HUSKIE BITES
- NIU welcomes in-state FCS foe Eastern Illinois to Huskie Stadium for a Family Weekend/Band Day match-up on ESPN3 Saturday.
- The Huskies and Panthers meet for the 38th time overall and for the first time since 2013, when NIU pulled out a 43-39 victory over the Jimmy Garoppolo-led Eastern Illinois team that jumped out to a 20-0 lead versus Jordan Lynch/Cameron Stingily and crew.
- NIU dropped its season opener to Boston College, 23-20, when the Eagles hit a 37-yard field goal with 2:13 remaining and the Huskies' final field goal try from 39 yards with 21 seconds to play hit the crossbar.
- Eastern Illinois pulled out a last-second win over Indiana State on a 15-yard touchdown pass with three seconds on the clock and is receiving votes in two FCS Top 25 polls.
- Eight Huskie players made the first starts of their NIU careers Friday versus Boston College, including three of NIU's four starting defensive linemen. Fifteen of the 22 starters have less than 10 career starts and of those, 11 enter this week's contest with less than five starts.
- Entering his fifth season as NIU head coach, Rod Carey ranks fourth all-time at the school in wins (36) and his winning percentage (.643) ranks second among coaches with at least 30 games coached at NIU. Carey has a school-record three wins over Big Ten teams and a 26-6 record in MAC games.
- The Huskie defense combined for 12 tackles for loss versus Boston College, matching its highest team TFL total of a year ago (at Ball State), with sophomore defensive end Sutton Smith responsible for five TFLs, one off the NIU single game record of six (Larry English, 2006).
- NIU is 101-74-13 all-time versus current in-state FBS and FCS teams, with an even 100 wins against Southern Illinois (28), Eastern Illinois (26), Illinois State (25) and Western Illinois (21).
HUSKIE FOOTBALL FACTS
2016 Record/MAC Record/Finish: 5-7/5-3/3rd West
Head Coach: Rod Carey
Record at NIU/Years: 36-19/5th
Career Record/Years: 36-19/5th
Alma Mater/Year: Indiana/1993
Basic Offense/Defense: Multiple/4-3
First Year of Football: 1899
All-Time Record: 571-483-51
Last Bowl Game: 2015 SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl
MAC Championship Appearances, Last: 7, 2015
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 50/31
Starters Returning: 15 (5 offense, 8 defense, 2 specialist)
Starters Lost: 12 (5 offense, 6 defense, 1 specialist)
NIU FACTS
Location: DeKalb, Illinois
Founded: 1895
Enrollment: 19,015
Affiliation: NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision
Conference: Mid-American (West Division)
Colors: Cardinal and Black
Stadium: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium
Surface/Capacity: FieldTurf /23,595
Acting President: Dr. Lisa Freeman
Assoc. VP/Athletic Director: Sean T. Frazier
Alma Mater, Year: Alabama '92
Ticket Information: 815-753-PACK (7225)
EASTERN ILLINOIS FACTS
2016 Record: 6-5
Ohio Valley Conference Record/Finish: 4-4/T-5th
Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Kim Dameron (Arkansas/1983)
Record at Boston College/Years: 19-17/4th
Career Record/Years: 19-17/4th
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Enrollment: 7,876
Conference: Ohio Valley
Colors: Blue and Gray
Stadium: O'Brien Field
Surface/Capacity: Turf /10,000
President: Dr. David Glassman
Athletic Director: Tom Michael
Athletics Website: www.eiupanthers.com
Twitter: @eiu_panthers
Ticket Information: 217-581-2106
2017 Eastern Illinois Schedule & Results
NIU-EIU SERIES FACTS
Overall: NIU leads 26-10-1
In DeKalb: NIU leads 16-5
In Charleston: NIU leads 10-5-1
Streak: NIU, 1
Last Meeting: Sept. 21, 2013; NIU 43, EIU 39 (H)
First Meeting: Nov. 15, 1902; NIU 10, EIU 0 (H)
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
TV: NIU-EASTERN ILLINOIS ON ESPN3
- The NIU-Eastern Illinois game will air on ESPN3 live online and on mobile devices via the ESPN App.
- Get the direct link to watch on GameDay Central and on the football schedule page at NIUHuskies.com.
- WatchESPN requires a subscription from an affiliated provider. For more information, go to espn3.com.
- The announce crew for the NIU-Eastern Illinois game is Jordan Bernfield (play-by-play) and Marcus Ray (color analyst).
RADIO: NIU SPORTS NETWORK
- The NIU Sports Network broadcast for the EIU game begins at 2 p.m. CT, 30 minutes prior to kickoff.
- The game will be carried on NIU network affiliates WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 (DeKalb), AM 560 The Answer (Chicago) and Sports Fan Radio 1330 (Rockford).
- Hear the broadcast online via NIU All-Access (subscription), and on mobile devices via TuneIn. Download the app free and find the NIU Huskies channel.
- Bill Baker is in his 38th season as the radio play-by-play "Voice of the Huskies." Color analyst Mark Lindo joins him for the 32nd season, while Andy Garcia is in his fifth season on the sidelines.
INSIDE HUSKIE FOOTBALL RADIO SHOW
- Due to the Labor Day holiday, fans will not be able to attend this week's Inside Huskie Football Radio Show.
- Fans are invited to attend the one-hour show next Monday (Sept. 11) and for all remaining shows at Noon at Fatty's Pub & Grille in DeKalb (1312 W. Lincoln Hwy).
- Listen live with the TuneIn app; hear it Monday at 7 p.m. on WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 in DeKalb, 8 pm Mondays on 560 AM The Answer in Chicago and Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on SportsFan Radio 1330 AM in Rockford.
- The weekly show features host Bill Baker, NIU Coach Rod Carey, Huskie players and special guests.
NIU WEEKLY RADIO SHOW
- Airs Friday at 10 p.m. CT in Chicago on AM 560 The Answer, Saturday at 8:30 a.m. on WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 in DeKalb and on Sports Fan Radio 1330 in Rockford at 6:30 a.m Saturdays.
- Also hear it on NIUTube (subscription).
- Hosts are Andy Garcia and Sean T. Frazier, NIU Associate Vice-President and Director of Athletics.
- The 30-minute show features interviews with football coach Rod Carey, other NIU head coaches and guests.
NIUTUBE (Huskie All-Access)
- See weekly and post-game press conferences, video features, Huskie Olympic sports and special events.
- Hear all NIU live radio broadcasts, including football and basketball games and NIU radio shows.
- Purchase a daily, monthly or annual subsciption.
- Go to NIUHuskies.com for rates and information.
GETTING SOCIAL
- Twitter: @NIUAthletics, @NIUScores, @NIU_Football
- Facebook: NIU Huskies, NIU Football
- Instagram: niuhuskies, niufootball
- YouTube: niuhuskiesdotcom
- See NIU Athletics' social media hub online to see all of the Huskie team and coaching staff accounts.
NEWS & NOTES
HUSKIE HOMESTAND: The Northern Illinois University football team continues is season opening two-game homestand when the Huskies play host to Eastern Illinois Saturday, Sept. 9 at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN3. The Huskies suffered a 23-20 setback to Boston College last week to begin the two-game stretch. The last time the Huskies opened a season with back-to-back home games was 2015. NIU defeated UNLV, 38-30, in the season opener, and Murray State, 57-26, in the next game.
RENEWING ACQUAINTANCES: NIU and Eastern Illinois meet for the 38th time, and the first time since 2013 when
Jordan Lynch outdueled Eastern Illinois' Jimmy Garoppolo for an NIU victory at Huskie Stadium. NIU owns a 26-10-1 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1902, NIU's fourth year of football. NIU and Eastern Illinois played nine times in 10 years from 1933-42, and then every year from 1944 through 1965 as members of the Little 19 and then Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC). The teams have played just four times since 1990. EIU's win in 1998 was the Panthers' only victory in the last 13 meetings.
THE LAST TIME WE MET: After trailing 20-0 midway through the first quarter, NIU came back to earn a 43-39 victory over Eastern Illinois in front of a sellout crowd of 23,595 Saturday at Huskie Stadium. Senior quarterback
Jordan Lynch threw for 235 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 189 yards. Running back Cameron Stingily added 134 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. After EIU took a 39-36 lead with 9:53 to play in the fourth quarter, Keith Harris, Jr. capped a four-play 62-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to give the Huskies the lead for good.
IN-STATE FOES: NIU is 101-74-13 all-time versus current FBS and FCS schools in Illinois for a winning percentage of .572. Twenty-eight of Northern Illinois' in-state wins have come versus Southern Illinois while the Huskies' 26 wins against Eastern are the second-most among that group. The Huskies have defeated Illinois State 25 times, while NIU is 21-18-1 versus Western Illinois. The Huskies are 0-4 versus Illinois and 1-6-1 in eight meetings with Northwestern. NIU last played an in-state opponent in 2016 when the Huskies lost to Western Illinois (28-23) in DeKalb. The Huskies' last win over an in-state foe was in 2014 when NIU defeated Northwestern at Ryan Field, 23-15.
DO I KNOW YOU?: There are two common high schools, both from the Chicago Catholic League represented by both NIU and Eastern Illinois with nine total players between the two teams. Leading the way is Mt. Carmel with seven players, two on NIU and five on EIU. All seven were teammates for the Caravan two years ago, while
Tommy Mister (NIU) and Darshon McCullough (EIU) represent St. Rita.
FCS SUCCESS: Since moving to the "major college" ranks in 1969, NIU has enjoyed success versus opponents in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). NIU owns a 14-3 record versus FCS opponents since 2000 and has won five of its last six games. The Huskies' last loss to an FCS team came last season when Western Illinois defeated the Huskies 28-23 at Huskie Stadium, while their last win was a 57-26 victory over Murray State, Sept. 12, 2015 in DeKalb.
YOUTH IS SERVED: Eight Huskies made their first career start Friday vs. BC, including three of NIU's four starting defensive linemen (
Sutton Smith,
Ben LeRoy and
Jack Heflin). In all, 15 total players out of 22 starters (eight on offense, seven on defense) came into the game with less than 10 career starts. Of those 15, 11 have started less than five games.
FROSH FACES: Three redshirt and four true freshmen made their NIU debuts against Boston College, led by freshman punter
Matt Ference, who averaged 40.9 yards on eight punts. Ferrence's classmates
Isaac Hawn (OL),
Matt Lorbeck (DE) and
Weston Kramer (DT) also saw their first collegiate action in Cardinal and Black. Redshirt freshmen
Jack Heflin (DT),
Andrew Parchment (WR) and
Austin Warner (OL) also stepped on Brigham Field for the first time in live game action. Heflin recorded his first tackle in the third quarter.
WELCOME NEWCOMERS: NIU also had five newcomers see their first action as Huskies Friday night versus Boston College: non-freshmen
Drequan Brown (DE),
Jalen Embry (CB),
Devin Webster (DT),
Jauan Wesley (WR) and
Mykelti Williams (S). Williams started at one of the safety spots and tallied five solo stops and a pass break up, while Brown recorded one tackle, a sack, in his first game at NIU. Embry recorded four tackles, three solo, and Webster added a tackle.
TE FOR THE TD: Shane Wimann, who entered the season as the school record holder for career touchdown receptions by a tight end upped his total to 11 on a seven-yard catch in the third quarter against Boston College. The Huskie senior has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last three season-opening games.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: With a 60-20 record at home since 2003, NIU's all-time record at Huskie Stadium stands at 168-103-2 for a .619 winning percentage. During that stretch, the Huskies have had 12 winning records at home and three undefeated seasons in DeKalb (2003, 2010 and 2013).
WELCOME BACK: Three Huskies – wide receiver/punt returner
Chad Beebe, cornerback
Albert Smalls and tailback
Marcus Jones – who missed most or all of last season, returned to start Friday night's game versus Boston College. Beebe finished with a career-high 93 yards on six catches and had three punt returns for 17 yards. Jones finished with 48 yards on 11 carries, while Smalls tallied six tackles, including a tackle for loss.
GAME GRAHAM: Junior
Ryan Graham threw for 190 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 15-of-38 passing in the season opener against Boston College. He also rushed for a career-high 99 yards on 12 carries and had a 13-yard reception in his eighth career start. His 60-yard run set up NIU's first touchdown.
QUARTERBACK SIX PACK: Graham became only the sixth different season-opening signal-caller for NIU since 2008 when he took the first snap from center of 2017. Chandler Harnish started the initial games of the 2008, 2009 and 2011 seasons, while DeMarcus Grady started the 2010 season opener.
Jordan Lynch took the first snaps of the year in 2012 and 2013, and Matt McIntosh started the 2014 season.
Drew Hare started both the 2015 and 2016 campaigns. Lynch (2013) was the last Huskie QB to start and finish the year as the starter.
QUARTER-BLAKE: Wide receiver
Christian Blake completed his second career pass when he hit quarterback
Ryan Graham on a 13-yard pass play in the third quarter. Blake connected with
Anthony Maddie on a nine-yard pass at Western Michigan (Oct. 8) last year.
MEET THE "NEW" GUYS: Two-time NIU All-American and 2013 Heisman Trophy finalist
Jordan Lynch is one of three new members of the coaching staff for 2017. One of the top FBS running quarterbacks of all-time, Lynch is coaching the Huskie running backs.
Jeff Knowles (linebackers) and
Steve Crutchley (wide receivers) are the other new additions.
FILLING THE VOID: With the graduations of
Kenny Golladay and
Aregeros Turner, the Huskie receiving corps lost 58.4 percent of its total yardage from last season. Golladay led the Huskies with 1,156 yards on 87 receptions, while Turner tallied 40 catches for 415 yards.
Christian Blake, NIU's returning leading receiver, was second on the team last season with 457 receiving yards on 34 catches. Tight end
Shane Wimann ranked next with 254 yards on 24 receptions.
WORKING ON THE LINE: There are multiple new faces on the NIU defensive line with
Josh Corcoran (DE) and
William Lee (DT) the only returnees who saw significant time in the top eight rotation a year ago. Tackle
Ben LeRoy, who played a back-up role as a true freshman in 2016, end
Sutton Smith and redshirt freshman
Jack Heflin all earned their first starts versus BC and were joined by Corcoran and Lee, senior
Joe Sanders and newcomers
Drequan Brown,
Matt Lorbeck,
Devin Webster and
Weston Kramer in the defensive line rotation. The group combined for two sacks and six tackles for loss while the NIU defense held BC to just three yards per rush.
MR. SMITH GOES OFF: Redshirt sophomore
Sutton Smith recorded a career-high six stops in NIU's contest with Boston College. Of those six tackles, five were for a loss. Larry English holds the school record for tackle for loss with six against Temple (Oct. 20) in the 2006 season.
AT A LOSS: The Huskie defense recorded 12 tackles for loss against Boston College for a total of 39 yards. The last time the NIU defense tallied a dozen tackles for loss was last season at Ball State (Oct. 1). Five Huskies, led by
Sutton Smith, who finished the game with five, recorded a tackle for loss.
Albert Smalls and
Drequan Brown posted their first career tackles for loss, while
Jawuan Johnson and
Bobby Jones IV tallied three and two tackles for loss, respectively. NIU is tied for fourth in the nation in tackles for loss.
DYNAMIC DEBUT: Kyle Pugh, who entered Friday night's game with Boston College without a career tackle, amassed a game-high 17 stops and recorded his first career interception in his first career start. His first quarter interception led to a
Christian Hagan field goal and a 3-0 NIU lead. Pugh's 17 tackles are the most since
Sean Folliard tallied 17 last season at Ball State (Oct. 1).
THREE OF A KIND: Pugh was one of three Huskies to finish the Boston College game in double digits in tackles. Bobby Jones IV tallied 16 tackles, 10 solo, including two for a loss, while Jawuan Johnson added 10 stops, including three solo tackles. It is the first since 2013 when Ken Bishop (11), Boomer Mays (11) and Jimmie Ward (10) accomplished the feat in a 35-17 victory over Toledo (Nov. 20).
STACKED SECONDARY: While the Huskie front seven has five new starters this year, NIU's secondary returned all four starters and then some in 2017. Both starting safeties from last year –
Mycial Allen and
Trequan Smith – as well as cornerbacks
Shawun Lurry and Mayomi Olootu are back, as is
Albert Smalls, who started the 2016 season at cornerback. Allen recorded five tackles and a pass breakup, while Lurry tallied two tackles versus Boston College.
SUNSHINE STATERS: The 2017 Huskie roster includes 12 players from the state of Florida. Freshmen
Jalen McKie,
Dennis Robinson and
Jordan Robinson, no relation, join nine returning Florida Huskies – seniors
Christian Blake,
Shawun Lurry and
Ezra Saffold, redshirt senior
Bobby Jones IV, redshirt junior
Albert Smalls, redshirt sophomores Antonio Davis-Jones and
Trequan Smith and redshirt freshman
Andrew Parchment.
HIGH SCHOOL CHUMS: The NIU football team has nine pairs of Huskies that prepped at the same high school. Of those nine, eight were in high school at the same time and two of those pairs were classmates.
Shawun Lurry (Sr.) &
Ezra Saffold (Sr.) -- W.T. Dwyer (Fla.)
Tifonte Hunt (R-Jr.) &
Jauan Wesley (R-Jr.) -- Thornton Township (Ill.)
Aaron Fischer (R-Jr.) &
Devin Webster (Jr.) -- Sun Prairie (Wis.)
Anthony Thompson (R-Fr.) &
Michael Kennedy (Fr.) -- Mount Carmel (Ill.)
Bobby Jones IV (R-Sr.) &
Albert Smalls (R-Jr.) -- Monsignor Pace (Fla.)
Mycial Allen (R-Sr.) &
Jalen Embry (R-Jr.) -- M.L. King (Mich.)
Ryan Gibbons (R-Fr.) &
Vinny Labus (Fr.) -- Maine South (Ill.)
Jimmy Russell (R-Sr.) &
Cole Tucker (Fr.) -- DeKalb (Ill.)
Jonathan Parker (R-Sr.) &
Quintin Wynne (R-So.) -- Christian Brothers (Mo.)
FINISHING AT NIU: NIU welcomed two graduate transfers for 2017. Tailback
Jonathan Parker comes to NIU after spending the previous four seasons at Iowa.
Jaden Huff transferred to NIU from St. Cloud State, where he was a team captain for the St. Cloud State Huskie in 2016.
DEGREES IN HAND: Eight Huskies will take the field Saturday against Eastern Illinois with their bachelor's degrees already in hand. Six have earned their degrees from NIU, while two others came to DeKalb as graduate transfers.
Jackson Abresch, Operations and Information Management
Ty Harmston, Biology
Jordan Huff, Pre-Computer Science
Bobby Jones IV, Kinesiology
William Lee, Journalism
Max Scharping, Kinesiology
Jaden Huff, Finance (St. Cloud State)
Jonathan Parker, Business (Iowa)
MAKING THE GRADE: The NIU football team continues to excel in the classroom. NIU again leads the MAC and ranks in the Top 20 nationally with a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 84 percent, which is 10 points above the national FBS average. Additionally, the Huskies' 976 in the most recent Academic Progress Rate (APR) report from the NCAA, is the third-highest score in school history.
HALL CALL: Huskie football greats, Steve Azar and Garrett Wolfe, will be inducted into the NIU Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. The Huskies' all-time leading rusher with 5,164 career rushing yards, Wolfe led the nation in rushing with 1,928 yards and TDs with 18 in 2006 and was named the league's MVP. NIU's all-time leading scorer, Azar is the only player in NIU football history to earn all-conference honors four times. He also earned First team All-America honors by Football News and Second Team Freshman All-America accolades the Sporting News.
MAC PRESEASON POLLS: NIU was picked to finish in third place in the MAC West Division in 2017 by both the MAC media and MAC Coaches. Toledo was picked to win the league by both polls. It is the fourth straight year the MAC Media Poll has not picked NIU to win its division. Ohio was picked to win the East in both polls.
