Sept. 1, 2007
Box Score
Northern Illinois vs. Iowa
Soldier Field - Chicago, Illinois
Sept. 1, 2007
***The sellout crowd of 61,500 is the largest home crowd in Northern Illinois and MAC history. NIU's previous high was 28,211 on Oct. 18, 2003 against Western Michigan at Huskie Stadium. The previous MAC mark was 36,852 for a Toledo-Navy contest on Oct. 27, 2001 at the Glass Bowl.
*** Junior defensive tackle Craig Rusch recorded a tackle for loss, running his streak to 12 consecutive games with at least one TFL and/or sack. Rusch began his stretch at the 2005 MAC Championship Game.
***Quarterback Dan Nicholson set new career highs for completions (26) and attempts (42), surpassing his previous marks set at Eastern Michigan (24-of-37) in 2006.
***NIU junior wide receiver Britt Davis made his 100th career reception in the first quarter. Davis set the Northern Illinois receiving records for most catches by a freshman (42) and by a sophomore (57) in his first two seasons.
***Britt Davis has caught at least one pass in 21 of NIU's last 22 games. His consecutive games reception streak was broken in the Poinsettia Bowl versus TCU.
***Eight NIU players made their first career start, four on each side of the ball: Reed Cunningham (TE), Tim Mayerbock (LG), Greg Turner (WR), Montell Clanton (TB), Brandon Bice (DE), John Tranchitella (WLB), Alex Kube (SS), Chase Carter (CB).
***Northern Illinois senior Chris Nendick recorded his first career punt in the second quarter with a 55-yard effort. After taking over for an injured Andy Dittbenner, Nendick averaged 43.4 yards on seven punts on the day.
***With a 33-yard field goal, Chris Nendick extended his consecutive games scoring streak to 38, every game of his NIU career. The field goal was the 46th of his career, tying John Ivanic (1987-90) for second on the Northern Illinois all-time chart but well behind Steve Azar's school record 73 threes from 2000-03.
***Linebacker John Tranchitella tied with teammate cornerback Melvin Rice for a game-high 10 tackles. That total marked new career highs for both players (Tranchitella's previous best was two and Rice's previous high was six).
***John Tranchitella eclipsed his previous career tackles for loss total with three against Iowa. He recorded two in 13 games as a freshman in 2006.
***Sophomore tight end Reed Cunningham and sophomore running back Justin Anderson each recorded their first career catch in the game and both players finished the afternoon with five receptions.
***Today's game marked the first meeting between Iowa and Northern Illinois played outside of Iowa City. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 7-0.
