The game pitted the Northern Illinois Huskies and the Cal State Fullerton Titans.
The Huskies from DeKalb, Illinois, coached by Bill Mallory, started the season with non-conference games versus Kansas and Wisconsin, with a win over the former, a loss to the latter.
Wins over Toledo and Ohio helped seal the Mid-American Conference title with an 8–1 conference record, edging out Toledo, Bowling Green, and Central Michigan, which all had 7–2 records.
A loss to #4 Arizona was their last loss for a month, as they beat Pacific, Nevada, San Jose State and Fresno State to improve their record to 7–1, the most wins for the program in a season since 1973.
However, they finished the season with three straight losses to Idaho State, Utah, and UNLV.