#53 – Northern Illinois
Huskies 7-5 SU; 7-4 ATS
Fargo’s Take
- Last season, Northern Illinois started
the year with a 1-3 record, the only win coming
against 1-AA Tennessee Tech but the Huskies rebounded
to win six of their next seven games to earn a
berth in the MAC Championship against Akron. Unfortunately,
they dropped a heartbreaker to the Zips for the
second time on the season and their 7-5 record
did not warrant a second straight bowl invitation.
The pieces are in place to make another run in
the MAC West with Northern Illinois’ biggest
hurdle being Toledo. The schedule this season
is just as difficult but the non-conference games
are spread out instead of being lumped into the
beginning of the year like last season. The offense
has the potential to be one of the best in the
conference while the defense should be efficient
enough to win some games on its own.
Returning Starters
on Offense – 6 Northern Illinois
finished 16th in the country in total offense
last season and that ranking is very attainable
again this year. The Huskies have the luxury of
suiting up not one but two very experienced quarterbacks.
Senior Phil Horvath and sophomore Dan Nicholson
will be battling it out for the starting spot
and both can get the job done. Horvath broke his
arm in the ninth game last season and Nicholson
came in to lead the Huskies to three wins before
the loss against Akron. Handing the ball off to
potential All-American Garrett Wolfe is a great
way to take pressure off the passing game. Wolfe
rushed for 1,588 yards last season but the only
issue with the running game is that three offensive
line starters from last season need to be replaced.
Losing the two top receivers doesn’t help
matters either but Britt Davis has the ability
to take over and produce big numbers after a 42-catch
season a year ago.
Returning Starters
on Defense – 7 The defense was very
tough last season, finishing 34th in scoring defense.
The Huskies allowed single digits in three of
their last seven games but the two worst performances
where they allowed 31 points in each happened
to be the only two losses in that span. The linebackers
are extremely young with all three being sophomores
and freshmen. The front line has the two bookends
coming back and while the interior needs to be
replaced, there is experience and depth. The secondary
is the big strength with three seniors returning
to the unit that finished 65th in passing defense
last season. The average yards allowed through
the air has decreased in each of the last four
seasons and with so much experience coming back,
we could see that go down for a fifth straight
season.
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Schedule
- The Huskies are never shy about scheduling tough
games and this year is no exception. They do have
Indiana St. and Temple at home, both sure wins
but they also must travel to Ohio St. to start
the season and then head to Iowa at the end of
October. The MAC schedule is very much in their
favor as they catch Toledo, the toughest game
on the conference slate, at home. The conference
opener is at home against Ohio and then its three
straight road games including a couple of tough
games at Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan. Following
a bye week after the game against the Rockets,
Northern Illinois closes with a home game against
Central Michigan followed by the finale against
Eastern Michigan.
You can bet on…
The Huskies get the nod over Toledo in the MAC
West since their meeting with the Rockets is at
home in what could decide the division. Northern
Illinois is 28-6 at home over the last six seasons
and there is no reason to believe that the Huskies
cannot go undefeated at Huskie Stadium this year.
Northern Illinois is 12-4 against the number in
non-conference games over the last six years and
it will be catching some big numbers against the
Buckeyes and Hawkeyes. The balance of this team
is a huge asset and that is what can keep those
games close. Over the last 15 years, Northern
Illinois is 0-12 against Big Ten teams so winning
those games outright might not happen but covering
them can happen as it is 8-4 ATS in those games.
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