Aug. 27, 2007

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September 1, 2007 - 2:30 p.m. (CDT) - ESPNU
Chicago, Illinois - Soldier Field (61,500)

LET'S GET IT STARTED: Northern Illinois opens the 2007 football season with a home game at Soldier Field versus Big Ten foe Iowa. The sold-out game marks the first time NIU has played a Big Ten team in a home game.

HUSKIE FACTS
2006 Final Record: 7-6
2006 Final MAC Record/Finish: 5-3/3rd West
Head Coach: Joe Novak
Alma Mater/Year: Miami (OH) 1967
Record at NIU/Year: 61-66/12th
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
Surface/Capacity: Field Turf /24,000
President: Dr. John Peters
Associate VP/Athletic Director: Dr. Jim Phillips
Ticket Information: 815-752-6800

NIU 2007 Schedule and Results

HAWKEYE FACTS
2006 Final Record: 6-7
2006 Final Big Ten Record/Finish: 2-6/Tied 8th
Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz
Alma Mater/Year: Connecticut 1978
Record at Iowa/Year: 55-43/9th
Career Record/Year: 67-64/12th
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Enrollment: 29,979
Conference: Big Ten
Colors: Black and Gold
Stadium: Kinnick Stadium
Surface/Capacity: Natural Grass/70,585
President: Sally Mason
Athletic Director: Gary Barta
Ticket Information: 1-800-424-2957

Iowa Schedule & Results

HUSKIE HEAD COACH Joe Novak
The dean of Mid-American Conference coaches, Joe Novak enters his 12th season at the helm of the Northern Illinois football program in 2007 with a career and NIU record of 61-66. Novak has led the Huskies to a school-record seven consecutive Division I-A winning seasons, along with post-season appearances in each of the last three years. Northern Illinois also has won or shared the MAC West title in four of the last six years. Entering 2007, Novak ranks tied for ninth among MAC coaches all-time in victories (60) and is tied for 10th in league wins (46). 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.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS NEWS & NOTES

SELECT COMPANY: Northern Illinois looks to extend its streak of winning seasons to eight in 2007 as the Huskies have posted a winning mark every year since the 2000 season. NIU is one of only 18 FBS schools in the country that can make that claim, and has the longest current string of winning campaigns in the Mid-American Conference. The seven straight winning seasons is also a modern-day school record. The Huskies own the 25th-best winning percentage among FBS schools this decade (since 2000) with a .639 mark and a 53-30 record. That puts the Huskies ahead of Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Clemson and Iowa, to name a few.

SELLOUT CROWD: Chicago's "Soldier Field Showdown" game between Northern Illinois and Iowa was officially declared a sell-out on July 9, 2007. NIU began selling tickets to the game, the first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) game scheduled for the facility since its renovation in 2003, on Feb. 8 and remaining tickets were made available via Ticketmaster on June 21. The contest marks the first appearance for both Iowa and Northern Illinois at the Chicago lakefront site which has an official seating capacity of 61,500.

RECORD-SETTER: Even before the football is kicked off on Sept. 1, this game is already a record-setter as it will feature the largest home crowd in NIU football history AND the largest home crowd in the history of the Mid-American Conference. NIU's previous record home crowd occurred on Oct. 18, 2003, when 28,211 people packed Huskie Stadium for a contest versus Western Michigan. In fact, the crowd for this game is expected to surpass the totals of NIU's previous top two home attendances added together. Currently, the largest home crowd in league history was recorded Oct. 27, 2001 when Toledo played host to Navy in front of 36,852 fans at the Glass Bowl.

DAY OF FIRSTS: The Soldier Field Showdown marks another milestone in Northern Illinois football history as, for the first time, NIU will play host to a team from the Big Ten Conference, albeit at an alternate home site in Chicago. NIU has played 31 previous games versus teams from the Big Ten, with all 31 of those contests played at the home field of those opponents. With Saturday's home contest at Soldier Field, that string is broken. Northern Illinois is scheduled to play host to Wisconsin at Huskie Stadium in 2009.

NON-LEAGUE SLATE: Since re-joining the Mid-American Conference in 1997, NIU is 13-22 in non-conference games, and compiled a 2-2 mark in its 2006 non-league slate. NIU will travel east, west and in-between in 2007 to play five total non-league games versus Iowa (in Chicago) and Southern Illinois at home, and at Wisconsin, Idaho and Navy. Northern's non-conference opponents since '97 also have included Ohio State, Kansas State, N.C. State, Northwestern, Auburn, Maryland, Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama and Wake Forest.

SEVENTH SET: Northern Illinois and Iowa meet for the seventh time Saturday but for the first time outside of Iowa City. Prior to last year's game, a 24-14 Hawkeye victory, NIU and Iowa last played in 1999. The teams played a two-game set in 1985 and '86, then met again in 1991 and '93.

A YEAR AGO: Iowa withstood a late NIU rally to claim a 24-14 win over Northern Illinois in last year's game between the teams on Oct. 28, 2006 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes built a 17-0 lead while dominating the first half, allowing NIU just one first down and 43 yards of total offense. But the Huskies came back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull within three points at the 8:40 mark after a Britt Davis 25-yard touchdown catch. Iowa responded with a late touchdown on a fourth-and-four play to seal the victory.

TAKING ON THE BIG TEN: Northern Illinois has become well-acquainted with teams from the Big Ten over the years, having played 30 games against nine different teams from the league. NIU has played future 2007 foe Wisconsin more than any other Big Ten team (10 times) and its lone win over a Big Ten squad was a 19-17 victory over the Badgers in 1988. Northern also earned a 16-16 tie at Northwestern in 1987. The Huskies will face two Big Ten opponents for the third straight year in 2007 after playing at Iowa and Ohio State in 2006, and Michigan and Northwestern two years ago. The Huskies have never met Purdue or Michigan State.

106 AND COUNTING: NIU embarks on its 106th season of intercollegiate football in 2007 with an all-time record of 486-434-51 (.527) after seven straight winning campaigns. The Huskies played their first games in 1899 and moved into the realm of "major college" football in 1969.

LID-LIFTERS: Northern Illinois is 51-50-2 all-time in its season-opening game. The Huskies have lost each of their last three season openers, with the last two played at two of the Midwest's most formidable stadiums - the "Big House" of Michigan in 2005 and the famed "Horseshoe" of No. 1 Ohio State last year. NIU won three straight season-openers from 2001-2003; the 2003 game, versus Maryland, at Huskie Stadium marked the last time that Northern Illinois opened the year at home prior to Saturday.

HOME-GROWN: Entering the 2007 season, Northern Illinois fits that description perfectly as this year's 113-man roster includes 78 players from the state of Illinois and 59 from the Chicagoland area, the highest concentrations of any NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school in the state for both categories. In all, 69 percent of NIU's 2007 football players hail from the Land of Lincoln. A quick glance at the rosters of Northwestern and Illinois show the Wildcats with 26 in-state products, 18 from Chicago, while the Fighting Illini roster lists 50 home grown players and 30 from the area.

MY KIND OF TOWN: For 61 Northern Illinois players, Saturday's game versus Iowa truly will be a "home" game as the Huskies 2007 roster is filled with students who call Chicago and its surrounding communities home. NIU has 24 players on its current two-deep from the Chicagoland area, among them starters QB Dan Nicholson, C Eddie Adamski, the Davis brothers, DB Bradley Pruitt, LBs Josh Allen and John Tranchitella and DE Larry English.

11 STRONG: NIU Head Coach Joe Novak enters his 12th season at the helm of the Huskie program as the dean of Mid-American Conference coaches and will enter some elite company with another successful season in DeKalb. Novak, who ranks second all-time at NIU in games coached (127) and is third in victories (61), also is tied for ninth on the MAC career wins list with 60. His 46 league wins are tied for 10th in league history.

HITTING THE AIRWAVES: A total of eight NIU football games are scheduled to air on television this year. ESPNU will air the season-opener against Iowa while ESPN Regional's MAC Game of the Week broadcast will feature NIU's home game against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 15 and the Huskies at Central Michigan on Sept. 29. Northern Illinois' Nov. 17 tilt at Navy will be shown on CSTV and the remaining four NIU home games will be seen on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Last season, a school-record 13 Huskie contests were televised, including five national airings on the ESPN family of networks and an ABC appearance at No. 1 Ohio State. NIU has appeared on national television 13 times in the last three seasons with 32 games broadcast during that time.

TV TOTALS: In 40 seasons of televised games, Northern Illinois is 50-48-1 all-time on television, including a 28-18 mark since the start of the 2001 season. All 13 Huskie games were aired a year ago; NIU went 5-4 in its nine television appearances in 2005 and posted an impressive 8-2 mark on TV in 2004. Saturday's showing on ESPNU is the 26th ESPN Network broadcast all-time for Northern Illinois, with six ESPN airings last year, including the game at Iowa on ESPNU.

NO RESPECT?: Northern Illinois, which has won four Mid-American Conference West Division titles in the last six seasons, was picked fifth in the West in the 2007 MAC News Media Association Preseason Football Poll. NIU tallied 90 points and one first place vote as Western Michigan earned the "favorite" tag by two points over Central Michigan in the West. Ohio was tabbed to win the East race over Kent State. Other preseason publications have ranked the Huskies as high as third in the west.

WITH HONORS: A pair of Huskies have garnered the majority of the preseason recognition from media outlets entering 2007. Junior defensive end Larry English was projected as the MAC's Defensive Player of the Year by both Blue Ribbon Magazine and Lindy's Preseason Yearbook. Senior kicker Chris Nendick was listed by Street & Smith's as an honorable mention preseason All-American while additionally being tabbed as a Lou Groza Award candidate by the publication. Nendick was also ranked by The Sporting News as the nation's ninth-best kicker. CollegeFootballNews.com listed three Huskies in its national position rankings with Nendick No. 6 among kickers, Eddie Adamski No. 19 among centers and English No. 23 among defensive ends. The website tabbed English as the MAC's preseason defensive player of the year and the league's fourth-ranked pro prospect.

YORDON CENTER OPENS: One of the most significant milestones in the history of Northern Illinois Athletics occurred a few weeks ago with the opening of 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 will serve as the home for the Huskie Football team. From the "smart" classrooms in the Frances and George Wilkins Academic Support Center to the state-of-the-art rehabilitation pools in the athletic training center to the expandable storage area in the equipment room, everything about the Yordon Center says "first class." When Northern Illinois' football student-athletes reported to campus for the beginning of preseason camp, they met in the brand new, tiered, 150-seat auditorium. Technology-enhanced position meeting rooms, coaches offices complete with windows and a new 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 and the building officially opened August 1, 2007. It is named for Northern Illinois supporters Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon, who in November 2006 announced a $2.5 million gift to the project, making it the largest gift to Huskie Athletics in the 107-year history of the institution.

RANKED FOES: The highest ranked team on the NIU schedule is Wisconsin, who the Huskies will meet Oct. 20 in Madison. The Badgers are ranked seventh in both the ESPN Coaches Poll and the Associated Press' rankings. The other ranked foe on the 2007 slate is Southern Illinois, picked 13th in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) preseason poll. Iowa, the Huskies' season-opening opponent, received votes in the ESPN Coaches Poll. Northern Illinois will take on five 2006 bowl teams.

NO-IOWA: The 2007 Northern Illinois football roster features players from eight states in addition to Illinois, including Florida, Michigan and California. There are Minnesotans, Missourians and Indianans, but there is not a single player on the Huskies' roster from Iowa.

TWO-DEEP BREAKDOWN: Entering the Iowa game, the Huskie depth chart is dominated by the junior and sophomore classes. Only five seniors are listed on the current two-deep with two each on offense and defense joining kicker Chris Nendick. Northern Illinois' offensive depth chart features 10 juniors - five of those receivers - and nine sophomores, including three offensive linemen. Four freshmen will see their first collegiate action on offense with first-year players Landon Cox (WR) and Chad Spann (RB) joining offensive lineman Panan Tense and tight end Bryan Beckner. Defensively, the Huskie two-deep is nearly evenly split among the three youngest classes with seven juniors, seven sophomores and six freshmen, four redshirt rookies. A complete breakdown of the Huskie depth chart by class is listed below.

THEY'RE BACK: The Huskies' starting line-up for Iowa includes 10 returning starters on offense and defense along with specialists Chris Nendick (K) and Andy Dittbenner (P). To be classified as a "returning" starter, players must have started more than six games a year ago. On offense, Britt (WR) and Brandon (TE) Davis, Chris Acevedo (OT), Eddie Adamski (C) and Jon Brost (RT) fit that criteria while defensively, Larry English (DE), Craig Rush (T), Cory Hanson (LB), Melvin Rice (CB) and Bradley Pruitt (FS) return to the line-up.

MOST EXPERIENCED: Northern Illinois has no three-year starters and just three two-year starters in the line-up versus Iowa. The only Huskie players with more than one year of starting experience are juniors: offensive lineman Jon Brost (23 starts), wide receiver Britt Davis (22) and defensive end Larry English (22). While Brost leads the way in total number of starts, in terms of consecutive starts, linebacker Tim McCarthy has the longest streak with starts in each of his last 18 games played. McCarthy's status for the Iowa game is questionable due to a preseason injury, but his starting streak will not be broken if he does not play in the Iowa game. Davis is second among NIU players with 17 straight starting assignments, while English has been in the starting line-up in 16 consecutive contests.

ON THE FLIP SIDE: Eight players are scheduled to make their first career starts versus Iowa, including four each on offense and defense. Offensively, tight end Reed Cunningham, left guard Tim Mayerbock, wide receiver Greg Turner and running back Montell Clanton could each receive their first starts, while on defense, defensive end Brandon Bice, linebacker John Tranchitella, safety Alex Kube and cornerback Chase Carter are in the starting line-up for the first time. Cunningham, Mayerbock, Bice and Tranchitella are sophomores, Turner, Clanton and Carter juniors and Kube is a redshirt freshman. Carter and deep snapper Nolan Owen are the only members of the 2007 signing class currently listed as starters.

THE JUNIORS WILL LEAD THEM: For the first time in Joe Novak's tenure at NIU, the permanent captains selected by the Huskie team do not include a senior. Four junior players were elected by their teammates this spring. On offense, wide receiver Britt Davis and quarterback Dan Nicholson got the nod, with defensive end Larry English and linebacker Tim McCarthy tabbed from the NIU defense.

SCORING MARKS: Northern Illinois kicker Chris Nendick has scored at least one point in every game of his Huskie career, a school-record string of 37 straight contests, and he enters his senior season fourth on the NIU career scoring list with 271 total points. He is second all-time in kick scoring, 99 points behind leader Steve Azar (2000-03). Nendick also ranks third in career field goals made with 45 and in field goal attempts (61). He needs two field goals and three attempts to move up to second on those lists, respectively. With 45 career field goals, the Naperville product ranks fourth in the NCAA among active kickers entering the year and he is also fourth in that group in career PATs made (136) and attempted (138), figures which are second all-time at Northern Illinois.

CENTURY MARK: Britt Davis' next catch will be the 100th of his career, as the NIU record-holder for catches as a freshman (42) and as a junior (57) will hit that mark earlier than any other player in school history, in just his 25th career game. Davis needs 12 catches to move into Northern's career Top 10 list for receptions.

CORPORAL COFFMAN: The story of Northern Illinois redshirt freshman Jake Coffman is note-worthy, not just because the walk-on has moved up to second team on the Huskie depth chart at defensive end. Coffman is a 23-year-old freshman from German Valley, Ill. who spent three years in the Marine Corps, and was promoted three times while rising to the rank of corporal. He was deployed to Iraq on two occasions. In 2006, Coffman enrolled at NIU and joined the football team. A unanimous all-conference selection at defensive end his senior year at Forreston High School, Coffman led the Cardinals in sacks (14) and fumble recoveries while also playing receiver where his career total included 777 receiving yards and 11 TDs.

HUSKIES IN THE NFL: As the National Football League concludes its preseason schedule, 11 former NIU players are on team rosters as of August 27, including 2007 draft choices RB Garrett Wolfe (Chicago Bears) and OT Doug Free (Dallas Cowboys). The rest of the Huskie NFL contingent includes: TE Brad Cieslak (Buffalo Bills), OT Ryan Diem (Indianapolis Colts), RB A.J. Harris (Seattle Seahawks), WR Sam Hurd (Dallas Cowboys), WR Justin McCareins (New York Jets), TE Jake Nordin (Washington Redskins), WR Dan Sheldon (Pittsburgh Steelers), NT Hollis Thomas (New Orleans Saints) and RB Michael Turner (San Diego Chargers).

ON THE RISE: Members of the Northern Illinois football team combined to post the squad's highest cumulative semester grade point average ever last spring. NIU's football student-athletes had a combined G.P.A. of 2.797, which ranked fourth among the Huskies' men's teams. In addition, 39 Northern Illinois players earned recognition as "Scholar Ballers" indicative of a cumulative grade point average of 3.000. These student-athletes are recognized with a distinctive "Thinking Man" patch on the front of their uniform jersey to recognize their achievements in the classroom.

WITH A DEGREE: Two members of the Huskie football team have already earned an undergraduate degree from NIU and are working on their master's. Tight end David Koronkiewicz, a junior, and senior Mark Reiter earned their bachelor's degrees in marketing last spring. Koronkiewicz has a chance to leave Northern Illinois with two degrees by the time his eligibility is concluded.

HUSKIES BY THE NUMBERS
4 Fumbles lost by Northern Illinois in 2006, the second-lowest total in Division I-A last year.

7 Consecutive winning seasons for the Huskies, the longest current streak in the MAC.

8 Straight seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher for Northern Illinois, tied for the longest streak in the nation.

8 First-time starters on the NIU depth chart for the Iowa game.

10 Seniors on the 2007 NIU roster.

14 Returning starters on the Huskie two-deep going into the Iowa game.

18 Football Bowl Subdivision teams nationwide to post seven straight winning seasons.

69 Percent of players on the 2007 NIU roster from Illinois (78 of 113).

99 Career receptions for Northern Illinois junior receiver Britt Davis, the school record-holder for catches by a freshman (42) and by a sophomore (57).

271 Career points for senior kicker Chris Nendick, fourth on the Huskies' all-time list.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS MULTIMEDIA
Watch It...on ESPNU. Doug Bell provides the play-by-play with Charles Arbuckle as color analyst.

Hear It...on the Huskie Sports Radio Network beginning at 2 p.m. 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

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 in September with the first show set for Sept. 6 at 5 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. Following the Iowa game, the taping will take place on Tuesday.

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. Sports director Andy Garcia and Huskie athletic director Jim Phillips co-host the show with guest appearances by Northern coaches.

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