Sept. 4, 2007

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2007 NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE
Game 2 -- Northern Illinois vs. Southern Illinois
Sept. 8, 2007 6:30 p.m. (CDT) Comcast SportsNet Chicago
DeKalb, Illinois Huskie Stadium (24,000)

NIU QUICK FACTS
2007 Record: 0-1
2007 MAC Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Joe Novak
Alma Mater/Year: Miami (OH) 1967
Record at NIU/Year: 61-67/12th
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

SIU QUICK FACTS
2007 Record: 1-0
2007 Gateway Football Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Jerry Kill
Alma Mater/Year: Southwestern (Kansas) 1983
Record at SIU/Year: 44-30/7th
Career Record/Year: 93-55/14th
Location: Carbondale, Illinois
Enrollment: 21,003
Conference: Gateway Football
Colors: Maroon and White
Stadium: McAndrew Field
Surface/Capacity: AstroPlay/17,324
President: Glenn Poshard
Athletic Director: Mario Moccia
Ticket Information: 618-453-5153

SIU 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 61-67 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 NIUs 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 Mallorys 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.

NEWS & NOTES
BRINGING IT HOME: After last weeks home game versus Iowa at Chicagos Soldier Field, Northern Illinois opens its five-game Huskie Stadium home slate Saturday versus intra-state foe Southern Illinois. Its the second of three straight home games to start the 2007 season for NIU.

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.

NON-LEAGUE SLATE: Since re-joining the Mid-American Conference in 1997, NIU is 13-23 in non-conference games, and compiled a 2-2 mark in its 2006 non-league contests. NIU will travel east, west and in-between in 2007 to play five non-league games versus Iowa (in Chicago) and Southern Illinois at home, and at Wisconsin, Idaho and Navy. Northerns non-conference opponents since 97 also have included Ohio State, Kansas State, N.C. State, Northwestern, Auburn, Maryland, Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama and Wake Forest.

106 AND COUNTING: NIU will play its 106th season of intercollegiate football in 2007 with an all-time record of 486-435-51 (.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.

LONG HISTORY: Northern Illinois has faced only one team -- Illinois State -- more times than it has played Southern Illinois. Saturdays game marks the 43rd meeting between NIU and SIU, which ties SIU with MAC foe Central Michigan as the second-longest standing Huskie opponent. Northern has played Illinois State 56 times, but not since the 2000 season.

SERIES RECAP: The Huskies and Salukis met every year from 1931-61 with 11 of SIUs 13 series wins coming during that span. The teams then met every year from 1973-80 with Northern Illinois winning six of eight. The former rivals have played just four times since 1988 and NIU has won all four of those games, including two one-point affairs. Southern Illinois last win over the Huskies came in 1979, by a 21-11margin.

THE LAST MEETING: With 54 seconds remaining, a two-point conversion pass by SIU QB Joel Sambursky fell short, enabling Northern Illinois to hang on for a 23-22 win over Southern Illinois at Huskie Stadium. NIU built a 23-9 lead before the I-AA Salukis came back to score the games final 13 points while turning to their passing game. SIU scored on a nine-yard pass from Sambursky to Kevin Allen with 9:03 left and again on a 19-yard reception by Brent Little to set up the two-point try. Northern Illinois TB A.J. Harris rushed 24 times for 139 yards to pace the NIU attack.

FCS FOES: Northern Illinois has played one Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) opponent in 10 of the last 11 seasons under Joe Novak and is 6-4 against those teams. The Huskies have won four straight, and five-of-six, games versus FCS opponents dating back to 2002.

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.

HOME OF THE HUSKIES: Northern Illinois opens its 42nd season of play at Huskie Stadium Saturday and has a 24-17 record in its home opener since moving to the venue in 1966. NIU had a string of six straight home opening wins snapped last year when Ohio shocked the Huskies at home.

HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Huskies are 126-89-2 (.585) on Brigham Field since moving to Huskie Stadium beginning in 1966. Under Joe Novak, Northern Illinois is 36-25 (.590) at home over the last 11 seasons and has won 35 of its last 43 contests in DeKalb. Since the beginning of the 2003 season, Northern Illinois is 19-4 at home for a stellar winning percentage of 82.6 percent. That mark ranks tied for 18th in the country among FBS teams.

HOME-GROWN: Entering the 2007 season, Northern Illinois fits that description perfectly as this years 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 NIUs 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, Saturdays game versus Iowa truly was 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.

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 Regionals MAC Game of the Week broadcast will feature NIUs 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 50-49-1 all-time on television, including a 28-19 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, including the 2006 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 MACs Defensive Player of the Year by both Blue Ribbon Magazine and Lindys Preseason Yearbook. Senior kicker Chris Nendick was listed by Street & Smiths 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 nations 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 MACs preseason defensive player of the year and the leagues fourth-ranked pro prospect.

YORDON CENTER TO BE DEDICATED: During Saturdays game with Southern Illinois, NIU will celebrate the dedication 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. The football team meets in the tiered, 150-seat auditorium. 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.

RANKED FOES: Southern Illinois is one of two ranked teams on NIUs 2007 schedule as the Salukis come into the game as the 11th-ranked FCS team. The highest-ranked FBS team on the NIU schedule is seventh-ranked Wisconsin, who the Huskies will meet Oct. 20 in Madison. Northern Illinois will take on five 2006 bowl teams.

RECORD-SETTER: Last weeks GEICO Soldier Field Showdown between NIU and Iowa 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. NIUs 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.

SENIOR SHORTAGE: NIU started only two seniors on offense (TE Brandon Davis, OT Chris Acevedo) and NO seniors on defense Saturday versus Iowa, along with kicker Chris Nendick. Only four seniors are listed on the Huskies current two-deep with safety Mark Reiter listed second team on defense.

THE TWO-DEEP BY CLASS: Northern Illinois offensive depth chart features 10 juniors five of those receivers and nine sophomores, including three offensive linemen. Four freshmen are on the two-deep 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 filled with eight juniors, seven sophomores and six freshmen, four of them redshirts. The complete breakdown.

THEYRE BACK: The Huskies starting line-up includes 10 returning starters on offense and defense). To be classified as a returning starter, players must have started more than six games last year. 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 Rusch (T), Tim McCarthy (LB), Melvin Rice (CB) and Bradley Pruitt (FS) return to the line-up.

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 (24 starts), wide receiver Britt Davis (23) and defensive end Larry English (23). While Brost leads the way in total number of starts, linebacker Tim McCarthy leads NIU with starts in each of his last 19 games played. Davis is second among NIU players with 18 straight starting assignments, while English has been in the starting line-up in 17 consecutive contests.

ON THE FLIP SIDE: Eight players made 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 each received their first starts, while on defense, defensive end Brandon Bice, linebacker John Tranchitella, safety Alex Kube and cornerback Chase Carter started for the first time.

THE JUNIORS WILL LEAD THEM: For the first time in Joe Novaks 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.

INITIAL ACTION: Three true freshmen, six redshirt freshmen and a pair of transfers saw their first collegiate action versus Iowa. Tailback Chad Spann was the only true freshman to see action on either offense or defense although the former walk-on did not carry the ball. A pair of first-year players played on special teams, including starting snapper Nolan Owen and gunner Patrick George. The six redshirt freshmen included three defenders - starting safety Alex Kube and reserve defensive linemen Jake Coffman and Mike Krause while on special teams, Ricky Crider, Bryan Beckner and Ed Jackson got into the game. Along with the freshmen, JC transfer Chase Carter started at corner for NIU and made four stops while Valpo transfer Anthony Mason accounted for three tackles. 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 38 straight contests, and he enters the SIU game fourth on the NIU career scoring list with 274 total points. He is second all-time in kick scoring, 96 points behind leader Steve Azar (2000-03). Nendick is tied for second at NIU in career field goals made with 46 and is third in field goal attempts (62). The Naperville product ranks fourth in the NCAA among active kickers in career PATs made (136) and attempted (138), figures which are second all-time at Northern Illinois.

VERSATILE: 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 with seven punts for a 43.4-yard average and currently ranks 30th nationally in punting.

CENTURY MARK: Britt Davis recorded the 100th catch of his NIU career versus Iowa. Already the NIU record-holder for catches as a freshman (42) and as a sophomore (57), Davis hit the 100-catch mark earlier than any other player in school history, in just his 25th career game. After a six-catch day last Saturday, Davis needs six catches to move into Northerns career Top 10 list for receptions. He has caught at least one pass in 21 of NIUs last 22 games.

NEGATIVE RUSCH-ING: Junior defensive tackle Craig Rusch, a former walk-on, has recorded at least one tackle for loss or quarterback sack in each of the last 12 games he has played, dating back to the 2005 MAC Championship game versus Akron. During the streak, Rusch has 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 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 as a senior at Forreston High School, Coffman led the Cardinals in sacks (14) and fumble recoveries while also playing receiver.

HUSKIES IN THE NFL: As the National Football League opens regular season play, seven former NIU players are on team rosters as of September 3, 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 squads 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 bachelors degree in marketing from NIU last spring and are now pursuing their masters 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 started on defense for the Huskies versus Iowa.

2 Seniors who started on offense for the Huskies versus Iowa.

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.

8 NIU first-time starters against Iowa.

12 Consecutive games with a tackle for loss or quarterback sack for NIU DT Craig Rusch after a six-yard sack versus Iowa.

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).

46 Career field goals for senior kicker Chris Nendick, tied for 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 MULTI-MEDIA
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 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 Fattys 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, including Joe Novak.

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