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Homecoming all about the fans

This homecoming week should be one for the ages.

Many call the NIU-Toledo matchup this weekend a one-sided rivalry. The situation is that NIU hates Toledo's guts, but they really could care less about beating us. Northern Star's Jerry Burnes is misinformed in saying

"NIU and Toledo are two of the conference’s premier programs historically, and in my opinion the biggest rivalry in the conference."

The CMU vs WMU rivalry is better. As is Toledo vs BGSU and Kent vs Akron. We'll have to start beating Toledo game-in and game-out to eventually consider this a two-sided rivalry.

Why do we hate the Toledo Rockets? Maybe its the fact that we've only been able to beat them one time (2005) since 1990. Toledo HC Tom Amstutz completely owned Joe Novak during his tenure here at NIU from 1996-2007. Both Toledo and NIU have been top dogs in the MAC for the last few years.

Games against the Rockets have screwed NIU out of MAC Championships in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, Garrett Wolfe and the Huskies finally managed to pull it out against the vaunted Rockets in Toledo. The "Fog Game" in 2006 we should have won, but there were some disputed coaching calls and a lack of getting Wolfe the ball. NIU hit rock bottom in their 2-7 2007 season, losing 70-21 in Toledo

However this is a new era in NIU Football with a new HC in Jerry Kill, which hopefully bring a new result to this one-sided history of matchups against the Rockets.

The Crowd Factor

If we want to win this game, we need the crowd to be intense and everybody needs to stay the entire game. Last week had a disappointing amount of fans (17,444), but Homecoming always seems to bring a huge crowd to the game. Our crowd really needs to step it up:

"[Coach Kill] challenged us about the towels but the towels didn’t really get it," said Farlow in respect to getting the crowd pumped. "So I decided to grab a white board and put ‘Get louder’ on it. And then John [Hopkins] helped me out by making another sign that said ‘Get up and get loud.’"

"Our crowd today was probably, not probably, was the difference in the game," Kill said. "I guarantee, if it would have been quite in that stadium [Miami] would have drove down and score."

Here's the video of Coach Kill thanking the fans that stayed and cheered:

Tuesday brought another article in the NStar urging fans to come to the HC game. I hope this sort of tactic works for Saturday because everybody on campus reads the school paper while passing time in class and such:

"It’s a lot easier to play on defense when your crowd is loud and getting into it," said NIU wide receiver Nathan Palmer after the game. "The fans’ energy is what really helped us."

"[The crowd] being loud at the end really helped our defense...they played with a lot more energy at the end," Palmer said.

"The fans were kind of making us mad at first," said NIU defensive lineman John Hopkins. "They weren’t getting up and they were dead."

"Come out to the game ready to cheer loud," Palmer said. "Lose your voice if you have to."

Also, Thunderstix will be back for this game, which is a huge plus and a tradition brought back to Huskie Stadium.

NIU finally grabs a close W

After losing 3 games so far this season by 4 points or less, the Huskies finally pick up that close win that they have been looking for beating the Redhawks 17-14.

Watching Miami in the last part of the game, I was sure we were about to find yet another way to lose a close game. Luckily, our defense is extremely solid this year, proving their worth in the last few games. Here are NIU's current national rankings:

#19 in Total Defense
#15 in Scoring Defense

In fact, our defense has given up only 1 offensive TD in the last 4 games (Tennessee).

CB Melvin Rice was a beast in the secondary, breaking up 2 passes while making 7 tackles. OLB Alex Kube finally had a good game making 5 tackles and an essential TFL. OLB Josh Allen got all the press for helping knock down the final pass by the Miami Redhawks.

QB DeMarcus Grady went down late in the 1st half with a minor ankle injury. I'm sure we were all surprised to see Chandler Harnish run out there to play the QB position. It seems like all our QBs go down at the same time during the game. Maybe they should just stop playing towards the end of the 2nd quarter.

Harnish surprised everybody by not only making plays with his arm, but his feet as well. He really has some guts and may have the poise to lead this team the next 3 years.

RB Me'co Brown was the unsung hero in the backfield rushing for 123 yds on only 16 carries. Chad Spann was a red-zone demon, forcing his way in to the end-zone in the 3rd quarter for the Huskies to go up 17-13.

WR Marcus Perez recovered from his eye injury nicely, catching 4 passes for 76 yds. 6'3" SO Landon Cox had a nice TD catch in the corner of the end-zone in the start of the 2nd quarter. He could be a red-zone threat for years.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Here's where it gets interesting.

First of all, we would have won this game by a much wider margin if K Mike Salerno would have made his FGs from 30 or 48 yds. He did, however, make a 38-yarder in the 1st quarter.

On the 48-yarder, the LS Nolan Owen recorded a false start which moved us back an extra 4 yds. Salerno had the length, but missed it wide-right. You can either place blame on Salerno or the offense for stalling and not punching it in to the end-zone.

That isn't all of the special teams blunders. In the weirdest play of the game, P Andy Dittbenner punts a "rugby" style punt right to Eugene Harris who in return ran right to the end-zone.

“Bad coaching on my part,” Kill said. “I’ve got to do a better job. Should have probably done something different. Instead of rugby punting it we should have gone the other way with it. That’s on me, not on the kid (Dittbenner).”

Overall, this was an excellent win that was an absolute necessity at this point in the season. Hopefully we can correct whatever mistakes that need to be corrected for next weeks homecoming showdown against the Toledo Rockets.

All about the quarterbacks

We aren't the only team that has a revolving door at the QB position.

The Miami Redhawks HC Shane Montgomery wasn't happy with the performance of his incumbent starter in JR QB Daniel Raudabaugh in the first half of last Saturday's game against Temple. During halftime, the coach pulled the plug on DR and put in the lefty rFR Clay Belton. He didn't necessarily play better, going 14 of 22 for 147 yds and an INT.

However, it provides NIU something to watch out for at home Satuday. If Belton gets consistent playing time and performs well, we had better watch out. I just feel like the supporting cast around him really isn't helping either of these players out so far this season.


Who does Coach Kill fear from this Miami OH team?

Their punter.

"Field position. They have a great punter. Not a good punter, a great punter. He can kick it 60 yards with a 4.4 sec. hang time. He's a big time punter. He controls field position."

Jacob Richardson leads the country with 48.08 average yards per punt. Our guy Andy Dittbenner isn't too shabby averaging 41.61 ypp, ranking #36 in the nation and #2 in the MAC.


Statistics

During this century, we are 3-0 against the Miami Redhawks winning in Oxford in 2002 and 2006. We won the last matchup in Dekalb 38-27 in 2005.

Miami may have the #2 total defense next to us, averaging 331.20 ypg, but are #9 in scoring defense allowing 30 ppg! This indicates that Miami just can't stop the big play so far this season, whether its on special teams or offense.

Miami ranks in the lower end of the MAC in the following categories:

Rushing offense (#13)
Total offense (#12)
Scoring offense (#13)
Pass efficiency defense (#12)
Turnover margin (#11)
Passing efficiency (#13)
Sacks allowed (#10)


Injury Updates (Chronicle)

-Mike Sobol is listed as the starting SS for Saturday's game despite a concussion against Tennessee. May see limited playing time.

-WR Marcus Perez is ready to go after sustaining an eye injury vs Tennessee

-QB Dan Nicholson re-injured his non-throwing shoulder vs Tennessee on a hard hit. He initially hurt his shoulder @ the WMU game. He is unlikely to see much time on the practice field at all this week and is doubtful against Miami OH.

-QB Chandler Harnish started jogging this week and may participate in some drills. He is an emergency option for Saturday. I predict he will be able to go against rival Toledo for our must-win homecoming game.

Playing cards without a full deck

A 9-13 loss. Another close one gets away.

Just 4 points away from a "lowly" MAC team upsetting a perennial SEC power in the Tennessee Volunteers.

Just as we barely lost to WMU 26-29 after starting QB Chandler Harnish went down, our starting QB in Knoxville went down just before the end of the first half injuring his non-throwing shoulder.

The senior QB Dan Nicholson took a beating in this game, leaving a gaping hole open at the position. To fill this position was redshirt freshman DeMarcus Grady. Grady all season has been our "mobile" QB filling in nice in goalline situations. This time he was thrown to the wolves against one of the best defenses statistically and athletically in the country.

We had lost so much experience with Danny N going down in the first half. The game was tied and this was a defensive struggle. DeMarcus Grady probably doesn't have the entire playbook in his arsenal at this point. 4 for 10 passing for 39 yds. 35 of those yards were on one deep play to another RS freshman Willie Clark on the sidelines. He made some impact on the ground rushing for 52 yds on 15 carries.

The problem was that Grady just isn't ready to play against an SEC with his lack of his experience. The consensus was that we should have passed more and been less conservative. More chances should have been taken down the field. There was one overthrown pass to Nate Palmer, but there should have been more of those kind of passes.

The running game wasn't effective, but who has been against one of the best defenses in the country. Justin Anderson instead of Me'co Brown should have been running inside because of his bigger, bruising body.

The defense stepped up against an inept Vols offense. Both DE Larry English and DB Mel Rice forced fumbles. English also managed to sack the QB 2.5 times and acheive MAC West Defensive player of the week.

#25 DB Tracey Wilson was getting run over during Tennessee's outside running game late. I think he was playing nickel DB or helping out replacing the SS Sobol as he went out with a concussion. I hope the young redshirt freshman can put on some more muscle or improve his tackling technique as his career goes on.

Special teams was decent with Mike Salerno going 3 for 4 on FGs. #33 DB Patrick George managed to block a punt on special teams, our 3rd of the season.


INJURY REPORT

Players that didn't play:

WR Matt Simon (Heel)
RB Montell Clanton (Ankle)
QB Chandler Harnish (Ankle)

Players hurt in this game:

SS Mike Sobol (Concussion)
WR Marcus Perez (Concussion?)
QB Dan Nicholson (Non-throwing shoulder)

The only Tenn I see

4 games in, this Northern Huskies team is still a mystery to me.

I do know one thing though: Our team has talent.


QB: One QB (Harnish) goes down with a serious ankle injury, as a veteran (Nicholson) and a mobile young gun (Grady) step in and perform at a premium.

The question: Can Danny N stay healthy and can DeMarcus Grady continue to figure out to make reads playing Division I football?


RB: 5 guys rotate, with a true freshman (Me'co Brown) getting the bulk of the carries. The 1,000 yard rusher from last year (Justin Anderson) was the 5th tailback to enter the game last Saturday.

The question: Will Me'co Brown be ready to play Saturday after sustaining a minor foot injury against the EMU Eagles?


WR: Gone is the much-scruitinized WR Britt Davis from the top of the depth chart after not making the trip to WMU. Consistent veterans Matt Simon and Greg Turner lead the way with this unit. Redshirt freshman Nate Palmer has had a hot start to his career.

The question: Will Matt Simon be ready to play Saturday with his injured foot? Will NatePalm add some consistency to his fledgling game? Will Britt Davis make any impact this season?


O-Line: The O-Line hasn't looked tremendous until our last game against EMU. It seems to me that the production increased tremendously by putting Jason Onyebuagu in at LG coming back from his injury.

The question: Can rFR Trevor Olson continue his success at LT? Can Onyebuagu continue to stay healthy and be the driving force at LG?


Defense: After 2 tough games starting off the season, our young D has looked tremendous in the last 2 games allowing only 3 points.

The question: Were the last 2 games just blips on the radar? Is our defense actually the best in the MAC or have we just played bad teams? Can Alex Kube step up at OLB?


Personally, I can't answer these questions, because they are such big mysteries. As I hope for the best, a lot will come through the wash against a decent SEC team in the Tennessee Volunteers.

Across the board, the Vols have more talent than us all around. Except our punter Andy Dittbenner is 10-fold better than whatever Tenn has been throwing out there the last few games. He was fortunate to acheive the MAC ST player of the week for his performance against EMU.

Oh, and Tennessee isn't even set that much on a starting QB at the moment as well.


Also, here's the injury report per Huskie Wire:

RB Me'co Brown - Probable (Foot)

MLB T.J. Griffin - Probable (Foot)

RB Montell Clanton - Probable (Ankle)

WR Matt Simon - Questionable (Heel)

QB Chandler Harnish - Out (Ankle)