Sept. 12, 2006

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HUSKIE FACTS
2006 Record: 0-2
2006 MAC Record: 0-1
Head Coach: Joe Novak
Alma Mater/Year: Miami (OH) 1967
Record at NIU/Yea: 54-62/11th
Career Record/Year: Same
Location: DeKalb, Illinois
Enrollment: 25,208
Conference: Mid-American (West Division)
Colors: Cardinal and Black
Stadium: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium
Capacity: 28,000
Surface: Field Turf
President: John Peters
Associate VP/Athletic Director: Jim Phillips
Ticket Information: 815-752-6800
Website: www.niuhuskies.com

NIU Schedule & Results

HUSKIE HEAD COACH Joe Novak
Northern Illinois Head Coach Joe Novak is in his 11th season at the helm of the Huskie program, having led NIU to six straight winning seasons and four of the last five MAC West Division crowns. The Ohio native owns a career head coaching record of 54-62 (.465) in 10 seasons (all at Northern Illinois). He led NIU to the school's first bowl appearance in 20 seasons in 2004 with a trip to the Silicon Valley Bowl, where the Huskies defeated Troy. In 2003, he was named the AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year after leading Northern Illinois to a 10-2 overall record with wins over Maryland and Alabama. He was the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year in 2002. Novak came to NIU after 12 seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Indiana, during which time the Hoosiers made six bowl appearances. He was the defensive coordinator at Northern Illinois from 1980-83 after coaching stints at Illinois (1977-79) and at his alma mater, Miami (Ohio), from 1974-76. Novak played defensive end for Coach Bo Schembechler at Miami in 1965 and '66. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Miami in 1967 and '68, respectively.

BACK HOME AGAIN:
Northern Illinois continues its three-game September homestand with a Saturday night game versus Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo. It is the second of six home games for the Huskies in 2006, marking the first time NIU has had as many as six home games since the 2003 season.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE:
Saturday's game will mark the 213th game Northern Illinois has played on Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium since 1965, and the Huskies have posted an all-time mark of 121-89-2 (.575) at home during that time. In 10-plus seasons under Joe Novak, NIU is 32-24 (.571) at home; the Huskies have won 31 of their last 38 contests in DeKalb. Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Northern Illinois has gone 15-3 at home, good for a 83.3 winning percentage. The losses during that time have come to Ball State (Oct. 30, 2005), Toledo (Nov. 9, 2004) and last week to Ohio.

NIU AND NOVAK VERSUS THE MAC:
All-time, in 20 total seasons as a member of the league, Northern Illinois owns a record of 76-75-2 (.503) in Mid-American Conference play. Since beginning its second stint in the conference in 1997, NIU and head coach Joe Novak are 41-30 (.577) versus the MAC and the Huskies have claimed at least a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division in four of the last five seasons (2001-2002-2004-2005).

WHEN THE MAC COMES TO TOWN:
At home, Northern is 43-33-1 (.565) in MAC games all-time and has gone 22-14 (.611) under Joe Novak. The Huskies have not lost more than one MAC home game in the last seven seasons.

LAST WEEK:
Northern Illinois suffered its second straight loss, dropping a 35-23 decision to Mid-American Conference foe Ohio Saturday at Huskie Stadium. Garrett Wolfe scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter and when Chris Nendick hit a 36-yard field goal at the 8:50 mark of the second period, the Huskies took a 17-7 lead. Ohio U. started its comeback with a 10-play scoring drive at the end of the half to cut the lead to three, then tallied a pair of third-quarter scores to go up 28-17. A Ken West fumble recovery set up a 14-yard touchdown pass from Phil Horvath to Marcus Perez, but the two-point conversion try failed and Northern trailed by five at the start of the fourth quarter. Ohio's Kalvin McCrae scored his third touchdown of the day on a 24-yard run with 2:31 remaining to provide the final margin as Northern Illinois gave up 35 points to a team from Ohio for the second straight game.

BULLS & HUSKIES - THE SERIES:
Buffalo and Northern Illinois meet for the sixth time all-time, although the teams have not played since 2003. NIU leads the series with Buffalo 4-1 and holds a four-game winning streak over the Bulls dating back to 1970. Buffalo last defeated Northern in the teams' first meeting with a 20-7 win in DeKalb in 1968. The Huskies won home games over the Bulls in 1970 and 2000, and defeated UB in Buffalo in 1999 and 2003.

THE LAST TIME:
The last time Buffalo and Northern Illinois met, NIU posted a convincing 40-9 win over the Bulls in Buffalo. Michael Turner gained 60 of his 163 rushing yards on the game's first play from scrimmage and scored three times on the ground after that. NIU led 31-9 by halftime after scoring twice in the final 1:20 of the half. The Huskies collected 481 yards of total offense as Josh Haldi passed for 261 yards on a 14-of-25 day and P.J. Fleck caught four passes for 142 yards, including a 77-yard play in the second quarter. Buffalo's last trip to DeKalb was not a happy one for the Bulls as the Huskies tied their major college scoring record with 73 points while claiming the largest margin of victory (63 points) since moving up to the current Division I-A ranks in a 73-10 win in 2000.

WINNING WAYS:
Northern Illinois is looking to post its seventh straight winning season in 2006 as the Huskies are currently enjoying the longest string of success since entering the major college ranks in 1969. Head Coach Joe Novak has taken the program from a team that lost 23 straight games from 1996 to 1998 to one that has claimed at least a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division in four of the last five seasons (2001-2002-2004-2005) and won the 2004 Silicon Valley Bowl. NIU won 10 games in 2003 on the heels of an eight-win campaign in 2002, then went on to win nine contests in 2004. The Huskies have claimed four wins over BCS programs since 2001.

STILL SEARCHING:
Despite all of its recent success, including a thrilling 2003 campaign that saw the Huskies burst into the national spotlight with a season-opening overtime win over No. 15 Maryland and go on to claim its biggest road victory ever with a 19-16 win over No. 21 Alabama, one goal that has eluded Northern Illinois is a MAC Championship. Last season ended with the Huskies just 10 seconds shy of that goal as Akron scored on a 36-yard pass play with 10 seconds remaining to hand NIU a heart-breaking 31-30 loss in the MAC Championship game in Detroit.

SLOW STARTING:
Northern Illinois finds itself in a fairly familiar place at this point in the season as the Huskies have experienced slow starts in several of the last six seasons. Since 2000, NIU has reached October with a winning record only once, that the 2003 campaign, and has suffered 11 of its 24 losses (46%) in the first month of the season. In 2000, 2001 and 2004, the Huskies went 2-2 in August and September. In 2002, NIU went 2-3 in August and September and last year, Northern won just one of four September games. Yet in four of those seasons, the Huskies went on to win the MAC West Division title while posting a winning record in all six years.

HE'S NUMBER ONE...:
In your program, and number one on the NCAA rushing and all-purpose lists this week. Yes, it's Huskie All-America candidate Garrett Wolfe, who enters the season's third game ranked first in the nation with his averages of 183.5 rushing and 240.5 all-purpose yards per game. Wolfe, who finished the 2005 season ranked second in the country in rushing with 175.55 yards per game, behind only Memphis' DeAngelo Williams, and in all-purpose yards (200.22 yards per game) behind Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush of USC, has picked up right where he left off. The Chicago native gained 285 all-purpose yards with 171 rushing and 114 receiving versus No. 1 Ohio State, then came back to earn 196 yards on the ground versus Ohio - failing to reach the 200-yard mark only because NIU was forced to go exclusively to the pass on its final drive.

PROJECTING:
If Garrett Wolfe can maintain his rushing and all-purpose numbers through a 12-game regular season schedule, he would finish the year with more than 2,200 rushing and 2,800 all-purpose yards. Both of those totals would rank among the top four single seasons in NCAA Division I-A history. 104 PERCENT?: While watching Wolfe is nothing short of a treat for Huskie fans, Coach Joe Novak would probably prefer to see a little less of No. 1 with the ball. To date, Wolfe has accounted for 104 percent of the Huskies' rushing offense and nearly 60 percent of NIU's total offensive output. How is that rushing percentage possible? Well, Wolfe has 367 yards on the year, but as a team, taking into account yards lost due to sacks, NIU has totalled just 352 rushing yards. While Wolfe is averaging 183.5 rushing yards per game, Northern Illinois is averaging 176.0.

MOVING UP:
After his 196-yard day versus Ohio and more than 170 rushing yards in EACH of his last five games, Garrett Wolfe now ranks third on the Northern Illinois' all-time rushing chart and needs just 93 yards to move into second place. Wolfe has 3,653 yards on 548 career carries in 22 games after posting his 16th career 100-plus yard rushing day versus Ohio. Current San Diego Charger Michael Turner (NIU 2000-03) is the Huskies' career leader with 4,941 yards, while Mark Kellar gained 3,745 yards on the ground from 1971-73. Wolfe also ranks fourth on the Huskies' career chart for all-purpose yards with 4,287 and needs just 81 yards to pass Justin McCareins (1997-2000) and move into third place. All of Wolfe's all-purpose yards have come either rushing or receiving, he does not have any return yards.

DIALING LONG DISTANCE:
The Huskies have tallied seven plays of longer than 25 yards this season and five of those belong to who else but Garrett Wolfe. NIU's senior tailback broke off a pair of long runs versus Ohio, with a 46-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a 33-yard effort in the third period. Wolfe had a season-long 51-yard run versus Ohio State and caught a career-long 65-yard pass against the No. 1 team in the country. Northern Illinois' other two long-yardage efforts -- both of 41 yards -- belong to sophomore receiver Marcus Perez, who caught a 41-yard pass from Phil Horvath in the fourth quarter versus the Bobcats and had a season-long 41-yard kickoff return earlier in the game.

STELLAR GRADE:
Offensive tackle Doug Free continues to dominate his opponents from his left tackle spot on the Huskie line. Free graded out to a phenomenal 95 percent versus Ohio with 62 "plus" plays, seven knockdown blocks and another three "flat back" blocks to put his opponent on his back. His grade is the highest by an NIU offensive lineman this year. The only other player to post a grade above 90 percent was freshman center Eddie Adamski, who came out of the gate with a 91 percent mark and six knockdowns in the Ohio State game.

BRIGHT SPOT:
One of the bright spots on the Huskie defense to date has been middle linebacker Tim McCarthy, who leads Northern Illinois in tackles with 21 in the Huskies' first two games. McCarthy followed a nine-tackle day at Ohio State with 12 stops in the Ohio game. With six starts and over 100 tackles last season, the sophomore is already a "seasoned" player on the NIU defense.

GROWING UP:
Faced with having to replace two receivers who accounted for 108 catches for 1,568 yards and 16 TDs a year ago, the Huskies' have turned to young (in experience) receivers Jarret Carter, Evans Adonis, Marcus Perez, Matt Simon and Greg Turner and tight end Brandon Davis. The sextet entered the 2006 season with just 23 career catches combined. But against Ohio, Carter, Perez, Davis and Simon combined to make 10 grabs for 163 yards, with career days posted by Perez, a sophomore (four catches for 87 yards), Davis (two catches for 36 yards) and Simon (two catches for 32 yards).

FRESHMEN IN ACTION:
Through the first two games of the 2006 season, 14 freshmen have seen action for the Huskies, including five true freshmen and nine redshirt rookies. The true freshmen include one special teamer (long snapper Tommy O'Brien), two defensive players (LB John Tranchitella and DT Kris Cooke) and WR Marcus Lewis and lineman Jason Onyebuagu on offense. Among the redshirts, center Eddie Adamski and linebacker Cory Hanson have earned starts with Adamski starting both games and Hanson getting the start versus Ohio. Six of the nine redshirt freshmen who have played are defenders in linemen Brandon Bice and Anthony Antonacci, backs Spencer Williamson and Jeff Fontana and linebackers Hanson and David Bryant. Offensively, RB Justin Anderson and OG Kevin Skatrud have seen their first collegiate action in the last two weeks.

NENDICK AT 96:
Huskie kicker Chris Nendick has now hit 96 straight PATs and has scored at least one point in all 26 games he has played in his NIU career. Nendick's mark for consecutive games scoring ties him with former Northern kicker John Ivanic (1987-90) atop that list while his consecutive 96 straight PATs are also a school record. The MAC record for consecutive PATs made is 112, set by Miami's John Scott from 1995-98; Nendick already stands second on that list. Nendick hit two field goals versus Ohio State and made one of two threes in the Ohio game. The Naperville, Ill. native also moved into sole possession of ninth place on Northern Illinois' career scoring chart with 187 points.

TRACKING WOLFE:
Wolfe's 285 all-purpose yards versus No. 1 Ohio State - he gained 171 rushing and 114 receiving yards to surpass the 100-yard mark in both categories in the same game for the first time -- was the highest total ever recorded by an NIU back versus a Top 10 opponent. In the game, Wolfe accounted for 83 percent of Northern Illinois' offense as he averaged 9.2 yards every time he touched the ball with 6.6 yards per rush and 22.8 yards per catch. Wolfe excelled in both halves of the game with 155 yards in the first half, including runs of 15 and 22 yards and receptions of 31 yards (on the game's first drive) and 65 yards, and 130 yards in the second half.

BIG TEN DEFENSES CRY WOLFE:
Ohio State is the third straight Big Ten defense which Garrett Wolfe has shredded in the past two seasons. The Chicago senior has averaged 188 rushing yards per game versus three Big Ten opponents, with single game totals of 245 yards (vs. Northwestern, 9/10/05), 171 yards (vs. Ohio State) and 148 yards (vs. Michigan, 9/3/05). Including the receiving totals, Wolfe has totalled 725 all-purpose yards in those three games (241.7 average) with 12 catches for 161 yards in all.

SEVEN STRAIGHT:
Garrett Wolfe is the latest in the line of 1,000-yard rushers for Northern Illinois as the Huskies have had a player surpass the century mark in each of the last seven seasons. That streak is tied with Minnesota for the second-longest in the nation, behind only Texas (10 straight 1,000-yard seasons). With 1,656 rushing yards in 2004 and 1,580 in just nine games a year ago, Wolfe followed Michael Turner (2002 and 2003), Thomas Hammock (2000 and 2001) and William Andrews (1999) in the century club. He now looks to become the first player in NIU history to post three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

ALL-PURPOSE THREAT:
One of the goals of the Huskies' offensive coaches was to get Wolfe more involved in the passing game in 2006 and that happened in a big way versus Ohio State. Wolfe tallied his second career 100-yard receiving day with a career-high 114 yards on five catches, including the Huskies' lone TD of the day, on a four-yard reception in which he split two defenders and ran over another on his way to the end zone. He also tallied his career longest reception with a 65-yard catch and run in the first quarter.

MAC HONORS:
For his efforts versus the Buckeyes, which included 171 yards rushing on 26 carries, 114 receiving yards on five catches and a total of 285 all-purpose yards, Wolfe was named the Mid-American Conference's West Division Offensive Player of the Week for the eighth time in his career. Wolfe earned the honor four times in 2004 and received the Offensive POW Award three times last year.

TELEVISION TIME:
NIU is currently scheduled to appear on television 10 times this season, with an 11th broadcast (the Iowa game) likely to be announced in October. The Huskies opener at Ohio State was televised to nearly half (47%) of the country by ABC Sports, the second consecutive season that the Huskies opened the season on network television. ESPN's family of networks will televise three games, including the Oct. 8 Sunday night contest at Miami (OH) on ESPN, the game versus Toledo on Tuesday, Nov. 7 on ESPN2 and the Central Michigan contest Friday, Nov. 17 on ESPNU. Comcast SportsNet will air four games from DeKalb, including all three September home contests and road games at Ball State and Eastern Michigan. NIU appeared on TV nine times in 2005 and 10 times in 2004.

TV TALLY:
In 40 seasons of televised games, Northern Illinois is 43-44-1 all-time on television, including a 21-14 mark since the start of the 2001 season. NIU went 5-4 in its nine television appearances last year and posted an impressive 8-2 mark on TV in 2004. The Huskies appeared on ABC once and on ESPN or ESPN2 four times last season after three ESPN network appearances the previous year.

IN THE CAPTAIN'S CHAIR:
Four NIU fifth-year seniors were elected team captains for the 2006 season by their teammates following the 2006 spring practices. Tailback Garrett Wolfe (Chicago, Ill.), offensive tackle Doug Free (Manitowoc, Wisc.), safety Dustin Utschig (Winneconne, Wisc.) and defensive end Ken West (Calumet City, Ill.) were tabbed as the team's top leaders.

MAC MEDIA TABS NIU AS PRESEASON FAVORITE:
Northern Illinois was picked to win the MAC Championship game on 37 of 50 ballots turned in by members of the MAC News Media Association (MNMA). The Huskies were selected to win the West Division title by 39 of 50 voters, accumulating 286 points to 244 for Toledo, the second place choice in the West. The Rockets earned 10 first-place votes while Western Michigan collected the other first place vote in the West and had 172 total points. Central Michigan earned 155 points, Ball State 120 and Eastern Michigan 73.

WATCH LISTS:
Wolfe and Free have received most of the preseason accolades for the Huskies and so far, their names appear on several of the "Watch Lists" for some of the nation's most prestigious awards. Wolfe is one of just 35 players on the Walter Camp Player of the Year list and has also been tabbed as a player to watch by the Maxwell Award and was named to the Doak Walker Award list, which goes to the nation's top running back. Free has received recognition on both the Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy listings.

WOLFE WATCHERS:
Northern Illinois tailback Garrett Wolfe has garnered national attention during the offseason and it has continued this preseason. Wolfe, who entered the season as the leading returning rusher in the nation after averaging 175.6 rushing yards per game and 200.2 all-purpose yards per game last season, was named to the prestigious Preseason Playboy All-America team and has been mentioned as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Wolfe was featured as one of Sports Illustrated's "Big Men on Campus" and has garnered feature articles in the Chicago Tribune, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, USA Today and New York Times. Wolfe also shot a segment with Desmond Howard for "ESPN's College GameDay" which aired Saturday prior to the Ohio State game.

FREE FOR ALL:
Senior Doug Free has been a constant on the Northern Illinois offensive line for each of the last 38 games. The Wisconsin native began his starting streak in the opening game of the 2003 season and has been a fixture in the NIU starting line-up ever since.

Thirty-six of those starts have come at left tackle but at the end of the 2004 season, Free started a pair of games at tight end. Nicknamed "Doug Freak" for his 29-inch vertical jump, 5-second 40 time and 565-pound squat lift, Free is listed as one of the top offensive tackles in the nation by a multitude of preseason publications and as a potential early round draft choice by Mel Kiper. After arriving in DeKalb as a 6-5, 260-pound true freshman, Free is now a 6-7, 312-pound force for the Huskies.

THE NEXT LEVEL:
After 11 former Huskies spent time in NFL training camps this preseason, five have now made a 53-man roster. Established veterans OT Ryan Diem (Indianapolis Colts; NIU 1997-2000), WR Justin McCareins (New York Jets; NIU 1997-2000), DT Hollis Thomas (New Orleans Saints; NIU 1993-95) and TB Michael Turner (San Diego Chargers; NIU 2000-2003) have been joined by rookie WR Sam Hurd (2002-05) with the Cowboys.

DOING THEIR PART:
Two of Northern's Huskies in the Pros, Ryan Diem and Justin McCareins, have made a commitment to helping future generations of NIU student-athletes as they are recent donors to the new Academic and Athletic Performance Center. The $14 million facility is under construction in the end zone of Huskie Stadium and will service ALL 486 Northern Illinois student-athletes in 17 sports programs. The AAPC, scheduled to be completed in August 2007, will house an Academic Center, with study rooms, a computer lab, a classroom and offices for the Student Services staff, along with a new weight room, athletic training room and football team locker room. The NIU football coaches will have new offices in the facility, which will also have patios overlooking Brigham Field for entertaining.

ON THE AIR

Television
ComcastSportsNet will televise the Northern Illinois-Ohio game, the first of three straight broadcasts on the Chicago-based network. Again this year, WGN-AM radio's Dave Kaplan (play-by-play) and Tom Waddle (color analyst) call the action while Jim Blaney handles sideline duties.

Radio
The Huskie Sports Network will broadcast the game with the pregame show beginning at 6:00 p.m. (Central). Bill Baker returns for his 27th season as the "voice" of the Huskies while analyst Mark Lindo is in his 22nd season on the broadcast team. Casey Kahler joins the crew this season as the adidas sideline reporter. In 2006, the Huskie Sports Network broadcast will be heard on WLBK-AM 1360 (DeKalb), WSCR-AM 670(Chicago), WSEY-FM 95.7 (Rockford/Freeport/Oregon/Sterling/Dixon), WRMN-AM 1410 (Elgin) and WRHL-AM 1060 (Rochelle). The NIU broadcast can also be heard over the internet via the website of Chicago radio station 670 The Score. Go to www.670thescore.com.

Inside Huskie Sports
Each week, Head Coach Joe Novak and host Brad Hoey review the previous week's highlights and preview the upcoming contest on "Inside Huskie Sports." The 30-minute show airs each Thursday on Comcast SportsNet at 4:30 p.m. with a replay Fridays at 4:30 p.m.

Join Novak and Hoey for the weekly taping of "Inside Huskie Sports" at Fatty's Pub and Grille located at 1312 West Lincoln Highway in DeKalb. The show tapes Mondays at 6:30 p.m. and includes audience participation and prizes.

NIU Live
Join Northern Illinois Athletic Director Jim Phillips, WSCR Sports Director Andy Garcia and members of the Huskie coaching staff (including football coach Joe Novak) weekly on "NIU Live." A 30-minute program highlighting the best in Northern Illinois Athletics, NIU Live airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on 670 The Score, a powerful 50,000-watt station which can be heard throughout the Midwest.

Coaches' Corner
Every Thursday from 12:15-1 p.m., get the latest on the Huskies from NIU Head Coach Joe Novak and host Bill Baker from the "Coaches Corner". The Coaches Corner will originate from The Junction Eating Place prior to road games and from the Holmes Student Center in advance of home contests. The show can be heard on WLBK 1360 AM, the flagship station of the Huskie Radio Network.