Nov. 20, 2007

Complete Notes in PDF Format

2007 Northern Illinois Football
Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Ball State Cardinals
Nov. 24, 2007 - 3 p.m. (CST) - Comcast SportsNet Chicago
DeKalb, Ill. - Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium (24,000)

HUSKIE FACTS
2007 Record: 2-9
2007 MAC Record: 1-5
Head Coach: Joe Novak
Alma Mater/Year: Miami (OH) 1967
Record at NIU/Year: 63-75/12th
Career Record/Year: Same
Location: DeKalb, Illinois
Enrollment: 25,254
Conference: Mid-American (West Division)
Colors: Cardinal and Black
Stadium: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium
Surface/Capacity: Field Turf /24,000
President: Dr. John Peters
Associate VP/Athletic Director: Dr. Jim Phillips
Ticket Information: 815-752-6800

NIU SCHEDULE & RESULTS

HUSKIE HEAD COACH JOE NOVAK
The dean of Mid-American Conference coaches, Joe Novak is in his 12th season at the helm of the Northern Illinois football program and owns a career and NIU record of 63-75 as a head coach. Novak led the Huskies to a school-record seven consecutive Football Bowl Championship Subdivision winning seasons from 2000-06, along with post-season appearances in each of the last three years. Northern Illinois won or shared the MAC West title in four of the last six years. Novak ranks tied for eighth among MAC coaches all-time in victories (62) and is tied for eighth in league wins (47). The Huskies' victory in the 2004 Silicon Valley Classic marked NIU's first bowl game in 21 seasons, since the year Novak helped Northern Illinois to the California Bowl as the Huskies' defensive coordinator. Novak spent four seasons (1980-83) in that role on Bill Mallory's staff before following Mallory to Indiana for 12 seasons and making six bowl trips. A native of Mentor, Ohio, Novak played for Bo Schembechler at Miami (Ohio) and began his collegiate coaching career there in 1974.

SERIES FACTS
Overall: BSU leads 18-14-2
In DeKalb: BSU leads 10-6-2
In Muncie: Series tied 8-8
In MAC Games: BSU leads 13-8
First Meeting: BSU 6, NIU 6 (Oct. 4, 1941)
Last Meeting: NIU 40, BSU 28 (Sept. 30, 2006)

CARDINALS' FACTS
2007 Record: 6-5
2007 MAC Record: 4-2
Head Coach: Brady Hoke
Alma Mater/Year: Ball State 1982
Record at BSU/Year: 21-36/5th
Career Record/Year: Same
Location: Muncie, Ind.
Enrollment: 17,285
Conference: Mid-American
Colors: Cardinal and White
Stadium: Scheumann
Surface/Capacity: FieldTurf/22,500
President: Dr. Jo Ann M. Gora
Athletic Director: Tom Collins
Ticket Information: 1-888-BSU-TICKET or 765-285-1474

BSU SCHEDULE & RESULTS

NEWS & NOTES

SEASON FINALE: Northern Illinois (2-9, 1-5 MAC) closes out the 2007 campaign by playing host to MAC West Division rival Ball State (6-5, 4-2) at Huskie Stadium.

SENIOR SALUTE: The Huskies will honor its nine-member senior class, eight of whom are Illinois "locals," prior to kickoff Saturday, along with their parents. Although small in number, this year's seniors have been a part of the winningest era in Northern Illinois football. They have been a part of three winning seasons, two MAC West titles and two bowl appearances while helping make Huskie Stadium a tough place to play, winning 75 percent of their home games. Off the field, all nine seniors will leave Northern Illinois with their undergraduate degrees. The 2007 Northern Illinois football senior class:
OT Chris Acevedo Lyons, Ill.
TE Brandon Davis Broadview, Ill.
DT Zach Holycross Georgetown, Ill.
LB Saul Ibarra Elmwood Park, Ill.
TE Tom Kelly Elgin, Ill.
K Chris Nendick Naperville, Ill.
RB Cas Prime Janesville, Wisc.
S Mark Reiter New Lenox, Ill.
NG Adam Schroeder Loves Park, Ill.

TROPHY GAME: Northern Illinois and Ball State have agreed to make their annual MAC match-up the latest college football "trophy game" to spur interest in one of the Huskies' oldest, and closest, league rivalries. Local DeKalb artist and sculptor Renee' Bemis is designing a trophy depicting a cornstalk, the image chosen in a tribute to the locales of both institutions. The actual trophy will make its debut at next year's NIU-Ball State game although a clay model of "The Stalk" is expected to be on display Saturday.

HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Huskies are 127-92-2 (.579) on Brigham Field since moving to Huskie Stadium in 1966. Under Joe Novak, Northern Illinois is 37-28 (.569) at home over the last 11 seasons and has won 36 of its last 47 contests in DeKalb. Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Northern Illinois is 20-7 at home for a winning percentage of 74 percent.

MAC MARK: Northern Illinois enters the Ball State game with an even 82-82-2 (.500) mark in the Mid-American Conference in 20 total seasons as a member of the league. Since beginning its second stint in the MAC in 1997, NIU and head coach Joe Novak are 47-37 (.559) versus its conference foes.

WELCOME MAC: At home, Northern is 46-36-1 (.560) in MAC games all-time and has gone 25-17 (.595) under Joe Novak. NIU is 1-2 in its league home games so far this year after defeating Kent State, 27-20, in its last Huskie Stadium outing. Earlier this year, NIU dropped a two-point decision to Eastern Michigan (Sept. 15) and a four-point game to Western Michigan (Oct. 13) at home.

NOVAK'S NUMBERS: In his 12th season at the helm of the Huskie program, NIU Head Coach Joe Novak is the dean of Mid-American Conference coaches. Novak, who ranks second all-time at NIU in games coached (138) and is third in victories (63), tied former Western Michigan coach Al Molde (1987-96) for eighth place on the MAC career wins list with 62 (his first win came before NIU re-joined the league). Novak's 47 victories in league games puts him in an eighth place tie with Gary Blackney (BGSU, 1991-99) and Paul Schudel (BSU, 1985-94).

TRUE INDICATION: Novak's numbers since 1996, his first season as the NIU head coach, do not provide a true indication of his success in DeKalb as he spent the first three years of his tenure tearing down and rebuilding the football program from scratch. After enduring a 3-34 start to his head coaching ledger, the Ohio native is 60-41 (.594 winning percentage) since the fifth game of the 1999 season. After losing their first four games in 1999, the Huskies went 5-2 and then posted seven straight winning campaigns from 2000-07 (one of only 18 FBS programs to do so) before close losses and a record number of injuries derailed this season.

A FOR EFFORT: Northern Illinois produced another excellent effort but fell to a bowl-bound Navy team in Annapolis last week. NIU pulled within four points of the Midshipmen in the fourth quarter but could not get any closer. The Huskies got a gutty performance from back-up quarterback Ryan Morris, who completed 21-of-35 passes for 206 yards and two TDs, while a determined Huskie defense forced Navy into a season-high three punts while holding the Midshipmen five points below their season scoring average.

SEE SAW SERIES: The series between Northern Illinois and Ball State, which dates back to 1941, has been marked by periods of domination by one team or the other. NIU owns the most recent "streak" as the Huskies have won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams dating back to 1999. Prior to that, Ball State had claimed seven straight wins over the Huskies and won 16 of 17 meetings between 1974 and 1998. Northern earned wins in six of seven games, with a 10-10 tie thrown in, from 1966-73.

REMEMBERING...: One of the greatest performances in Huskie history came a year ago versus Ball State (Sept. 30) when tailback Garrett Wolfe rushed for a school record 353 yards on 31 carries to lead Northern Illinois to a 40-28 victory in Muncie. Wolfe put on an amazing display with touchdown runs of 51, 48 and 53 yards while becoming the first player in NCAA FBS history to reach the 1,000-yard mark in the fifth game of the season. Still, Ball State battled with QB Nate Davis adding a pair of late touchdown passes to pull the Cardinals within 12 points as he threw for 298 yards on the night.

THANKSGIVING WEEK: NIU Head Coach Joe Novak will slightly alter the Huskies' normal practice schedule to accommodate the Thanksgiving holiday. With school closed beginning Wednesday, Northern Illinois will practice Wednesday morning and then gather that evening to share a Thanksgiving dinner. Only the travel squad will practice early Thursday morning before Novak dismisses that group until late Friday afternoon when the team resumes its pregame routine.

WORKHORSE: Justin Anderson carried the load for the NIU offense versus Navy as the sophomore carried the ball a season-high 39 times for 140 yards and caught seven passes for 36 yards. In all, Anderson touched the ball on 46 of the Huskies' 79 offensive plays, posting his seventh 100-yard game (in nine starts) this season in the process. He totaled 176 all-purpose yards versus Navy for his second-highest total of the season.

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: Entering the Navy game, Northern Illinois' performance on fourth down had been unremarkable as the Huskies converted just 3 of 12 (25 percent) of their fourth-down tries in its first 10 games of the season. But against Navy, everything clicked for the Huskies on fourth down as the NIU offense converted all seven of their fourth down attempts in the game. Northern Illinois' second touchdown came on a one-yard Justin Anderson run on fourth down, and during its last drive of the game (ending in a Chris Nendick missed field goal), Ryan Morris and crew converted on three fourth down plays, including a fourth and 10.

TOP FROSH: NIU leading tackler Alex Kube, a redshirt freshman from Cary, Ill., surpassed the 100-tackle threshold with a career-best and team season high 15 stops, nine solo, in the Navy game. Kube is the leading freshman tackler in the country with his average of 10.09 tackles per game and 111 total stops on the year. He ranks sixth in the MAC and 31st in the country in tackles and has made 10 or more stops in seven games.

13 DEFENDERS: Northern Illinois used just 13 players on defense Saturday at Navy, the lowest total of the season. The only back-ups to see the field on defense Saturday were safety Spencer Williamson and nose guard Mike Krause. Six players - ends Larry English and Brandon Bice, cornerbacks Chase Carter and Melvin Rice, safety Bradley Pruitt and linebacker John Tranchitella - were on the field for every play while Alex Kube (64), Zach Larsen (64) and Alex Krutsch (63) missed only one or two snaps. Coaches credited Kube with 17 tackles, counted 16 stops for Tranchitella (press box totals said 8) and 12 for Larsen.

RECORD RECEIVER: Tailback Justin Anderson has rewritten the Huskie record-book as a pass catcher this year. With seven receptions versus Navy, Anderson broke NIU's 44-year old record for most catches by a tailback in a single season. Anderson is now tied with Matt Simon for the team lead with 45 catches, surpassing the 43 by Jack Dean in 1963. He has at least one catch in every game this year and has caught four or more passes in six games. With eight catches versus Southern Illinois, Anderson posted the highest single-game catch total for an NIU running back in at least 25 years, since prior to the 1983 season.

JUST-IN TIME: With his seventh 100-yard game of the season, Anderson moved into a tie for seventh on the NIU list for 100-yard games in a season while his 268 carries this year is tied for ninth on Northern Illinois' single season list. Except for a two-yard loss on his last carry versus Kent State (when he sat out most of the second half due to injury) that knocked his game total to 98 yards, Anderson would have eight 100-yard efforts. He continues to rank second on the team in receiving and has scored 11 of Northern Illinois' 25 touchdowns on the year (eight rushing, three receiving) while accounting for 76 percent of the team's rushing yardage. He has scored touchdowns in seven of the Huskies' 11 games. Anderson is averaging 139 rushing yards per game in NIU's six MAC contests so far this year and has six 130-yard efforts.

NOBODY DOES IT BETTER: Justin Anderson became the latest Northern Illinois tailback to tally a 1,000-yard season when the sophomore surpassed the total versus Kent State. Northern Illinois is the only school in the country to have a running back pass the 1,000-yard mark in each of the last nine years, every season since 1999. A list of the Huskies' 1,000-yard rushers since 1999 with their season rushing totals follows:
1999 William Andrews 1,127
2000 Thomas Hammock 1,083
2001 Thomas Hammock 1,096
2002 Michael Turner 1,915
2003 Michael Turner 1,648
2004 Garrett Wolfe 1,656
2005 Garrett Wolfe 1,580
2006 Garrett Wolfe 1,928
2007 Justin Anderson (to date) 1,236

21 GRAND: Since 1948, there have been 21 1,000-yard rushing seasons recorded by 12 different Huskie running backs, including Justin Anderson this season. Anderson's total of 1,236 rushing yards in 2007 now ranks 13th on the NIU single-season rushing list. He needs 104 yards in the Huskies' final game to move into the Northern Illinois single season top 10. His current yardage total ranks Anderson second all-time among NIU sophomores, behind only former teammate Garrett Wolfe (1,656 yards in 2004).

A FINE LINE: After entering the season with two new starters and just one senior, the Huskie offensive line has proven to be one of the bright spots on the NIU offense in 2007. The quintet of tackles Chris Acevedo and Jon Brost, guards Kevin Skatrud and Jason Onyebuagu and center Eddie Adamski haved paved the way for seven 100-yard rushing games, five 200-yard passing games by Huskie quarterbacks and four 200-yard receiving days. For the ninth straight year, an NIU line has paved the way for a 1,000-yard rusher (Justin Anderson), while their 16 sacks surrendered through 10 games ranks tied for 31st in the country for fewest sacks allowed. The offensive line has been helped by its ability (knock on wood) to stay healthy as Adamski, Brost, Onyebuagu and Acevedo are the only players on offense to start every game this season. Four of the five starters, along with reserves Tony Holmes and Tim Mayerbock, will be back next season.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: Junior offensive tackle Jon Brost was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Football Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America to become NIU's 11th first-team All-District honoree in the last six years. Brost, an electrical engineering major, carries a 3.56 grade point average. Brost has played every snap at left tackle for the Huskies this year. The Maple Grove, Minn. native is now eligible for Academic All-America consideration.

RARE FEAT: Alex Kube is set to become the first freshman to lead the Huskies in tackles in 31 years, since all-time leader Frank Lewandoski started his run of four straight seasons as NIU's leading tackler in his freshman season of 1976. Kube was born in 1987, 11 years AFTER Lewandoski led the team in his rookie campaign. Lewandoski is the only NIU player (since tackle records began in 1971) to lead the Huskies in tackles four times.

BREAKOUT SEASON: Matt Simon continues his stellar season as the junior recorded his fourth 100-yard receiving day of the season with five grabs for 100 yards and two touchdowns at Navy. The Farmington, Minn. product has caught at least one pass in every game this season; his 883 yards are the eighth-highest single-season total in Northern Illinois history while his 19.6 yards per catch average is currently fourth on the NIU season charts. He has 553 MORE receiving yards than NIU's next-highest total (Davis with 330), and ranks 35th nationally in receiving yards.

LONG PLAY MAN: Simon added to his record as NIU's long play specialist with TD grabs of 46 and 24 yards at Navy. He has six of the Huskies' nine "long" (25 yards or more) passing plays this year. His TD catches have gone for 59 (vs. Idaho, Western Michigan), 92 (Central Michigan), 46 and 24 (Navy). He also pulled down receptions of 38 (Wisconsin) and 50 (Kent State) yards.

MAC HONORS: Sophomore defensive end Brandon Bice picked up MAC West Defensive Player of the Week honors Monday after making a career-best eight tackles with 1.5 quarterback sacks and two tackles for loss in NIU's win over Kent State. Bice, who ranks third among Huskie defensive linemen in tackles with 38, collected the first sacks of his career and was in on a total of four negative yardage tackles while on the field for a total of 85 plays in the KSU game.

SCORING STREAK: Chris Nendick has scored at least one point in every game of his Huskie career, a school-record 48 straight contests, dating back to the first game of his freshman season. Nendick's streak is tied for the second-longest in the nation along with Oregon State's Alexis Serna and Louisville's Art Carmody. Travis Bell of Georgia Tech owns the longest scoring streak in the nation at 49 consecutive games.

RELIABLE RELIEVER: Back-up quarterback Ryan Morris made his second career start, and second start of the season, versus Navy and responded with his best performance of the year. With Dan Nicholson sidelined by a concussion, Morris completed 21-of-35 passes for 206 yards and two scores in the game after starting the game by completing seven of his first nine throws for 91 yards. In October versus Western Michigan in his first start, the former walk-on completed 13-of-25 passes for 144 yards in his first career start. In that game, he recorded the first interception-free game by NIU in 14 outings and over a year, since the 2006 Ball State game (Sept. 30).

39/7/20: With the addition of tight end Brandon Beal, who made his first career start last week at Navy, 39 different players now have started games for NIU in 2007 as only seven - four on offense and three on defense - have started every game this season. The seven "survivors" (11-game starters) so far this year are LB Josh Allen, CB Chase Carter and DE Larry English on defense and offensive linemen Eddie Adamski (C), Jon Brost (T), Chris Acevedo (T) and Jason Onyebuagu (G). In addition, 20 players have made their first career appearance in the starting line-up, including Beal, receivers Marcus Lewis and Evans Adonis and defensive tackle (and former offensive guard) Dan Keller.

LONG DISTANCE: In his third season as NIU's punter, Andy Dittbenner is enjoying the best year of his career, distance-wise; he currently ranks 14th nationally with a punting average of 44.2 with 15 of his 53 punts downed inside the 20. At this rate, the junior will destroy the Northern Illinois record for single season punting average of 41.78 yards, set by Jimmy Erwin in 2001 on 60 punts.

INJURY MONSTER: The rash of injuries that have hit Northern Illinois in 2007 reached record proportions. To date, 14 starters have missed at least one full game due to injury. In addition, 25 players listed on the depth chart at one point this season have lost at least one game to injury, with 24 of those spending multiple games on the sideline. In all, 13 players - NG Adam Schroeder, TB Montell Clanton, DT Craig Rusch, DE Anthony Antonacci, LB Saul Ibarra, TE David Koronkiewicz, DT Zach Holycross, DE Jake Coffman, RB Ricky Crider and DE John Hopkins, MLB Tim McCarthy, RB Cas Prime and WR Marcus Perez were sidelined for the year. Three of the Huskies top four wide receivers - Britt Davis, Perez and Greg Turner along with three tight ends (Brandon Davis, Reed Cunningham, Koronkiewicz) missed multiple games. The latest to go down was reserve tailback and special teams expert Chad Spann, who suffered a torn knee ligament versus Kent State.

D-LINE D-MOLISHED: No position has been hit with injuries as hard as the defensive line. Nine players on NIU's defensive line have missed time due to injury with six lost for the season. In fact, it is easier to make a listing of the NIU defensive linemen who have NOT been injured this year. Starters Larry English and Alex Krutsch are the lone defensive linemen to play in every game this season although the interior line has been helped of late by the return of freshmen Mike Krause and D.J. Pirkle. Craig Rusch, Anthony Antonacci, Adam Schroeder, Zach Holycross, Mike Krause, D.J. Pirkle, Jake Coffman, John Hopkins and Brandon Bice have all missed games.

SENIOR SHORTAGE: NIU opened the season with only nine seniors on the roster and only four of those - LT Chris Acevedo, TE Brandon Davis, SS Mark Reiter and K Chris Nendick - have played significant roles for the Huskies in 2007. Acevedo, Davis and Reiter have started 11, six and six games for Northern Illinois, respectively, this year while Nendick is finishing up his fourth year as the Huskies' starting kicker. Four seniors - NG Adam Schroeder, LB Saul Ibarra, DT Zach Holycross and RB Cas Prime - are among those out for the season due to injury.

STALWARTS: With all the injuries up front, a trio of defensive linemen have logged more than their share of playing time in 2007. Defensive end Larry English leads the way as he has been in on all but 22 (828) of NIU's 850 plays, or 97.4 percent, including every defensive down of the Temple, Eastern Michigan, Navy and Kent State games. On the inside, tackle Alex Krutsch has not missed a game and been on the field for 711 plays (83.6 percent). Despite missing the Idaho game with a hip pointer, Brandon Bice has barely left the field since he returned and has totaled 657 plays or 77.3 percent of the team's total.

POSITIVE NEGATIVE YARDAGE: NIU defensive end Larry English has at least one tackle for loss or quarterback sack in nine of NIU's last 10 games after he was limited to six tackles (coaches' totals) Saturday at Navy. The Aurora, Ill. native is tied for first in the MAC and 11th in the country in quarterback sacks with 9.5 (0.86/game) and ranks tied for second in the league and 14th in the country in tackles for loss with 16 (1.45/game). He ranks fourth on the team, and leads all defensive linemen, with 64 tackles in 2007.

CHART CLIMBER: English continues to make his mark on the NIU record books as the junior now needs only one-half sack to tie Scott Kellar for second place on the Huskies' all-time list. Cary Caliendo (31 sacks) is the NIU record-holder, while Kellar has 23, followed by English with 22.5. His 39 career tackles for loss are tied for sixth on the NIU records list (with Max Gill). English's 9.5 QB sacks this year are fifth-best on the NIU single-season chart while his 16 TFLs match his 2006 total and are tied for fourth. OH SO CLOSE: Despite the injuries and the number of players who have started and played for the first time in 2007, four of NIU's nine losses have hinged on just a play or two. Northern Illinois has lost games by one (Temple), two (Eastern Michigan), three (Southern Illinois) and four (Western Michigan) points. Temple was helped by a pair of NIU missed extra points, EMU won when penalties made a potential game-winning field goal a 50-yard try and SIU triumphed after recovering an on-side kick and catching two tipped passes for scores in the final minute. Those four losses have come by a total of 10 points.

DOWN PAT: NIU senior kicker Chris Nendick has claimed the NIU all-time records for career PATs made and attempted this season, surpassing the totals of Steve Azar (2000-03), while also climbing into the upper echelons of the Mid-American Conference charts in each category. Nendick has hit 158-of-162 extra point attempts in his career which ranks third in league history in PATs made and fourth in attempts. His 329 career points (third-best at NIU) are sixth in MAC history and third all-time among kickers. The Naperville product ranks fourth in the NCAA among active kickers in career PATs made and is fifth in scoring.

HANG TIME: Punter Andy Dittbenner is moving up the Huskie career punting charts as well. The junior's current career punting average of 40.17 yards would rank fourth all-time at NIU and be the top mark since school record-holder Mike Kent's 40.6 average from 1985-86. Dittbenner's 162 punts and 6,508 punting yards rank eighth on the NIU career lists as he chases seventh-place Jimmy Erwin (2000-02) in both categories.

INTRODUCING...: Twenty-one different players have made their Huskie debuts in 2007, including 11 redshirt freshmen, seven true freshmen, transfers Anthony Mason and Chase Carter, and junior Vincent Matthew. True freshmen John Hopkins, D.J. Pirkle, Chad Spann, Patrick George, Nolan Owen, Landon Cox and Kyle Skarb have all seen playing time this year. NIU's redshirt rookies are Alex Kube, Ed Jackson, Mike Lepper, Bryan Beckner, Ricky Crider, Justin Stewart, Jake Coffman, Mike Krause, Jason Cruikshank, Tyler Clasey and Vernon Sims with Kube (S), Jackson (DT), Pirkle (NG), Beckner (TE) and Krause (NG) all starting at least one game. Included in the group are six current or former walk-ons.

HITTING THE AIRWAVES: Saturday's Comcast SportsNet Chicago broadcast of the NIU-Ball State game is the 10th Northern Illinois football game to air on television in 2007. NIU has appeared on national television 14 times since 2004, with 42 total games aired. Comcast SportsNet Chicago aired four Huskie home games this season while last week's NIU-Navy contest was broadcast by CSTV. Northern Illinois' games versus Eastern and Central Michigan were selected as the ESPN Plus MAC Games of the Week and were picked up by ESPN GamePlan. ESPNU aired the Iowa game, and the regionally syndicated telecast of the Idaho contest also was available through ESPN GamePlan. The Huskies' Oct. 20 tilt at Wisconsin was shown on the Big Ten Network.

OLD SCHOOL: The NIU-Toledo game, which was broadcast on a tape-delayed basis in the Toledo market and on-line, marked just the second time in Northern's last 24 contests - since Nov. 5, 2005 when Northern Illinois faced Central Michigan in Mt. Pleasant - that a Huskie football game was NOT 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. The streak of 21 consecutive broadcast games ended with the Temple game earlier this season. During that 21-game 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.

TAILBACK TIMES TWO: With Justin Anderson limited during the second half of the Kent State game, sophomore David Bryant had a chance to shine and the St. Louis product rushed for a career-best 110 yards on 28 carries to record the first 100-yard day of his NIU tenure. Bryant entered the game with just 90 career rushing yards on 15 carries after spending the 2006 campaign at linebacker, but surpassed both numbers in just a little over one half of work against the Golden Flashes.

CALLING ALL CAPTAINS: Northern Illinois teammates elected four juniors as captains for the 2007 season, the first time under Joe Novak that the permanent captains do not include a senior. Unfortunately, three of those four captains - wide receiver Britt Davis, quarterback Dan Nicholson and linebacker Tim McCarthy - have missed at least one game due to injury, leaving defensive end Larry English to carry the captain's mantle by himself in several games.

HAPPY RETURNS: Chase Carter brought his first career pick-off back 95 yards for a score versus Idaho, tying him for the eighth-longest scoring play in Northern Illinois history, and recording the second-longest interception return TD ever (behind Dave Petway's 100-yard INT return versus SIU in 1977). Then, by bringing his second interception (versus Temple) back 25 yards, Carter broke the NIU record for interception return yards in a season with 120. That total also ranks 10th on the school's CAREER list for INT returns.

BIG PICK: Sophomore linebacker John Tranchitella made one of his biggest plays of the season to preserve the Huskies' 27-20 win over Kent State as he intercepted KSU QB Jon Brown at the NIU 10-yard line to halt the Golden Flashes' final drive with 1:14 on the clock. Tranchitella's interception was his second of the season, tying him for the team lead, and the team's seventh of the year.

NICHOLSON'S NUMBERS: Junior quarterback Dan Nicholson is climbing the NIU single season and career passing charts after just 14 career starts. His 151 completions are the eighth-best single season total and his 60.9 completion percentage ranks fourth in the single season record book as do his 181.4 yards per game. Nicholson already has passed for 3,112 yards to become just the ninth Huskie quarterback to reach that mark. His 270 completions rank seventh in Huskie history while his 458 pass attempts are 10th.

DOMINATING DAY: Defensive end Larry English's five sacks versus Idaho remains the top single-game performance by any FBS defender this season as the junior from Aurora sacked Vandals' QB Nathan Enderle five times to break the school single-game record he set last year versus Temple (4.5). English also was credited with five quarterback pressures and a career-high 12 tackles versus Idaho. He forced a fumble and recovered it in the end zone for his first career score. Despite playing 90 of the Huskies' 95 defensive plays, his game-saving sack on the final play of the game preserved the NIU victory. For his efforts, English was named the MAC West Defensive Player of the Week and earned the FWAA Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week award.

BITS 'N PIECES: Dan Nicholson set a school record for most consecutive pass completions versus Southern Illinois when he connected on 15 straight passes... Matt Simon's career-best and team season-high nine-catch, 205-yard effort versus Central Michigan was the sixth 200-yard receiving day in NIU history, highlighted by a 92-yard touchdown play, the fourth-longest in school history...Simon also tallied the first punt block of his Huskie career at Idaho. The block was recovered by Jeff Fontana in the end zone for a Northern touchdown...NIU scored a touchdown on its first drive of the game for the first time this season at Navy when QB Ryan Morris hit Matt Simon with a 46-yard scoring toss to give the Huskies an early 7-0 lead... Led by cornerbacks Melvin Rice (6) and Chase Carter (5) and linebacker John Tranchitella (5), NIU has recorded 33 pass break-ups in 2007, surpassing its 2006 total of 30 PBUs with one game still to play.

EVERY WHICH WAY: Huskie opponents have scored in nearly every way this season with a punt return (Idaho), a kickoff return (Central Michigan), two interception returns (SIU), and a fumble recovery and return (Temple). Northern Illinois has scored three "other" TDs of its own - with all of those coming in the Idaho game - on a blocked punt recovery in the end zone by Jeff Fontana, Larry English's fumble recovery in the end zone and Chase Carter's 95-yard interception return.

YORDON CENTER DEDICATED: On Sept. 8, 2007, NIU officially dedicated the new Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon Center. Located adjacent to the North End Zone of Huskie Stadium, the Yordon Center houses nearly all of Northern Illinois' student-athlete support units and serves as the home for the Huskie Football team. From the "smart" classrooms in the academic center to the rehabilitation pools in the athletic training center to the expandable storage area in the equipment room, everything about the Yordon Center says "first-class." The football team meets together in the tiered, 150-seat auditorium while technology-enhanced position meeting rooms, coaches offices overlooking Brigham Field and a locker room large enough to accommodate the entire team highlight the "football" areas of the 62,000-square foot building. Construction on the $14-million privately-funded facility began in June 2006. It is named for Northern Illinois supporters Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon, who in November 2006 announced a $2.5 million gift to the project, the largest gift to Huskie Athletics in the 107-year history of the institution.

HUSKIES IN THE NFL: As the National Football League opened regular season play, seven former NIU players were on team rosters, including 2007 draft choices RB Garrett Wolfe (Chicago Bears) and OT Doug Free (Dallas Cowboys). The rest of the Huskie NFL contingent includes: OT Ryan Diem (Indianapolis Colts), WR Sam Hurd (Cowboys), WR Justin McCareins (New York Jets), NT Hollis Thomas (New Orleans Saints) and RB Michael Turner (San Diego Chargers). Since that time, 2006 senior TE Jake Nordin has been signed to the Baltimore Ravens practice squad and TE Brad Cieslak was recently re-signed by the Buffalo Bills, giving the Huskies nine players in the "the league". Nordin was on the sideline for the Northern Illinois-Navy game.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS MULTIMEDIA
Watch It....on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Dave Kaplan returns to provide the play-by-play while former coach Bob Chmiel joins the broadcast as the color analyst and Ken McReynolds will serve as color analyst.

Hear It...on the Huskie Sports Radio Network.Bill Baker returns for his 28th year as the play-by-play voice of the Huskies while Mark Lindo is back for his 23rd season on the broadcast team. Casey Kahler enters his second season as the adidas sideline reporter.
WSCR-AM Chicago 670
WLBK-AM DeKalb 1360
WSEY-FM Rockford 95.7
WRHL-AM Rochelle 1060
WTJK-AM Beloit, Wisc. 1380

On the Net...to hear every Huskie Radio Network broadcast as well as 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 season-long pass for $49.95.

Review It...on "Inside Huskie Sports", weekly on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The 30-minute highlight show airs every Thursday at 4 p.m. Also, join Head Coach Joe Novak and host Brad Hoey at the live taping of "IHS" Mondays at 6 p.m. at Fatty's Pub and Grille, 1312 West Lincoln Highway in DeKalb.

Live It...on "NIU Live." The weekly 30-minute show airs on WSCR AM 670 "The Score" in Chicago Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. WSCR sports director Andy Garcia and Huskie athletic director Jim Phillips co-host the show with guest appearances by Northern coaches, including Joe Novak.

Read It...on www.niuhuskies.com. For the latest statistics, feature stories, player Q&As and weekly and daily updates.