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Game 9: Northern Illinois vs. Ball State
Oct. 29, 2008
Northern Illinois Football 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format HUSKIE FACTS
CARDINALS' FACTS
HEAD COACH Jerry Kill NEWS & NOTES Return to the Road: Northern Illinois takes to the road for the first time in a month with the first of four November mid-week games, this one versus AP No. 18 Ball State in the Bronze Stalk Game. The Huskies, who have not played on the road since an Oct. 4 game at Tennessee, went 3-0 during their MAC October homestand, most recently defeating Bowling Green, 16-13. Five of Six: NIU arrives in Muncie with five wins in its last six games after defeating Miami (Ohio), Toledo and Bowling Green over the last three weeks. The Huskies have lost just one game since Sept. 6, a 13-9 defeat at Tennessee on Oct. 4. Northern Illinois began the current stretch with a home win over Indiana State on Sept. 20, then picked up a road victory at Eastern Michigan to close out the month. NIU's three losses this season have come by a total of 11 points. Trophy Game: For the first time, Northern Illinois and Ball State will play for "The Bronze Stalk," a trophy designed specifically for this rivalry in honor of the locales of both institutions. The trophy is intended to spur interest in one of the Huskies' oldest, and closest, league rivalries. DeKalb artist Renee' Bemis designed the trophy which depicts a cornstalk and will be presented to the winning team upon completion of the game. Kill-er Credentials: The 20th head coach in Northern Illinois history, Jerry Kill is in his first season at NIU after seven years at Southern Illinois, where he led SIU to five straight appearances in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. Southern Illinois advanced to the FCS semifinals in 2007 and the Salukis were ranked in the Top 20 for 64 straight weeks during his tenure. Kill owns a head coaching record of 109-60 (.645) in 15 seasons as the head coach at NIU, SIU, Emporia State and Saginaw Valley State. He was 55-32 at Southern Illinois and won the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. Last Time Out: Mike Salerno hit a 30-yard field goal with 11.9 seconds on the clock to break a 13-13 tie and give the Huskies a 16-13 home victory over Bowling Green. Salerno's game-winner was set up by a blocked punt by NIU receiver Landon Cox and was the kicker's third field goal of the game. QB Chandler Harnish ran for 113 yards on 19 carries and Me'co Brown added 95 yards on a windy afternoon at Huskie Stadium. The Northern Illinois defense limited BGSU to 168 total yards and one touchdown while eight players combined to make nine tackles for loss. MAC Mark: With a 4-1 record so far in 2008, NIU has upped its all-time mark in Mid-American Conference play to 86-84-2. The Huskies have spent 20 total seasons as a member of the league. Since beginning its second stint in the MAC in 1997, NIU is 51-39 (.567) versus conference teams.
The Conference Road: The Huskies own a 17-9 (.654) record in league road games since 2002. NIU posted a winning record in MAC road contests from 2004-06 before going 0-3 on the road in the league last season. During that same time period, the Huskies are 19-7 at home versus MAC competition. No Stranger: Northern Illinois and Ball State meet for the 36th time and for the 23rd time in conference competition. The teams have traded wins over the last few years with Ball State winning the last two games in Huskie Stadium, in 2005 and 2007, and NIU claiming a victory in Muncie in 2006. Prior to that, the series, which dates back to 1941, was marked by periods of domination by one team or the other. NIU won six straight over the Cardinals from 1999-2004 but prior to that, Ball State won won seven straight games and 16 of 17 between 1974 and 1998. The Last Meeting: NIU and Ball State last met in the 2007 season finale as a short-handed Huskie team battled BSU to the final play before falling, 27-21, in what would be NIU head coach Joe Novak's last game. Northern Illinois took a 7-3 first quarter lead behind back-up quarterback Ryan Morris, but the Cardinals scored 14 second quarter points to gain a 10-point advantage. BSU took advantage of two Huskie turnovers to score 10 points, and the Cardinal defense stymied the NIU offense, sacking Morris five times and turning the Huskies away inside the red zone twice. A Muncie Memory: On Northern Illinois last trip to Muncie, a 40-28 victory on Sept. 30, 2006, tailback Garrett Wolfe ran wild, breaking the NIU school record for single game rushing yards with 353 yards on 31 carries and three touchdowns. Wolfe ripped off touchdown runs of 51, 48 and 53 yards as he broke the Huskies' career touchdown record and set the NCAA record for most yards in the first five games of the season. Wolfe, who currently plays for the Chicago Bears, recalled the BSU game last weekend as he returned to DeKalb during the Bears' bye week and attended the Huskies' game versus Bowling Green. 107 and Counting: In its 107th season of intercollegiate football, Northern Illinois owns an all-time record of 493-447-51 in 991 games for a winning percentage of .523. The Huskies played their first game in 1899 and moved into the "major college" ranks in 1969. Taking on the Ranked: Northern Illinois will play a ranked team for the first time since 2006, when the Huskies opened and closed the season with games versus ranked opponents, falling to No. 1 Ohio State in the season opener and to No. 25 TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl. The Huskies' last victory over a ranked team came on Sept. 20, 2003 with a 19-16 win at No. 21 Alabama. NIU is 4-25 all-time versus (AP) ranked opponents. Bowling Green was the last ranked MAC team to face NIU as the No. 23 Falcons defeated Northern 34-18 on Oct. 25, 2003. Back Above .500: After winning just two games, and one MAC contest, a year ago, Northern Illinois is back above the .500 mark for the first time since the end of the 2006 season. The Huskies started 2008 with an 0-2 record after road losses to Minnesota (31-27) and Western Michigan (29-26), but have now won five of their last six contests. Prior to 2007, NIU had recorded seven consecutive winning campaigns from 2000 to 2006. Familiar Place: Northern Illinois defensive line coach Jeff Phelps returns to his alma mater for the second time since joining the Huskie staff three years ago. Phelps was a two-time All-MAC honoree at linebacker for the Cardinals who started 33 games and compiled 277 career tackles in the Cardinal and White from 1994-97. A member of BSU's 1996 MAC Championship team, Phelps made nine tackles and caused a fumble in Ball State's 21-14 win over NIU in 1997. The Chicago native earned his bachelor's degree from Ball State in 1998 and joined the Huskie coaching staff in 2006. Out of the 'Zone: Since the Western Michigan game on Sept. 6 (a 29-26 loss), no Northern Illinois opponent has scored more than one touchdown against the Huskies. That includes games versus Indiana State, Eastern Michigan, Tennessee, Miami, Toledo and Bowling Green. In three of those games (Indiana State, Eastern Michigan and Miami), the NIU defense did not give up a touchdown, although Miami scored on a punt return. In those contests, the Huskies have surrendered just 49 total points (3, 0, 13, 13, 7 and 13, respectively) for an average of 8.2 per game. Remarkable Turnaround: The difference between the Northern Illinois defense of 2008 and the Huskie defense of a year ago is as drastic - in terms of numbers - as the points scored by Toledo versus NIU in 2007 (70) and 2008 (7). While the numbers put up by the 2008 "D" are different, the names are very similar, as the Huskies returned nine starters on defense this season, led by DE Larry English and including Josh Allen, Brandon Bice, Chase Carter, Alex Krutsch, Alex Kube, Bradley Pruitt and Melvin Rice. Below is a chart showing Northern Illinois' current MAC and NCAA defensive rankings and last year's end of the season numbers:
Six-Game Stats: Over the last six games, Northern Illinois' defense has put up some impressive numbers. Beginning with the Indiana State game (Sept. 20), Huskie opponents are averaging just 86.7 rushing yards and 221.5 yards of total offense per game. NIU has forced 12 turnovers since the ISU game and oponents have converted just 33.7 percent of its third downs while averaging 13 first downs per contest. After surrendering 60 points in the first two games this season (losses to Minnesota and Western Michigan), NIU opponents have scored only 49 points since. Defensive Dominance: The last time NIU enjoyed a comparable stretch of defensive dominance, in terms of points, was in 1963, the year that Northern Illinois went 10-0 and claimed the NCAA College Division Championship. In its last six games this season, NIU has given up 49 points. From Sept. 21 to Oct. 26, 1963, the Huskies gave up 32 points in wins over Winona State (61-0), Northeast Missouri State (21-12), Nebraska-Omaha (18-7), Hillsdale (19-13), Illinois State (43-0) and Eastern Illinois (43-0). In 1963, Huskie opponents scored 9.7 points per game over nine games with three shutouts as Northern Illinois held opponents to 10 points or less five times. Block Party: Northern Illinois blocked a pair of punts versus Bowling Green and now has a school-record five punt blocks this season with each of the blocks by a different player. The Huskies' two punt blocks versus the Falcons was also a school single game record. Wide receiver Landon Cox became the latest NIU special teamer to block a punt as his fourth-quarter block set-up the Huskies' game-winning field goal versus BGSU. Earlier in the game, safety Spencer Williamson got his hand on a Falcon punt. Cox and Williamson joined tailback Chad Spann (Minnesota), cornerback Patrick George (Tennessee) and receiver Willie Clark (Indiana State) on the 2008 blocked punts list. Cox' block may have been the most surprising as it came on a play when a return was called. In A Rush: Northern Illinois has a new head coach and a tailback by committee approach, but the Huskies have not abandoned their rushing roots. Against Bowling Green, quarterback Chandler Harnish got in on the act with his first career 100-yard rushing game, and the first by a Huskie signal caller since 1990. Harnish netted 113 yards on 19 carries to record the third 100-yard day by an NIU player this year, and the first by a QB since Nov. 10, 1990 when Stacey Robinson rushed for 109 yards versus East Carolina. Northern Illinois' 57 rushing plays in the BG win were the most by a Huskie team since Nov. 20, 2004, when NIU ran the ball 62 times in a 34-16 win over Eastern Michigan. The Best Defense...: ...is a good offense? How about an offense that holds the ball for more than 23 minutes in the second half? That is exactly how the Huskie offense helped the NIU defense versus Bowling Green as Northern Illinois put together scoring drives of 10:06, 8:05 and 4:43 in the second half to earn the 16-13 win. Bowling Green ran just 14 offensive plays in the second half and gained 77 yards as the NIU defense enjoyed long stretches on the sidelines. The Huskies' had scoring drives of 17 and 16 plays versus BGSU, the longest drives, in terms of plays, since an 18-play, 84-yard drive in the NIU win over Maryland on August 28, 2003. On the year, Northern Illinois is hanging onto the ball an average of five minutes more per game than their opponents, 32:40 to 27:20. Ground Game: Through seven games, the Northern Illinois offense defined the term "balanced" as the Huskies gained 1,241 yards on the ground and 1,207 yards through the air, a difference of just 34 yards. But that balance was upset versus Bowling Green as the Huskies gained 233 yards on the ground while Chandler Harnish completed just five-of-12 passes for 45 yards. It was the fewest passes attempted in a game by Northern Illinois since Sept. 6, 1997 when Frisman Jackson tried only 10 passes, completing four for 67 yards, versus Kansas State in a 47-7 loss. In the second half of the Bowling Green game, NIU went almost exclusively to the ground game as Harnish completed only two-of-three passes after halftime. It was the fewest passes attempted by NIU in a half since a game versus Central Florida on Oct. 10, 1998 when the Huskies threw just two passes, completing both. Shut Out: Northern Illinois receivers were shut out in the Bowling Green as NIU's five pass completions wend to a tight end (3 catches), tailback (1) and fullback (1). It marked the first time since Nov. 11, 1995, a 28-21 loss to Arkansas State, that a Huskie wide receiver did not catch a pass in a game. In that Arkansas State game, the only completion of the game went to a running back. senior tight end Brandon Beal, who had just five catches for 42 yards in his CAREER prior to last Saturday, caught three passes for 34 yards in the Bowling Green game to lead the Huskies. The 50s: A year ago, Northern Illinois scored a total of 229 points in 12 games, with 157 of those points - 62 in the first quarter and 95 in the second - scored in the first half. Through eight games in 2008, NIU has already put 218 points on the board (just 11 shy of the 2008 total), and the scoring has been evenly distributed by quarter with 53 scored in the third quarter, 54 in the first, 55 in period two and 56 in the fourth. More MAC Honors: Defensive end Craig Rusch and kicker Mike Salerno became the latest Huskies to be honored by the Mid-American Conference when they were named the MAC West defensive player and specialist of the week following the win over Bowling Green. Rusch had three solo tackles and a key quarterback sack to lead NIU's stellar defensive effort versus the Falcons, while Salerno hit the game-winning field goal with 11.9 seconds on the clock, one of his three field goals on the day. Rusch and Salerno were the fifth and sixth Northern Illinois players selected as MAC West players of the week so far this year, including three defenders (Rusch, LB Alex Kube, DE Larry English), punter Andy Dittbenner and quarterback Chandler Harnish. Team Effort: Shutting down the Huskies' top offensive player has been no easy task this season - primarily because neither opponents, nor NIU's own coaches, know who will be Northern Illinois' leader from week to week. NIU has had five different players lead the team in rushing - tailbacks Me'co Brown (3 games), Chad Spann (2), Justin Anderson (1) and quarterbacks DeMarcus Grady (1) and Chandler Harnish (1) - and six players have gained at least 100 yards rushing on the year. Five different receivers have led the Huskies in receiving in at least one game this season, with Marcus Perez (3 games), Nathan Palmer (2), Greg Turner (1) and Matt Simon (1) joined by tight end Brandon Beal (1). NIU has even been led by three different quarterbacks this year. Harnish started the first two games of the season and the last two, while Dan Nicholson owns three starts to go with Grady's one. In all, 13 different players have scored touchdowns for NIU in 2008. Here's the Kicker: Salerno, who transferred to NIU from Winona State and is in his first season as the Huskies' kicker, has made 14-of-20 field goals in 2008, already surpassing the team's 2007 total. Salerno tied the school record with a 52-yard field goal in the Bowling Green game and added the two fourth-quarter threes, including the game-winner. He also made three field goals at Tennessee to account for the NIU scoring. Salerno has scored 66 points on the year and is 24-of-24 on PATs in addition to his field goal prowess. He has made 11 of 13 threes from inside 40 yards. The junior from Orland Park has also been effective on kickoffs with 14 touchbacks in 46 kickoffs this year. On average, opponents are starting on their own 21-yard line. ESPN2 Time: Northern Illinois will make three appearances on ESPN2 this November, beginning with the Ball State game and including the Central Michigan and Navy contests. This game will mark the Huskies 28th appearance on an ESPN broadcast and NIU is 15-12 all-time in those games. Overall, the Huskies are 57-58-1 in 40 seasons of televised games. Ten Northern Illinois games are scheduled for television in 2008, which will make 54 Northern Illinois games televised in the last five seasons. In addition to the ESPN2 and ESPN Regional appearances, six NIU games, including all four of its home contests, have been available nationwide through the ESPN GamePlan package. The Huskies' last appearance on ESPN2 was the infamous "fog bowl" game versus Toledo on Nov. 7, 2006 at Huskie Stadium. Back Home in Indiana: Eight Indianans have crossed state lines to play for the Huskies and seven of them will likely see action versus Ball State, led by starting quarterback Chandler Harnish, a redshirt freshman from Bluffton, Ind. Two of Harnish's favorite targets are his homestate teammates, Nathan Palmer and Marcus Perez, both of whom are from Elkhart, Ind. Harnish also hands off to a pair of Indianans in Chad Spann (Indianapolis) and Ricky Crider (Evansville) and is protected up front by Indianapolis' Jason Onyebuagu at left guard. Safety Spencer Williamson (Elkhart) is the Indiana representative on the NIU defense. Right Place, Right Times: Defensive end Jake Coffman recovered a pair of fumbles versus Toledo to become the first NIU defender to pick up two fumbles in the same game since Ken West versus Ohio in 2006. A 24-year-old sophomore who walked on to the Huskie team after completing two tours of duty in Iraq as a United States Marine, Coffman recorded his first career tackle for loss in addition to the fumble recoveries against Toledo. He followed that performance with another stellar outing versus BG with two solo tackles, including one on third down that forced a Falcons' punt. In Any League: Larry English proved that he would be a force in any league with his performance versus the offensive line of Tennessee. In that game, English had a season-high 2.5 sacks for losses totaling 26 yards to earn MAC West Defensive Player of the Week honors. He made one of the biggest defensive plays of the game when he sacked UT QB Nick Stephens in the third quarter to force a fumble that NIU recovered on the Tennessee nine yard line and later converted into a field goal. English Lessons: NIU defensive end Larry English continues to add to his Huskie legacy as he tallied the 28th sack of his collegiate career versus Toledo, forcing a fumble on the play that NIU recovered. English's 28 career sacks, including a team-leading 4.5 this season, rank second among all active NCAA FBS players, while his 206 sack yards are first. He has forced seven fumbles, including two in 2008. His 55 career tackles for loss are third in the country among active players, and he has thrown opponents for 259 yards in losses to rank as the nation's current career leader in that category. The senior from Aurora ranks second all-time at NIU in quarterback sacks, just three behind Cary Caliendo (1987-90), and is tied for sixth on the league charts. He also holds the Northern Illinois record for career tackles for loss with 55, which is tied for 10th in the MAC record book. English has eight tackles for loss in 2008 to lead NIU. In the Trenches: The Huskie offensive line has played its two best games of the year in the last two weeks. After earning its highest group grade of the year with a mark of 81 percent and zero sacks allowed versus Toledo, the line - composed of tackles Jon Brost and Trevor Olson, guards Jason Onyebuagu and Dan Keller and center Eddie Adamski - upped that in the Bowling Green game with an 86 percent grade, a season-high 10 bonus blocks and no sacks allowed. Onyebuagu's return to form after a preseason knee injury has bolstered the overall line play, and Brost, who has started 43 games for the Huskies during his NIU career, has been the most consistent linemen from games one through eight this season. He is also a semifinalist for the Draddy Award with a 3.5 GPA in electrical engineering. Adamski was the team's offensive lineman of the week against the Falcons as he graded out at 89 percent with three bonus blocks. Breaking Through: After losing eight games by margins of seven points or less over the last two seasons, including all three of their 2008 defeats, Northern Illinois broke through in a close game with its 17-13 win over Miami Oct. 11 and continued the winning trend with Mike Salerno's game-winning field goal against Bowling Green with 12 seconds left. Versus Miami, the Huskie offense came from behind with a third-quarter touchdown drive, while the defense stymied the RedHawks' final drive by breaking up two passes in the end zone. Prior to that, the Huskies' suffered a three-point loss to Western Michigan and fell by four points at both Minnesota and Tennessee. A year ago, Northern Illinois lost by seven, two, one, four and six points. Gotta Get Me'co: Me'co Brown has risen to the top of the Huskie rushing list with a pair of 100-yard games this season and added 95 yards on 20 carries versus Bowling Green. The true freshman leads Northern Illinois in rushing (478 yards on 94 carries), kickoff returns (19.2 yard average), punt returns (9.4 yard average) and all-purpose yards (111.4 yards/game). He has 891 all-purpose yards on the season with a career-best 160 versus Miami, which included a career-long 19-yard punt return. His 100-yard rushing days have come against Eastern Michigan (111 yards) and Miami (123); he compiled 108 all-purpose yards at Tennessee with a career-long 29-yard kickoff return. Brown got a special treat following the Bowling Green game when the 5-7 tailback met legendary Huskie 5-7 tailback Garrett Wolfe, who led the FBS in rushing in 2006 and now plays for the Chicago Bears. He's Back: After missing three complete games and parts of two others with a foot injury, freshman Chandler Harnish returned to lead the Huskie offense versus Toledo and led NIU to five touchdowns and its highest point total versus FBS competition this year. Harnish passed for a team season-high three touchdowns in that game, hitting Marcus Perez on throws of 45 and 15 yards. He threw his first interceptions of the season in the Bowling Green game, but made up for it with his 113 rushing yards and now ranks third on the NIU team with 207 yards on 43 carries for a 4.8-yard average. Good Hands and Good Works: During his NIU career, receiver Matt Simon has displayed both good hands and good works, making the senior a perfect choice for the 2008 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Members of the Good Works team are selected based on their commitment to community service, which Simon displayed in leading his teammates, and organizing their participation with outside groups like Hope Haven Homeless Shelter, the American Red Cross and the Special Olympics, as well as at on-campus events like the April 16 Virginia Tech Vigil at NIU. Simon, a Farmington, Minn. native who led Northern Illinois in receiving a year ago, was one of just 11 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players selected to the 2008 Allstate Good Works Team.
HUSKIE MULTIMEDIA TELEVISION - The Northern Illinois-Ball State is the first of three of the Huskies' November games that will air nationally on ESPN2. The team of Rece Davis, Mark May and Lou Holtz will call the NIU-BSU clash with Rob Stone on the sidelines. RADIO - The Huskie Sports Radio Network will carry the Ball State game beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m. (Central). Bill Baker is in his 29th year as the play-by-play voice of the Huskies and he is joined in the booth by 24-year veteran Mark Lindo and third-year sideline reporter Casey Kahler. The 2008 Huskie Radio line-up includes WSCR-AM 670 (Chicago), WTMJ-AM 1380 (Beloit, Wisc.) and the flagship station, WLBK-AM (1360) in DeKalb. The Score also is the home of "NIU Live," the weekly 30-minute radio show that is all about Huskie Sports. NIU Director of Athletics Jeff Compher joins host Andy Garcia and Huskie coaches for the show, which airs Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m. on WSCR 670 AM. ON LINE - To hear every Huskie Radio Network broadcast and SEE live video of select NIU games, sign up for the Huskie All Access package at www.niuhuskies.com. Purchase the monthly package for $6.95 or a year-long pass for $49.95. Fans can also enjoy more FREE video content than ever before including Inside Huskie Sports, Jerry Kill's weekly and post-game press conferences and other special events. Also go to www.niuhuskies.com for the latest statistics, feature stories, player Q&As as well as weekly and daily updates. WEEKLY TV - For complete game highlights as well as commentary from Head Coach Jerry Kill and special features, watch "Inside Huskie Sports" weekly on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and on my Network TV in Rockford. The 30-minute highlight show airs this Thursday at 4 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and will move to a Friday (12:15 p.m.) air dates on November 7 and November 14. In Rockford, catch IHS at 10:30 a.m. Saturdays on myNetworkTV. Fans are also invited to the live taping of the show this Monday at 5:30 p.m. at Fatty's Pub and Grille, 1312 West Lincoln Highway in DeKalb. Check back for future taping dates and times as they have been altered due to the weekday game schedule.
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