We just lost to...Temple

Disclaimer: this post has been edited 3 times because of my own stupidity.

Per Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Main Entry: Murphy's Law
Function: noun
Etymology: probably from Edward A. Murphy died 1990 American engineer

: an observation: anything that can go wrong will go wrong

OK where do I start?

WRs Britt Davis & Greg Turner were both out for this game for some reason. So was backup RB David Bryant.

Apparently the absence of Greg Turner was a huge one, considering he is our holder for the field goals. WE MISSED 2 EXTRA POINTS?!!! WTF? Nendick is the NIU record holder for most XPs made consecutively (I'm pretty sure). Guess who the holder was...

JEFF FONTANA


Is he smiling or not smiling? The NIU FB Picture Bio's Mona Lisa

WERE THE MISSED XP's HIS FAULT?

“The first one was a high snap, a real high snap. [Jeff] Fontana did a great job getting it down and Chris just couldn’t get a really good kick on it,” Novak said.

“The second one, I don’t know what happened. It looked good, but I don’t know what happened. It’s a shame two missed extra points were the difference in the game.”

I mean seriously. He cost us the SIU game & almost the Idaho game. He is the bane of my existence.

Anyways, where was I?

QB Dan Nicholson SUCKED going 12 for 25 for 101 yds? Hahaha you have to be kidding me! He also fumbled the ball that was taken back for a TD and hurt his ankle in the 4th quarter. I bet you he just wanted to get out of the game because he was playing SO bad.

Is Ryan Morris the answer @ QB? I seriously doubt it. He wasn't a scholarship recruit and takes FOREVER in the pocket to throw the ball (from what I've seen). In this game he got sacked twice.

There were positives:

RB Justin Anderson again proved his worth rushing 29 times for 168 yds and 2 TDs. He is now a top-10 rusher in the nation.

WR Marcus Perez was back and he caught 5 passes for 63 yds.

On the Defense this could be a good or bad thing depending how you look at it.
SS Alex Kube had 14 tackles (6 solo) and CB Melvin Rice had 12 tackles (8 solo). Our secondary guys shouldn't have that many tackles.

#10 LB Cory Hanson continues his tear with 10 tackles (4 solo) and another secondary guy FS Bradley Pruitt had 9 tackles (6 solo).

True frosh Defensive Tackle DJ Pirkle had 2 sacks for a total loss of 28 yds. Also CB Chase Carter had a pick, which is his 2nd of the year.

Thoughts on the Temple game

Watch out for Larry English, he had 4.5 sacks against Temple last year.

Temple is the only MAC team with a grass field.

It's Temple's homecoming game (CMU's was last week & ours is next week)

WE AREN'T ON TV!: Although Saturday's game can be seen as part of the Mid-American Conference All-MACcess package on-line, the NIU-Temple game will mark the first time in 21 games - since Nov. 5, 2005 when Northern Illinois faced Central Michigan in Mt. Pleasant - that a Huskie football game will NOT be available via an over-the-air telecast. The final three games of the 2005 campaign were televised along with every game last season (13) and each of the first five games this year. During that span, NIU appeared on ESPN or ESPN2 six times, on ABC once, was part of an ESPN Plus or ESPN GamePlan package four times, played on ESPNU on three occasions, and had seven games televised by Comcast SportsNet.

HOW BAD WE SUCK: The 35 points surrendered by Northern Illinois in the first half at Central Michigan were the most since Kansas State scored 59 points in the opening half on Sept. 12, 1998 in Manhattan. In addition, NIU's six turnovers (four INTs, two fumbles) were the most by a Huskie team in 101 games, since a 16-3 loss to Toledo on Oct. 31, 1998 when Northern Illinois committed seven turnovers.

BOTH TEAMS HAVE BUTTER FINGERS: The Owls have fumbled 15 times this season, losing eight of those. The Huskies have fumbled eight times, losing five. "Whoever can get [their turnovers] rectified the quickest, will probably win on Saturday," Novak said.