Sept. 10, 2007

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2007 Northern Illinois Football
Game 3: Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles
Sept. 15, 2007 - 11 a.m. (CDT) - ESPN Regional
DeKalb, Illinois - Huskie Stadium (24,000)

HUSKIE FACTS
2007 Record: 0-2
2007 MAC Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Joe Novak
Alma Mater/Year: Miami (OH) 1967
Record at NIU/Year: 61-68/12th
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 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 61-68 as a head coach. 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.

EAGLES' FACTS
2007 Record: 0-2
2007 MAC Record: 0-1
Head Coach: Jeff Genyk
Alma Mater/Year: Bowling Green 1982
Record at EMU/Year: 9-27/4th
Career Record/Year: Same
Location: Ypsilanti, Michigan
Enrollment: 24,000
Conference: Mid-American Conference
Colors: Green and White
Stadium: Rynearson Stadium
Surface/Capacity: FieldTurf/30,200
President: Dr. John A. Fallon III
Athletic Director: Dr. Derrick Gragg
Ticket Information: 734-487-2282

EMU SCHEDULE & RESULTS

NORTHERN ILLINOIS NEWS & NOTES
THE HOMESTAND CONTINUES: Northern Illinois plays its third straight "home" game, and second in a row at Huskie Stadium, while opening Mid-American Conference play versus West Division foe Eastern Michigan. The early morning TV contest kicks off at 11 a.m.

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 came into the 2007 season with 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.

106 AND COUNTING: NIU is playing its 106th season of intercollegiate football in 2007 with an all-time record of 486-436-51 (.526) after seven straight winning campaigns. The Huskies played their first games in 1899 and moved into the realm of "major college" football in 1969.

FREQUENT FOE: Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan meet for the 38th time Saturday as the Eagles are the oldest foe on the Huskies' 2007 schedule with the first meeting between the schools occurring back in 1927. Among MAC teams, NIU has faced only Central Michigan (42 games) more times than EMU. All-time, there are only five teams which Northern Illinois has played more times than Eastern.

SERIES RECAP: After the initial two-game set in 1927 and '28, the Huskies and Eagles met every year from 1947-61 with NIU winning eight of those 15 games. The series was renewed in 1977 when Northern Illinois initially joined the MAC, and the teams met every year from 1979-87 with NIU going 6-1-2 during that time. Since 1997, the Huskies have won eight of 11 meetings, including six straight.

THE LAST MEETING: Northern Illinois recorded its first road shutout since 1992 with a 27-0 whitewashing of Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti to close out the 2006 regular season. The Huskie defense surrendered only seven first downs and 112 total yards to the Eagles while building a 21-0 halftime lead. Record-setting tailback Garrett Wolfe gained 164 rushing yards on 27 carries while Dan Nicholson posted season highs for passing yards (261) and completions (24).

FIRST LEAGUE TILT: The Huskies are 8-13 all-time in their first Mid-American Conference game of the season, including a 4-6 mark under Joe Novak since re-joining the league in 1997. NIU has dropped its last two MAC openers - versus Ohio last season and two years ago at Akron. In its first HOME conference game of the year, Northern is 6-4 since 1997 and 12-9 all-time.

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 (129) 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.

MAC MARK: Northern Illinois is 81-77-2 (.513) versus its fellow Mid-American Conference members in 20 total seasons as a member of the league. Since beginning its second stint in the conference in 1997, NIU and head coach Joe Novak are 46-32 (.590) versus MAC competition.

HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Huskies are 126-90-2 (.583) on Brigham Field since moving to Huskie Stadium in 1966. Under Joe Novak, Northern Illinois is 36-26 (.581) at home over the last 11 seasons and has won 35 of its last 44 contests in DeKalb. Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Northern Illinois is 19-5 at home for a winning percentage of 79.2 percent. That mark ranks 20th in the country among FBS teams.

WELCOME MAC: At home, Northern is 45-34-1 (.569) in MAC games all-time and has gone 24-15 (.615) under Joe Novak. The Huskies were 2-2 at home in the MAC last year and lost two home league games for the first time in eight seasons.

ON THE LISTS: Huskies Chris Nendick and Larry English have been named to the Watch Lists for the Lou Groza Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, respectively. Nendick, a senior from Naperville, Ill., was one of 30 candidates named to the preseason watch list for the 16th Annual Lou Groza Award, given to the nation's top kicker, after leading the MAC and ranking ninth in the country with 1.54 points per game. English joined 48 other defenders on the Nagurski Trophy list. That trophy goes to the nation's top defender.

JUST-IN TIME?: Sophomore tailback Justin Anderson had a break-out game versus Southern Illinois as the Chicago native ran 21 times for 78 yards and a score and caught eight passes for 87 yards and two TDs, establishing career highs in all categories. Anderson totaled 165 all-purpose yards versus SIU. On the season, he leads NIU in catches (13), receiving yards (114), TDs (3) and all-purpose yards (195).

A GREAT EIGHT: Anderson's eight catches Saturday marked the highest single game total for an NIU running back dating back at least 25 years. Northern Illinois has not had a running back catch as many as eight passes in a game since at least the 1983 season, which is as far back as media guide single-season bests exist. His eight catches are the most by any Huskie player in a game this year. Last season, WR Britt Davis twice made nine catches in a game. The NIU single season record for catches by a running back is 43, set by Jack Dean in 1963.

HOTTEST STREAK: Junior quarterback Dan Nicholson quietly set a school record for most consecutive pass completions during the SIU game when he hit 15 straight while leading the Huskies to their four touchdown drives. He broke the record set by Phil Horvath, who completed 13 consecutive throws versus Akron on Sept. 24, 2005. Nicholson's streak began on the Huskies' first drive of the second quarter with an eight-yard completion to Greg Turner and continued until he missed Britt Davis on a deep pass in the third quarter.

SACK STATS: Junior defensive end Larry English recorded his first quarterback sack of the season early in the SIU game to move into a tie for sixth on the Northern Illinois career charts. English is now tied with Doug Bartlett (1983-86), Travis Moore (2001-04) and Vinson Reynolds (2000-03) with 14 career sacks and needs two more to move into a tie for fourth.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND: Northern Illinois is looking to turn around its turnover totals as the Huskies have collected only one turnover so far this year, on a fumble recovery against SIU, while giving the ball away eight times on six interceptions and a pair of fumbles. Southern Illinois took advantage of five NIU turnovers with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries helping to spur their comeback. This week's opponent, Eastern Michigan, has turned the ball over only twice in its two games but has not recovered a fumble or had an interception.

BREAKING IT UP: Although the Huskies have not picked off a pass this season, NIU already has eight pass break-ups in 2007 after totaling just 30 a year ago. Cornerback Melvin Rice and defensive end Brandon Bice lead the way in the deflection section with two break-ups apiece, while linebackers Cory Hanson and John Tranchitella and defensive backs Alex Kube and Chase Carter have also gotten into the act.

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.

HITTING THE AIRWAVES: A total of eight NIU football games are scheduled to air on television this year. ESPNU aired the season-opener against Iowa while ESPN Regional's MAC Game of the Week broadcast will feature this week's game against Eastern Michigan and the Huskies' contest 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 14 times since 2004, with 34 total games broadcast.

TV TOTALS: In 40 seasons of televised games, Northern Illinois is 50-50-1 all-time on television, including a 28-20 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. The Iowa game on ESPNU was the 26th ESPN Network broadcast all-time for Northern Illinois, with six ESPN airings last year.

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.

YORDON CENTER DEDICATED: During last Saturday's game with Southern Illinois, NIU dedicated the 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 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." The football team can meet 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.

RECORD-SETTER: The season-opening GEICO Soldier Field Showdown between NIU and Iowa (Sept. 1) set new attendance marks for both Northern Illinois and the Mid-American Conference with a sell-out crowd of 61,500 packing the lakefront facility. NIU's previous record home crowd occurred on Oct. 18, 2003, when 28,211 people packed Huskie Stadium for a contest versus Western Michigan. The previous largest home crowd in league history was recorded Oct. 27, 2001 when Toledo played Navy in front of 36,852 at the Glass Bowl.

SINGLE SENIOR: After starting just two seniors - both on offense - in the season opener versus Iowa, that number was whittled down to one for the Southern Illinois game. Left tackle Chris Acevedo was the ONLY senior to start on either offense or defense versus SIU although Chris Nendick is the NIU starting kicker. Only four seniors are listed on the Huskies' current two-deep with safety Mark Reiter and tight end Brandon Davis joining Acevedo and Nendick. However, eight seniors have seen action for NIU this year.

MOST EXPERIENCED: Northern Illinois had 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 (25 starts), wide receiver Britt Davis (24) and defensive end Larry English (24). While Brost leads the way in total number of starts, linebacker Tim McCarthy owned the team lead for consecutive starts with 20. Davis is currently second among NIU players with 19 straight starting assignments, while English has been in the starting line-up in 18 consecutive contests.

FIRST TIME STARTERS: Nine players have made their first career starts this season with five on offense and four defenders. Offensively, tight ends Reed Cunningham and Bryan Beckner, left guard Tim Mayerbock, wide receiver Greg Turner and running back Montell Clanton each received their first starts, with Beckner the latest addition to that group after starting the SIU game. On defense, defensive end Brandon Bice, linebacker John Tranchitella, safety Alex Kube and cornerback Chase Carter have started for the first time in 2007.

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.

HUSKIE DEBUTANTES: Fifteen different players have made their Huskie debuts in 2007, including eight redshirt freshmen, four true freshmen, transfers Anthony Mason and Chase Carter, and junior Vincent Matthew. First-year players Chad Spann, Patrick George, Nolan Owen and Landon Cox have seen action on special teams and, in the cases of Spann and Cox, on offense. Among the eight redshirts to debut this season, safety Alex Kube and tight end Bryan Beckner have started games. The other redshirt freshmen to get on the field for the first time this year are Ricky Crider, Justin Stewart, Jake Coffman, Mike Krause, Ed Jackson and Vernon Sims.

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 39 straight contests, and he enters the EMU game fourth on the NIU career scoring list with 281 total points. He needs eight points to pass current San Diego Charger Michael Turner and move into third place on the list. He is second all-time in kick scoring, 89 points behind leader Steve Azar (2000-03). Nendick now ranks second at NIU in career field goals made with 47 and in field goal attempts (64). The Naperville product ranks fourth in the NCAA among active kickers in career PATs made (140) and attempted (142), figures which are second all-time at Northern Illinois.

VERSATILITY: Nendick recorded his first career punt when Andy Dittbenner was injured against Iowa and booted his first try 55 yards, where it stopped inside the 10-yard line. Nendick finished the game with seven punts for a 43.4-yard average.

CATCHING ON: Britt Davis passed the 100-catch mark versus Iowa in just his 25th career game, the earliest an NIU player has reached 100 catches. Already the NIU record-holder for catches as a freshman (42) and as a sophomore (57), Davis has caught at least one pass in 22 of NIU's last 23 games. He grabbed a pair of passes versus Southern Illinois to put his career total at 107 and now needs just four catches to move into the NIU Top 10 in career catches.

NEGATIVE "RUSCH"-ING: Junior defensive tackle Craig Rusch, a former walk-on, saw his streak of 12 consecutive games with at least one tackle for loss or quarterback sack end versus Southern Illinois. During the streak, which dated back to the 2005 MAC Championship game versus Akron, Rusch recorded seven quarterback sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. He ranked second on the team (behind Larry English) in both categories last season.

CORPORAL COFFMAN: The story of Northern Illinois redshirt freshman Jake Coffman is noteworthy, not just because the walk-on is seeing playing time as a second-team 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 as a senior at Forreston High School, Coffman has been credited with a pair of tackles to date.

NON-LEAGUE SLATE: Since re-joining the Mid-American Conference in 1997, NIU is 13-24 in non-conference games, including a 2-2 mark in its 2006 non-league contests. NIU will play five non-league games in 2007, 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.

WITH HONORS: A pair of Huskies garnered the majority of the preseason recognition 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.

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).

ON THE RISE: Members of the Huskie football team posted the squad's highest cumulative semester grade point average ever last spring with a combined G.P.A. of 2.797. In addition, 39 Northern Illinois players earned recognition as "Scholar Ballers" indicative of a cumulative grade point average of 3.000. They are recognized with a "Thinking Man" patch on the front of their uniform jersey to recognize their classroom achievements.

WITH A DEGREE: Huskies David Koronkiewicz and Mark Reiter each earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from NIU last spring and are now pursuing their master's degrees in business from Northern. Koronkiewicz, a junior tight end, could leave NIU with two degrees before his eligibility is concluded.

HUSKIES BY THE NUMBERS
0 Seniors who have started on defense for the Huskies this year.

1 Senior starters (on offense and defense) versus Southern Illinois - OT Chris Acevedo.

7 Consecutive winning seasons for NIU, 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.

15 Consecutive completions for Dan Nicholson versus SIU, setting a new school record.

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).

47 Career field goals for senior kicker Chris Nendick, second on the Huskies' all-time list.

61,500 Official attendance for the 2007 NIU-Iowa game at Soldier Field, establishing MAC and NIU records for a home game.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS MULTIMEDIA
Watch It...in 34 markets around the country as part of the MAC Game of the Week package put together by the Mid-American Conference and ESPN Regional. Michael Reghi will provide the play-by-play while Doug Chapman is the color analyst for this week's broadcast. In Chicago, the game can be seen on WPWR - MyTV while WTVO in Rockford also will air the game.

Hear It...on the Huskie Sports Radio Network beginning at 6 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
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 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. For this week only, the taping will begin at 4:45 p.m.

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.