met in 2014 for a 3-2 Hawaii home win.

2026 meeting: Hawaii is heading to DeKalb. No word if any restaurants are adding Spam to their signature dishes.

Nevada Wolfpack

2025 record: 3-9 overall, 2-6 Mountain West

2025 bowl game: None. The Wolfpack’s last bowl game was a 52-24 loss to Western Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl in 2021. Two years before that, they lost 30-21 to Ohio in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Head-to-head vs. NIU: The teams have split their two meetings. NIU won 46-42 in 1993 in Reno and lost 35-31 in 1994 in DeKalb.

2026 meeting: The Wolfpack will be taking on the Huskies at Huskie Stadium.

Air Force Falcons

2025 record: 4-8 overall, 3-5 Mountain West

2025 bowl game: None. The Falcons’ last bowl bid was 2023, winning the Armed Forces Bowl against James Madison, 31-21. They’ve won their last five bowl appearances, most recently losing in 2014 in the Armed Forces Bowl to Cal.

Head-to-head vs. NIU: It’s the first meeting between the football teams. The NIU men’s basketball team holds a 3-2 all-time series edge, winning games in 1994, 1995 and 2007. Air Force won in 1977 and 2008.

2026 meeting: The Huskies are heading to Colorado Springs. With Wyoming coming to DeKalb, the trip to Colorado is the shortest trip the Huskies make this year - exactly 1,000 miles, stadium-to-stadium, according to Google Maps.

UNLV Rebels

2025 record: 10-4 overall, 6-2 Mountain West

2025 bowl: The Rebels fell to NIU’s former MAC foe, Ohio, 17-10, in the Frisco Bowl.

Head-to-head vs. NIU: The Huskies are 5-0 all-time in the series, with wins in 2014 and 2015 as well as 1987, 1989 and 1995.

2026 meeting: The Huskies head to Sin City. It’s a personality test of sorts for fans to see what the true destination road trip is for the Huskies’ first Mountain West slate. Do you feel it’s the picturesque beauty of Colorado Springs or the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas?

UTEP Miners

2025 record: 2-10 overall, 1-7 Conference USA

2025 bowl: UTEP last qualified for a bowl game in 2021, losing 31-24 to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. The Miners have lost their last seven bowls, their last win coming against Ole Miss in the 1967 Sun Bowl.

Head-to-head vs. NIU: The teams played once in 1996, a 37-6 victory for the Miners in DeKalb. The teams combined for three wins that year.

2026 matchup: The 2025 versions of UTEP and NIU combined to win five games. They’ll meet in DeKalb, each team hoping the new conference is a new start after forgettable seasons.

San Jose State Spartans

2025 record: 3-9 overall, 2-6 Mountain West

2025 bowl: None. The Spartans made three straight bowls from 2022-24, losing them all. They last won a bowl game in 2015, beating Georgia State in the Cure Bowl. That’s a stretch of four games, including losses to Eastern Michigan and Ball State.

Head-to-head vs. NIU: The Huskies won the only meeting between the schools, an 18-17 road win in 1995.

2026 matchup: The only road trip over 2,000 miles in the Mountain West for the Huskies, they’ll head out to California for the battle of three-win teams.

New Mexico Lobos

2025 record: 9-4 overall, 6-2 Mountain West

2025 bowl: The Lobos lost in overtime to Minnesota in the Rate Bowl, 20-17. It was their first bowl game since 2016, a 23-20 win against UTSA in the New Mexico Bowl.

Head-to-head vs. NIU: They haven’t played a football game against each other. Doesn’t look like they’ve played each other in much of anything. The Lobos won a 2010 baseball game in a tournament in Texas against NIU, 7-2.

2026 matchup: The Huskies will head to Albuquerque for the matchup. For a certain niche, pop-culture type of fan, it could rival Colorado Springs or Las Vegas as the No. 1 new destination. Particularly fans of custom-made Pontiac Aztecs, pork pie hats or Bryan Cranston. (It’s the filming location of Breaking Bad.)

Wyoming Cowboys

2025 record: 4-8 overall, 2-6 Mountain West

2025 bowl: None. The Cowboys last qualified in 2023, beating Toledo 16-15 in the Arizona Bowl. They lost 30-27 to Ohio the year before in the Arizona Bowl, then in 2021 beat Kent State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl 52-38.

Head-to-head vs. NIU: Wyoming won both meetings, including a 40-34 triple-overtime game that ended at around 2 a.m. Central Time in 2016. The quarterback for the Cowboys in that one: the one and only Josh Allen, who returned from an injury to run for the winning score in the third overtime.

2026 matchup: Wyoming will head to DeKalb, where the Cowboys were 50-43 winners in 2021. It was the last time the teams played.