COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE. "After beating three teams from BCS conferences to open the season, Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak was worried about a letdown in the conference opener against the Bobcats, whose only win was a 17-3 victory over Division I-AA Southeast Missouri State.

"It looked as if that would happen until Fleck came through at the end." Northern Illinois 30, Ohio 23, in overtime. At the not-so-Happy Valley, the Joe Paterno Retirement Watch returns, the offensive line continues its stop us if you can ways, and the Badgers match last year's Big Ten victory production.