DeKALB – When the two major college football polls came out Sunday, Northern Illinois finally was listed.

NIU has reached the coveted Top 25, with the Huskies currently ranked No. 24 in The Associated Press’ poll and 23rd in the USA Today coaches poll. NIU, which has won 10 consecutive games, had been receiving votes for five weeks.

“It means a lot. From a team coming from the [Mid-American Conference] that’s been successful over the last couple years, it’s a tremendous, tremendous privilege to be ranked,” NIU senior cornerback Rashaan Melvin said during Monday’s news conference at the Yordon Center. “But we still have to play football; we still have to play our game.”