TCY/FOF Northern Illinois Huskies Dynasty (reloaded)

[Dolemite73]

Due to my hard drive crashing, I am restarting this dynasty from scratch. Below are the ground rules:

This will be a TCY/FOF 2004 Dynasty that will follow the careers of any Northern Illinois alumni that make it to the next level. My ground rules are as follows:

• I will use the I formation offense. The defense will likely be the 46 defense, as we want to concentrate on stopping the run and pressuring the QB.
• I take care of recruiting, the offensive game plan, and hiring/firing assistants. My assistants take care of everything else.
• Initially, I’ll only recruit prospects within a 200-mile radius of Chicago, Illinois, focusing mainly on the Chicago Public League schools.
If we win at least 6 games in a season, I’ll increase it by 50 miles per win over six.
• The Solecismic Eight will be in North Carolina (Crystal Coast Conference).
• Game setting will be on Starting Lineup (I am a relative novice to this game.
• Recruits must have an SAT of 1100, and GPA of 3.00.
• In any recruiting class, I can only sign 50% recruits from the outside of the greater Chicagoland area. The remainder must come from the city or surrounding suburbs.


I have a lot of rebuilding to do, the team will be young and recruiting will not be easy this year coming off a mediocre Season. My Goal for 2004 will be to finish 6-5 and hopefully land a Bowl bid to restore some prestige to the program.

[Dolemite73]

Syndicate Coordinator
Daryl Bradley, 39
Poor at academic eligibility, poor at soliciting donations, and Poor at syndicate investigation. He will be fired quickly.

Offensive Coordinator
Emmitt Dawkins, 39
He is a Former Northern Illinois QB who went onto the NFL after his college career. After a productive rookie season, he tore his left knee to pieces in a preseason game and had to retire. Finding a place as an assistant coach with the previous regime, his skill in coaching was evident. I knew I wanted him as my Off. Cord. In player development, he is Good or above in everything. His only weaknesses are rehab and the players hate him.

Defensive Coordinator
Ricky Forte, 34
Terrible coordinator. Poor play caller, Lousy attitude and Lousy with LB's. Will be on the first thing smoking out of time.

Due to our recruiting radius, the following may be our two most important scouts:

Great Lakes Scout
Ken Rouen, 72
Fair or Below in most ratings. An old-school director from a bygone era. Will be gone as soon as I can fire him. In this critical area, I need as good a scout as I can find.

Mid West Scout
Les Bauer, 68
Not a bad scout actually (only Poor with OL and Secondary). Still, I need to get younger scouts so he will be released.

This staff will be quite a challenge.

[Dolemite73]

Starters are in BOLD. Redshirts are in RED:

Patton, Donnie 10 QB Sr 39 39
Gunn, Jerry 11 QB Sr 34 34
Scott, Walter 8 QB So* 8 35
Bohme, Earnest 15 QB* Fr 9 42
Galloway, Jeffrey 5 QB* Fr 7 9
Tough choice. Gunn is a running QB and throws better screens and deep ball. Patton is the better pocket passer and throws a better intermediate and short game. I am going with Patton for now. May do QB by committee.

Jackson, Edward 43 RB Sr 48 48
Rupp, Tyrus 21 RB Sr 31 41
Baxter, Rufus 36 RB Fr 21 30
Gaylor, Jorge 34 RB Sr 21 21
Schroeder, Ricardo 33 RB Sr 20 42
Jackson is the easy choice. He is fast and has really good hands. Will need more talent here next year.

Barlow, Thurman 20 FB Sr* 36 52
Beals, Arnie 45 FB Jr 26 36
Malone, Terry 44 FB Sr* 26 26
Mattes, Les 35 FB Fr 11 25
Easy choice here.

Herriman, J.J. 92 TE Sr* 48 48
Getson, Dean 88 TE So* 28 31
Mueller, Andre 83 TE So 19 41
Zulkowski, Todd 81 TE So* 11 16
Not much of a blocker, but has good hands and will make the tough catch.

Edwards, Gerald 89 WR Sr 42 44
McDonald, Grant 82 WR Sr 37 51
Daniels, O.J. 3 WR Sr 36 46
Marsh, Warren 86 WR Sr 34 34
Holliday, Victor 85 WR Sr 31 31
Hastings, Terry 4 WR Sr 20 34
Serra, Brock 2 WR* Jr 14 31
Think I need to recruit here? 6 seniors. Edwards is my one big play guy. Marsh is huge (6'5") and has better bars than the others. All will get an equal chance to contribute. This will probably be my number 1 priority in recruiting.

Roller, Harvey 57 C Jr* 30 67
Hoffman, Toby 50 C* So* 14 52
Binette, Jose 79 G Sr* 18 18
Samuelson, Juan 52 T Jr* 21 42
Boehner, Dwight 71 G Fr 9 58
Walton, Brandon 60 G* Fr 8 13
Schroeder, Joel 78 G* So* 5 40
Beebe, Conrad 61 T Sr* 34 57
Panko, James 68 T Sr* 31 40
Haber, Warren 64 T Fr 11 28
Hanson, Mel 67 T* Fr 5 19
C and T's are decent. Very ugly with the G's. Atrocious, actually. My poor QB will be running for his life and my HB's will be running into brick wall. Maybe I should go with my scrambling QB. Will have to think long and hard about it. Thinking about switching Samuelson to G as well.

[Dolemite73]

Adams, Eddie 73 DE Sr* 26 26
Cox, Orlando 75 DE Jr 22 39
Springer, Mack 74 DE Sr 19 19
Gibson, Cornelius 93 DE Jr 16 33
Bensen, Will 94 DE* So* 12 22
Jamison, Morris 91 DE* So* 7 15

Not much to work with here. Springer has pretty good bars, but Adams is better overall. Gibson has big upside, so I will let him grow into the position.

Rinehart, Stanley 72 DT Sr* 22 22
Johnson, Kris 77 DT Jr* 17 46
Porter, Ross 96 DT So* 9 44
Tate, J.R. 90 DT* So* 5 13

Going to need a huge infusion of talent in my upcoming recruiting classes. These DT's are not very good.

Wayne, Scottie 59 ILB* Jr 20 42
Kafka, J.B. 54 ILB* So* 11 40
Dickens, Alex 98 ILB* So* 6 26
Darusmont, Will 97 ILB* So* 3 42

Poor talent. Darusmont has huge upside on his bars. Will keep an eye on him.

Kondovski, Oscar 48 OLB Sr 54 73
Hancock, Nicky 53 OLB Sr* 25 37
Dreyfuss, George 99 OLB Sr 23 32
Lipford, Karl 40 OLB So 22 35
Grange, Hunter 51 OLB Jr 18 18

Kondovski is the best player on my team. Can do it all. Dreyfuss has the better bars, so he gets the nod on the strong side.

Sanford, Jared 23 CB Jr 48 76
Trafton, Butch 25 CB Jr 28 40
Walton, Freddie 27 CB Sr 25 27
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr* 20 26
Sotelo, Winston 28 CB* So* 14 21
Kozhin, Bernie 22 CB* Fr 7 29

Sandford is a shut down corner. Another stellar defender.

Herriman, Russell 24 S So 29 51
Lemoine, J.C. 37 S Sr 28 42
Collins, Moe 49 S Sr 19 32
Mansour, Edgar 30 S* Fr 14 23

Need better players here next year.

[Dolemite73]

Morton, Paul 6 P Sr 57 57
Barrett, Ike 7 P So* 20 42
Scheffer, Rusty 1 K Sr 39 52
Foster, Arnold 13 K Jr* 34 60

Scheffer is more accurate, but Foster has a huge leg on kickoffs. Will go with Scheffer for now.

[Dolemite73]

Preseason Top 25 and MAC Preview

Michigan 0-0 B10 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.52 2.52 1
Florida State 0-0 ACC 4.00 3.00 0.00 0.12 7.12 2
Miami of Florida 0-0 ACC 3.00 3.50 0.00 1.36 7.86 3
Oklahoma 0-0 B12 2.00 6.00 0.00 1.12 9.12 4
Ohio State 0-0 B10 5.00 4.00 0.00 0.68 9.68 5
Georgia 0-0 SEC 6.00 6.50 0.00 2.08 14.58 6
Texas 0-0 B12 8.00 8.00 0.00 1.20 17.20 7
Nebraska 0-0 B12 7.00 9.50 0.00 1.04 17.54 8
Florida 0-0 SEC 10.00 7.50 0.00 2.04 19.54 9
Southern California 0-0 P10 9.00 9.00 0.00 1.88 19.88 10
Penn State 0-0 B10 13.00 9.50 0.00 0.72 23.22 11
Louisiana State 0-0 SEC 12.00 11.50 0.00 2.40 25.90 12
Tennessee 0-0 SEC 11.00 16.00 0.00 2.20 29.20 13
Alabama 0-0 SEC 15.00 14.00 0.00 2.28 31.28 14
California-Los Angeles 0-0 P10 14.00 15.50 0.00 1.92 31.42 15
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 16.00 16.00 0.00 4.56 36.56 16
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 17.00 20.50 0.00 0.80 38.30 17
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 21.00 17.50 0.00 1.24 39.74 18
Virginia Tech 0-0 ACC 18.00 21.50 0.00 1.56 41.06 19
Oregon 0-0 P10 22.00 22.00 0.00 1.76 45.76 20
Clemson 0-0 ACC 19.00 27.00 0.00 0.04 46.04 21
Maryland 0-0 ACC 27.00 21.00 0.00 0.20 48.20 22
Washington 0-0 P10 24.00 23.50 0.00 1.96 49.46 23
Kansas State 0-0 B12 20.00 30.50 0.00 0.96 51.46 24
Purdue 0-0 B10 26.00 26.00 0.00 0.76 52.76 25

MAC North
Marshall 0-0 MAC 59.00 58.50 0.00 3.80 121.30 60
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 65.00 62.50 0.00 3.84 131.34 65
Central Florida 0-0 MAC 81.00 77.00 0.00 4.44 162.44 79
Akron 0-0 MAC 108.0094.00 0.00 3.64 205.64 100
Kent State 0-0 MAC 109.0098.00 0.00 3.76 210.76 104
Buffalo 0-0 MAC 115.00105.500.00 3.72 224.22 113
Ohio 0-0 MAC 110.00117.000.00 3.88 230.88 116

MAC South
Toledo 0-0 MAC 60.00 65.00 0.00 4.08 129.08 64
Northern Illinois 0-0 MAC 69.00 69.00 0.00 4.04 142.04 70
Western Michigan 0-0 MAC 89.00 91.00 0.00 4.12 184.12 91
Ball State 0-0 MAC 101.0094.50 0.00 3.92 199.42 99
Eastern Michigan 0-0 MAC 111.0097.00 0.00 4.00 212.00 106
Central Michigan 0-0 MAC 102.00112.000.00 3.96 217.96 109

[Dolemite73]

2004 Huskies Schedule:


2004 Northern Illinois Schedule

Rival: Ball State
Stadium Capacity: 28,000
Season Tickets Sold: 17,200

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
2 at (27) Maryland
3 GOLDSBORO
4 at (49) Iowa State
5 BOWLING GREEN
6 AKRON
7 at Central Florida
8 CENTRAL MICHIGAN
9 at Western Michigan
10 at Ball State
11 Bye
12 TOLEDO
13 at Eastern Michigan </pre>

Will be a tough schedule. I have very little confidence in this team. If I win 6 games, I will be immensely happy.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 1

Bye Week
Record Overall 0-0 MAC South 0-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
None

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

As I see it my recruiting priorities are in this order: WR, DT, QB, G, ILB, S, HB, T, DE, and TE. The #1 HB in the state (Hugh Horn) is from DeKalb, IL. You know NIU will be all over him. Academics and distance is his most important criteria. Well NIU is 2 miles from his house and 96/100 in his major. He is mine! Wish me luck. The 16th ranked player (DT) in the nation lives 30 miles from NIU. But he has a 1.66 GPA and scored a 725 on the SAT. Sigh......can't go after him. I am sure Illinois will be all over him.

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Maryland
Asheville at Western Michigan
Bowling Green at #4 Oklahoma
Boston College at Ball State
Buffalo at Eastern Michigan
Central Michigan at Indiana
Toledo at Minnesota

Maryland is going to be tough to deal with. They have a high powered offense that will be tough to deal with. Play zone and defend the pass and their stud HB will kill you. Load up the box and their outstanding QB with his monster WR will carve us to pieces. Pick your poison. Bowling Green has some moxie and balls going to Norman to take on the #4 Sooners. Fairly tough schedule out of the chute for the MAC South.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 2

Maryland 54 Northern Illinois 3
Record Overall 0-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
Donnie Patton 6/25 65yds 3 int
Jerry Gunn 2/3 19yds

Rushing
Edward Jackson 8att 18yds
Ricardo Schroeder 3att 10yds

Receiving
TE J.J. Herriman 3cat 33yds
WR Gerald Edwards 1cat 14yds
WR Andre Mueller 1cat 14yds

Defense
OLB Oscar Kondovski 10tack 3 ast 2 pass defended
FS Russell Herriman 5tack 1ast 2 forced fum
DT Kris Johnson 5tack 1ast

Recap
The score tells the story. 8 first downs. 14 rushing yards. 21 minutes time of possession. I could go on and on, but I will spare you the details. I hope this is not a foreshadow of things to come. The only positives I see from this game is the 33.1yds per kickoff return WR O.J. Daniels ran for and the monster game OLB Oscar Kondovski had. Well, onto next week.

Injuries
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Sternum - Ques 5 weeks

Hopefully we can get him back earlier. Our depth is weak at his position.

Recruiting

Visits
S Conrad JohnSy – Wesmont, IL Overall 279, position 16

Commits
None

Looks like this kid did not waste anytime seeing what we had to offer. This kid looks like a monster (6'1" 170lbs with lots of room to grow) and is a man playing among boys in high school (51tack 4sack 12int). If we can get him, he will look good in our defensive backfield next year. Clemson is after him hard, but I have my foot in the door.

MAC South Scoreboard
Maryland 54 Northern Illinois 3
Western Michigan 42 Asheville 35
#4 Oklahoma 38 Bowling Green 13
Boston College 56 Ball State 0
Buffalo 34 Eastern Michigan 28
Indiana 23 Central Michigan 17
Minnesota 13 Toledo 10

With :03 left on the clock in the 4th quarter, Toledo has a chance to send the game into overtime with a 36yd FG kick. It goes wide left. Bravo to Toledo for hanging so tough with a Big 10 team. They look very strong and have to be the favorites in our division.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Western Michigan 1 0 0 1.000 42 35 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Toledo 0 1 0 .000 10 13 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Central Michigan 0 1 0 .000 17 23 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Bowling Green 0 1 0 .000 13 38 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
**Northern Illinois 0 1 0 .000 3 54 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Ball State 0 1 0 .000 0 56 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 0 1 0 .000 28 34 0 1 0 .000 28 34 Lost 1 


Next weeks Schedule
Goldsboro at Northern Illinois
Ball State at Purdue
Central Michigan at #24 Michigan State
Eastern Michigan at #8 Florida
Western Michigan at Virginia Tech
South Florida at Bowling Green
Toledo at Kansas

First game at home, so we need to atone for the trashing this week. Goldsboro features a Run and Shoot offense, but their strength is on the front 7. Maybe pretty tough to run on them, but we should be able to get our passing game started. We need a nice, strong performance. Toledo is a 2pt favorite going into Kansas. Will be interesting to see if they can beat with a Big 12 team.

[bbgunn]

I'm partial to the QB named Gunn, but I'll be following along no matter who's behind center. :)

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 3

Northern Illinois 52 Goldsboro 20
Record Overall 1-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
Donnie Patton 16/24 218yds 0td 0int

Rushing
HB Edward Jackson 23att 249yds 5TD
HB Tyrus Rupp 16att 68yds

Receiving
WR Gerald Edwards 4cat 56yds
WR Grant McDonald 3cat 57yds
HB Edward Jackson 3cat 30yds

Defense
CB Jared Sanford 7tack 1ast 3 passes defended
CB Butch Trafton 3tack 2ast 1 forced fum 1 pass defended
DT Kris Johnson 2tack 1ast 2.5sacks

Recap
Much better. After the whipping we took last week, our kids were ready to get back out there and redeem themselves. And these kids did just that. They gained a whopping 556 total yard and controlled the clock for 38 minutes.

Offensively, QB Donnie Patton made up from a forgettable game last week by not making any mistakes and letting the running game take over. HB Edward Jackson had a MONSTER game! He was unstoppable and as a team, we rushed for 338yds and 6.6YPC. Can't get much better than that.

Defensively, though we only had 1 interception, we dominated the line of scrimmage holding The Goldsboro Pig Pickers to 2.6YPC on the ground and limiting the Pig Pickers to 2/12 on 3rd down conversions. They also pressured the QB all game long.

Injuries
FB Thurman Barlow - Flu - Ques 2 weeks
T Conrad Beebe - Sprained Ankle - Ques 1 week
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Sternum - Prob 4 weeks

Nothing too bad. They should all play next week.

Recruiting

Visits
T Timothy Billingsley – Chicago, IL Overall 307, position 33
DE Aaron Small - Riverside, IL Overall 844, position 88
ILB Adam Berry - Round Lake, IL Overall 659, position 34

Commits
None

I am loving all of these early visits by these stellar players. Billingsley is a player I can put on the left side of the line and leave him there all four years. Small is a bit undersized, but is wreaking havoc in high school right now (49tack 8sacks 3int in 6 games). Would love to get him. All of these kids have me as their first choices, even over the Mighty Illinois Fighting Illini. I guess this teaches me to always hope for a good academic score. I am a mjor player in my state on the recruiting trail now.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 52 Goldsboro 20
Purdue 41 Ball State 10
#24 Michigan State 52 Central Michigan 10
#8 Florida 56 Eastern Michigan 0
Virginia Tech 51 Western Michigan 0
Bowling Green 38 South Florida 17
Toledo 37 Kansas 7

A lot of blowouts this week. You expect the ACC, SEC and Big 10 teams to beat up on us a little bit, but you do not expect to see Toledo go into Manhatten, KS and totally dominate a Big 12 Jayhawk team. Toledo has come out of the gate impressively.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 1 1 0 .500 47 20 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Bowling Green 1 1 0 .500 51 55 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
**Northern Illinois 1 1 0 .500 55 74 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Western Michigan 1 1 0 .500 42 86 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Central Michigan 0 2 0 .000 27 75 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Ball State 0 2 0 .000 10 97 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Eastern Michigan 0 2 0 .000 28 90 0 1 0 .000 28 34 Lost 2

Next weeks Schedule
Toledo at Eastern Michigan
Ball State at Missouri
Central Michigan at Wilmington
Northern Illinois at Iowa State
Western Michigan at Illinois

The Big 10 gets a chance to continue to beat on on the MAC South. We face the Iowa State Cyclones who is currently 1-1 after losing against the Iowa Hawkeye 30-20. The Cyclones have a pretty balanced attack, led by WR David McWilliams (13cat 249yds 1TD). Defensively, they play a base 34 defense and have very nice linebackers to make that defense tough against the run. They also are opportunistic on defense and have a turnover ratio of +4. This should be a really good test for us. Hopefully we can keep our streak rolling.

[Dolemite73]

I'm partial to the QB named Gunn, but I'll be following along no matter who's behind center. :)
If Gunn threw a better intermediate and short ball, he would be starting. His scrambling ability is off the chart (93) and is very nice with screens (74).

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 4

Iowa State 52 Northern Illinois 7
Record Overall 1-2 MAC South 0-0

Passing
Donnie Patton 7/19 76yds 0td 3int
Jerry Gunn 4/8 15yds 1td 1int

Rushing
HB Tyrus Rupp 7att 32yds
HB Edward Jackson 5att 12yds 0TD

Receiving
WR Warren Marsh 2cat 12yds
HB Edward Jackson 2cat 6yds
WR Gerald Edwards 1cat 11yds

Defense
OLB Oscar Kondovski 9tack 2ast 2 passes defended
DT Stanley Rinehart 6tack
CB Jared Sanford 5tack 2ast 1 pass defended

Recap
So far this year, it is either feast or famine with the NIU Huskies. Iowa State's defense dominated us. We gained 105 total yds the entire game. That kind of production is not going to get it done! Also, 6 turnovers did wonders for the Iowa State Offense. Playing on a short field all day can do wonders for a middling offense.

Offensively, The Huskies could not get a thing done. The were 1/11 on third down conversions. The OLine allowed 6 sacks. This constant pressure contributed to all of the interceptions thrown by the QB's. The OLine also could not open any holes for the running game. I am keeping a close eye on QB's Patton and Gunn. I may make a change if need be.

Defensively, we were manhandled up front (allowed 224 yds) and could not get any pressure on the QB. The secondary was carved to pieces in this game as well. Also, we did not force Iowa State to punt once!

Injuries
OLB Hunter Grange - Hip Pointer - Doubt 4 weeks
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Sternum - Prob 2 weeks

Our only luck so far this year. We have stay pretty healthy.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

Things are pretty quiet on the recruiting trail. Getting some stiff competition for the recruits I have contacted, but I am holding pretty steady with them. Hope to start getting a few more recruits in for our homecoming game in a couple of weeks.

MAC South Scoreboard
Eastern Michigan 21 Toledo 14
Missouri 31 Ball State 0
Central Michigan 24 Wilmington 23
Iowa State 52 Northern Illinois 7
Illinois 26 Western Michigan 7

Huge upset by Eastern Michigan. Toledo's starting QB went down in this game and he was replaced by a true Freshman. The result was Toledo could not move the ball. Congrats to Eastern Michigan. Our division will be glad to get the Big 10 and Big 12 off of our schedules. We just can not compete with them.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Eastern Michigan 1 2 0 .333 49 104 1 1 0 .500 49 48 Won 1
Bowling Green 1 1 0 .500 51 55 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Central Michigan 1 2 0 .333 51 98 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Western Michigan 1 2 0 .333 49 112 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
**Northern Illinois 1 2 0 .333 62 126 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Ball State 0 3 0 .000 10 128 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3
Toledo 1 2 0 .333 61 41 0 1 0 .000 14 21 Lost 1 

Next weeks Schedule
Bowling Green at Northern Illinois (TV4)
Temple at Toledo
Colorado State at Eastern Michigan
Western Michigan at Ball State

Can Eastern Michigan defeat another stronger team? This will be a good test to see if the MAC can compete against the WAC. Looking forward to seeing this game. NIU begins MAC conference play against the 1-1 Bowling Green Falcons. Bowling Green's best unit is their pass rush led by DE Courtney Fields (4sacks, 4 QB hurries). Their secondary is is ranked in the upper third of college football should be a good test for our developing QB. Offensively, the Falcons have struggled running the ball and throwing the ball. Averaging only 2.7YPC, we should be able to take away the run and see if their QB can beat us in the air. Chances are that he can't.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 5

Bowling Green 38 Northern Illinois 14
Record Overall 1-3 MAC South 0-1

Passing
Donnie Patton 7/21 91yds 0td 1int

Rushing
HB Tyrus Rupp 8att 24yds
HB Edward Jackson 7att 13yds 1TD

Receiving
WR O.J. Daniels 3cat 49yds
TE J.J. Herriman 2cat 22yds
WR Grant McDonald 1cat 17yds

Defense
OLB Oscar Kondovski 14tack 4ast
FS Russell Herriman 11tack 5ast
ILB Will Darusmont 4tack 2ast 1int

Recap
Things are quickly coming to a head with this team. Even running a 46 defense, we can not stop the run (gave up 320yds). We can not pass the ball (33% completion pct). We can not protect the ball (4 turnovers) or the QB (5 sacks allowed, 3.5 by Bowling Green DE Courtney Fields). And we are struggling running the ball. Some changes need to be made and we will make them.

Offensively, The Huskies are struggling mightily to get come continuity. They only gained 128 total yard, are not running with any consistency and are being exposed on the OLine. We have to start playing tougher and not so soft.

Defensively, we suck. I may be sitting down with my staff to examine our approach on defense. Our 3rd down defense has to get better (Bowling Green was 12/15 on third down conversions). On special teams we did run back a kickoff TD for 96 yards, so that was a good thing.

Injuries
ILB J.B. Kafka - Hyperextended Knee - Out 6 weeks
OLB Hunter Grange - Hip Pointer - Doubt 4 weeks
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Ribcage - Ques 4 weeks
WR Victor Holliday - Bruised Sternum - Ques 6 weeks

Our LB corps is being decimated by injuries.

Recruiting

Visits
CB Barry Peterson - Aurora, IL - Overall UR, position 79

Commits
None

Only have one kid visiting for homecoming week. Though not rank nationally, my scout says this kid is a sleeper and should be able to develop into a shut down corner in the future.

MAC South Scoreboard
Bowling Green 38 Northern Illinois 14
Temple 40 Toledo 27
Colorado State 19 Eastern Michigan 7
Western Michigan 33 Ball State 27

Well the WAC shows we are an inferior conference as well (sigh). Toledo is upset at home by a pretty week Temple Owls team as well. Just not a good week al the way around. Bowling Green sits on top of the division right now. Who would have figured that?

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 2 1 0 .666 89 69 1 0 0 1.000 38 14 Won 2
Western Michigan 2 2 0 .500 82 136 1 0 0 1.000 33 24 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 1 3 0 .250 56 123 1 1 0 .500 49 48 Lost 1
Central Michigan 1 2 0 .333 51 98 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Toledo 1 3 0 .250 88 81 0 1 0 .000 14 21 Lost 2
Northern Illinois 1 3 0 .250 76 164 0 1 0 .000 14 38 Lost 2
Ball State 0 4 0 .000 34 161 0 1 0 .000 24 33 Lost 4 

Next weeks Schedule
Akron at Northern Illinois
Bowling Green at Temple
Kent State at Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan at Duke
Ball State at Toledo

With the exception of an ACC team (Duke), MAC conference play begins next week. We have the Akron Zips at home for our homecoming game this week. Akron features a flexbone offense that averages 150yds/game. Seeing as how we can not stop the run, this does not bode well for us. Defensively, they are pretty inconsistent, but do have a stud defensive line (led by DE Riddick McGee with 4 sacks). Winning this game is a must for us.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 6

Northern Illinois 34 Akron 27 2OT
Record Overall 2-3 MAC South 1-1

Passing
Jerry Gunn 14/20 165yds 1td 1int

Rushing
HB Edward Jackson 19att 130yds 2TD
HB Tyrus Rupp 8att 19yds 1TD

Receiving
WR O.J. Daniels 4cat 62yds
TE J.J. Herriman 3cat 58yds
HB Edward Jackson 4cat 14yds 1TD

Defense
FS Russell Herriman 9tack 3ast 1 pass defended
OLB Oscar Kondovski 8tack 3ast 1 pass defended
ILB Scottie Wayne 7tack 1ast 1int

Recap
Heck of a game! With :52 left in the 4th quarter, down 20-17, NIU K Rusty Sheffer kicks a 40yd FG to send the game into overtime. Akron wins the coin toss, get the ball and score a TD. NIU answers with a TD of their own. NIU gets the ball in the 2nd over time and scores a TD. Akron gets the ball and the following happens:

- 1st and 10 NIU 25yd line - AKRN pass completed for 14 yards.
- 1st and 10 NIU 11yd line - AKRN QB sacked for a loss of 6 yards.
- 2nd and 16 NIU 17yd line - AKRN ran off left guard for 2 yards.
- 3rd and 14 NIU 15yd line - AKRN False Start.
- 3rd and 19 NIU 20yd line - AKRN pass completed for 9 yards.
- 4th and 10 NIU 11yd line - AKRN pass fell incomplete, pass hurried by NIU.Our defense held strong and we won the game.

Offensively, I decided to go with QB Jerry Gunn as my starting QB, hoping for a spark. And he provided it! He was very efficient in the pocket and used his legs effectively to buy himself more time. Our running game was very effective (195 yards on 4.3YPC) and our play action game benefited from the success. Our OLine was effective finally and allowed 2 sacks while opening big holes in our running game.

Defensively, we did just enough to win. Our 3rd down defense was still not very good (Akron was 8/19 on third down conversions) and we gave up too much on the ground (202 rushing yards). On the other hand, our secondary played their best game all season (limiting 5 yds per pass attempt) and getting an interception (4 total turnovers).

Injuries
ILB J.B. Kafka - Hyperextended Knee - Out 5 weeks
OLB Hunter Grange - Hip Pointer - Doubt 3 weeks
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Ribcage - Ques 5 weeks
WR Victor Holliday - Bruised Sternum - Ques 5 weeks
DE Cornelius Gibson - Infiuenza - Ques 2 weeks

Getting our LB's back will help us out a lot.

Recruiting

Visits
CB Barry Peterson - Aurora, IL - Overall UR, position 79

Commits
None

Only have one kid visiting for homecoming week. Though not rank nationally, my scout says this kid is a sleeper and should be able to develop into a shut down corner in the future.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 34 Akron 27 2OT
Temple 35 Bowling Green 26
Kent State 34 Central Michigan 31
Duke 34 Eastern Michigan 9
Toledo 52 Ball State 21

Lots of inconsistency within the MAC South division right now. No one is stepping up and taking control of the division. This actually works for us because it gives us more time to get our act together for a late season push. I predict that Toledo will ultimately get their act together eventually.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 2 2 0 .500 115 104 1 0 0 1.000 38 14 Lost 1
Western Michigan 2 2 0 .500 82 136 1 0 0 1.000 33 24 Won 1
Toledo 2 3 0 .400 140 102 1 1 0 .500 66 42 Won 1
Northern Illinois 2 3 0 .400 110 191 1 1 0 .500 48 65 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 1 4 0 .200 65 157 1 1 0 .500 49 48 Lost 2
Central Michigan 1 3 0 .250 82 132 0 1 0 .000 31 34 Lost 1
Ball State 0 5 0 .000 55 213 0 2 0 .000 45 85 Lost 5 

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Central Florida
Bowling Green at Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan at Ball State
Toledo at Western Michigan

Hopefully this is the week where the MAC South starts to define itself. We travel down to Orlando, FL to take on the Central Florida Golden Knights. Central Florida currently has an 0-4 record. Their offense is ranked last in college football. Their QB has thrown 6 interceptions this year. Defensively, they are struggling as well, ranked in the bottom 10% in most every category. As long as we play fundamental football, we will beat this team.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 7

Central Florida 23 Northern Iliinois 20
Record Overall 2-4 MAC South 1-2

Passing
Jerry Gunn 15/36 265yds 1td 2int

Rushing
HB Edward Jackson 13att 37yds 1TD
HB Tyrus Rupp 5att 39yds

Receiving
WR O.J. Daniels 4cat 51yds 1TD
WR Grant McDonald 3cat 105yds
WR Geraldd Edwards 3cat 51yds

Defense
FS Russell Herriman 12tack 1ast 1 pass defended
OLB Oscar Kondovski 8tack 2ast 1 pass defended
DT Stanley Rinehart 6tack 1ast

Recap
The only solace I can take from this loss is the fact that we were down 23-3 in the 4th quarter and scored 17 unanswered points. I am quickly learning that as our running game goes, so goes our team. We must control the time of possession to keep our defense off of the field. This is the only chance we seem to have to win.

Offensively, QB Jerry Gunn really struggled until the 4th quarter. He then got his act together and made to very solid throws for us. our running game only average 3.3YPC. HB Edward Jackson has really struggled to get into a flow. Though the offensive line did a good job of protecting the QB (2 sack , 3 hurries), they did not open many holes in the running game. Our offense was 0/10 on third downs. This is not going to cut it.

Defensively, we let one bad quarter bury us. Central Florida scored 3 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, putting us into a big hole going into the 4th quarter. We have to be more consistent. The secondary was shredded for 328yds. When our defense does not get any pressure on the QB, our secondary pays the price.

Injuries
ILB J.B. Kafka - Hyperextended Knee - Ques 3 weeks
OLB Hunter Grange - Hip Pointer - Ques 2 weeks
T Conrad Beebe - Bruised Ribcage - Ques 4 weeks
WR Warren Marsh - Quadricep - Ques 4 weeks
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Ribcage - Ques 5 weeks
WR Victor Holliday - Bruised Sternum - Ques 5 weeks
DE Cornelius Gibson - Infiuenza - Ques 2 weeks

We have a lot of starters hurt right now. And our depth is bad.

Recruiting

Visits
C Stanley Cambell - Cary, IL - Overall 43, position 2
WR Grant Kaplan - Indianapolis, IN - Overall 113, position 3
DT Buddy Flannery - Menomonee Fall, WI - Overall 168, position 24
HB Hugh Horn - Dekalb, IL - Overall 337, position 25
G Corwin McCarthy - New Holstein, WI - Overall 365, position 32
QB Mo Livesay - Plymouth, WI - Overall 394, position 36
T Kendall Harper - Chicago, IL - Overall 484, position 48
DT Roman Lovelace - Huntington, IN - Overall 556, position 40
CB Gilbert Cunningham - Johnsburg, IL - Overall 712, position 46
OLB Dave Walters - Chicago, IL - Overall 875, position 55
P Geoff Davison - Geneva, IL - Overall 919, position 28

Commits
CB Barry Peterson - Aurora, IL - Overall UR, position 79

Lot of kids here this week. If I can get the three Offensive linemen to commit, I will have been successful. They would do wonders for my running game as they are all specialized in run blocking. WR Kaplan is a monster (9 games, 65 catches 1400yds 10TD). Would love to have him as well. Hopefully some more of my local kids visit me next week.

MAC South Scoreboard
Central Florida 23 Northern Illinois 20
Bowling Green 31 Central Michigan 6
Eastern Michigan 42 Ball State 32
Western Michigan 20 Toledo 3

Shocking win by Western Michigan. Thoroughly dominated Toledo. Bowling Green looks like they are starting to take control of the division now. Ball State is really struggling.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 3 2 0 .600 146 110 2 0 0 1.000 69 20 Won 1
Western Michigan 3 2 0 .600 102 139 2 0 0 1.000 53 27 Won 2
Eastern Michigan 2 4 0 .333 107 189 2 1 0 .666 91 80 Won 1
Toledo 2 4 0 .333 143 122 1 2 0 .333 69 62 Lost 1
Northern Illinois 2 4 0 .333 130 214 1 2 0 .333 68 88 Lost 1
Central Michigan 1 4 0 .200 88 163 0 2 0 .000 37 65 Lost 2
Ball State 0 6 0 .000 87 255 0 3 0 .000 77 127 Lost 6 

Next weeks Schedule
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois
Ball State at Bowling Green
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan
Ohio at Toledo

Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan play in what should be an outstanding game. Ball States goes to Bowling Green hoping for their first victory of the year. Central Michigan comes to DeKalb to play us. Central Michigan's strength is their passing game. Their QB averages 250yds/game and has a very nice WR Alonzo Edgerton (this guy is 6'6") to throw the ball too. Defensively, their pass defense ranks in the upper 1/3 in the nation. We need this game! We plan on attacking them on the ground (they are ranked 115th in the nation in run defense).

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 8

Central Michigan 44 Northern Iliinois 24
Record Overall 2-5 MAC South 1-3

Passing
Jerry Gunn 9/17 122yds 1td 1int

Rushing
HB Edward Jackson 17att 63yds
HB Tyrus Rupp 6att 49yds 1TD

Receiving
WR Warren Marsh 4cat 57yds 1TD
WR Grant McDonald 1cat 29yds
WR Gerald Edwards 1cat 13yds

Defense
OLB Oscar Kondovski 12tack 1ast 1 pass defended
FS Russell Herriman 6tack 1ast
CB Jared Sanford 5tack 1 pass defended

Recap
This game wasn't even close. We were down 44-10 going into the 4th quarter before they took their foot off of the accelerator. We could have easily lost by 50 points. Our pathetic defense doomed us this game. Changes will be made.

Offensively, QB Jerry Gunn had another sub-par game. I may consider bringing Donnie Patton back in to start. I am also considering replacing HB Edward Jackson in the starting line up with HB Tyrus Rupp and see if he can lift our running game. Our OLine was not able to adequately protect our QB (3 sacks, 7 hurries) nor were they able to open up holes for the running game effectively.

Defensively, we got run over by a runaway train. Central Michigan ran for 235yds on the ground and torched us for 240yds in the air. Central Michigan converted 50% of their 3rd down conversion as well. We never had a chance. Only highlight was a 91yd interception return TD by SS J.C. Lemoine.

Injuries
ILB J.B. Kafka - Hyperextended Knee - Ques 2 weeks
OLB Hunter Grange - Hip Pointer - Prob 1 weeks
T Conrad Beebe - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 3 weeks
WR Warren Marsh - Quadricep - Prob 3 weeks
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 3 weeks
WR Victor Holliday - Bruised Sternum - Prob 4 weeks
Slowly but surely, we will get our players healthy. Our losing streak may have something to do with these injuries we are having.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
T Kendall Harper - Chicago, IL - Overall 484, position 48
G Corwin McCarthy - New Holstein, WI - Overall 365, position 32
HB Hugh Horn - Dekalb, IL - Overall 337, position 25
QB Mo Livesay - Plymouth, WI - Overall 394, position 36

Got some good, young talent to commit next year. Harper and McCarthy are going to be fantastic on the left side of my OLine in the future and getting Horn to commit to his hometown school was fantastic. He may start next year. Livesay has potential down the road as well.


MAC South Scoreboard
Central Michigan 44 Northern Illinois 24
Bowling Green 48 Ball State 21
Western Michigan 41 Eastern Michigan 12
Toledo 49 Ohio 6

Bowling Green and Western Michigan are the class of the division right now.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 4 2 0 .666 194 131 3 0 0 1.000 117 41 Won 2
Western Michigan 4 2 0 .666 143 151 3 0 0 1.000 94 39 Won 3
Eastern Michigan 2 5 0 .285 119 230 2 2 0 .500 103 121 Lost 1
Toledo 3 4 0 .428 192 128 2 2 0 .500 118 68 Won 1
Central Michigan 2 4 0 .333 132 187 1 2 0 .333 81 89 Won 1
Northern Illinois 2 5 0 .285 154 258 1 3 0 .250 92 132 Lost 2
Ball State 0 7 0 .000 108 303 0 4 0 .000 98 175 Lost 7 
Next weeks Schedule
Central Michigan at Toledo
Ball State at Akron
Northern Illinois at Western Michigan
Bowling Green at Ohio

We go into Western Michigan to take on a very hot Broncos squad. Western Michigan's strength is Wing-T inspired running game. Their running offense averages 212yds/game and they have two stud HB that each have close to 600yds running on the season. My defense will have their work cut out for them. Defensively, pass rush is dominant led by DE Glenn Sheppard (9 sacks). Also, they are tough to run on as well. This will be a very tough game for us.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 9

Northern Illinois 39 Western Michigan 37 3OT
Record Overall 3-5 MAC South 2-3

Passing
Donnie Patton 16/26 223yds 3td

Rushing
HB Edward Jackson 24att 92yds 1TD
HB Tyrus Rupp 12att 61yds 1TD

Receiving
HB Edward Jackson 5cat 50yds 2TD
WR Warren Marsh 3cat 73yds 1TD
WR O.J. Daniels 3cat 29yds

Defense
OLB Oscar Kondovski 11tack 5ast 1sack 1 pass defended
DT Ross Porter 9tack 2ast
CB Jared Sanford 8tack

Recap
Thrilling game. With :14 left in the 4th quarter and down 24-17, QB Donnie Patton, who was reinserted into the starting lineup hit HB Edward Jackson with a TD to send the game into overtime. In the 2nd OT, NIU was able to stuff Western Michigan's 2pt conversion to hold the score at 37-31. In the 3rd OT, Patton was able to hit Jackson for a 21yds TD pass and also converted the 2pt conversion to win the game.

Offensively, Donnie Patton had one helluva game. Not sulking and whining about starting, he bided his time and when he got his opportunity again, he took the ball and ran with it. Our running game was effective for once and the OLine played decently despite allowing 5 sacks (3 by DE Glenn Sheppard).

Defensively, we did just enough to win. Looks like our switch to a 43 defense worked. They stepped up when the needed too. Though Western Michigan ran for 207yds on us, we only allowed them 3.4YPC which is 2 yards below their average. The pass defense played very well and did not allow a big play behind the safeties.

Injuries
T Conrad Beebe - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 1 weeks
WR Warren Marsh - Quadricep - Prob 1 weeks
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 5 weeks
WR Victor Holliday - Bruised Sternum - Prob 2 weeks

Should get everyone back real soon. Luckily, no new injuries.

Recruiting

Visits
FB Kelvin D'Elisa - Saint Anne, IL - Overall UR, position 30
K J.T. Burke - Lake Zurich, IL - Overall UR, position 36

Commits
S Conrad JohnSy – Wesmont, IL Overall 279, position 16
CB Gilbert Cunningham - Johnsburg, IL - Overall 712, position 46
OLB Dave Walters - Chicago, IL - Overall 875, position 55
DE Aaron Small - Riverside, IL Overall 844, position 88
T Timothy Billingsley – Chicago, IL Overall 307, position 33
WR Grant Kaplan - Indianapolis, IN - Overall 113, position 3

Our recruiting class will be pretty strong this year. Getting the #3 WR in the nation is a steal. I feel this kid could be playing on Sundays one day. Getting Billinsley just further strengthens a very strong potential OLine.


MAC South Scoreboard
Toledo 31 Central Michigan 3
Akron 17 Ball State 16
Northern Illinois 39 Western Michigan 37 3OT
Bowling Green 44 Ohio 6

Bowling Green is on top of the division finally. I expect them to stay there, barring a long losing streak.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 5 2 0 .714 238 137 4 0 0 1.000 161 47 Won 3
Western Michigan 4 3 0 .571 180 190 3 1 0 .750 131 78 Lost 1
Toledo 4 4 0 .500 223 131 3 2 0 .600 149 71 Won 2
Eastern Michigan 2 5 0 .285 119 230 2 2 0 .500 103 121 Lost 1
Northern Illinois 3 5 0 .375 193 295 2 3 0 .400 131 169 Won 1
Central Michigan 2 5 0 .285 135 218 1 3 0 .250 84 120 Lost 1
Ball State 0 8 0 .000 124 320 0 5 0 .000 114 192 Lost 8 
Next weeks Schedule
Western Michigan at Central Michigan
Northern Illinois at Ball State
Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green

We travel to 0-8 Ball State hoping to continue the momentum we established in the last game. Ball State is one of the worst teams in the country. They really do nothing well and have weaknesses on their entire team. They have occasional success passing the ball, but their QB is not very accurate (48%) and has 15 interceptions on the year. Defensively, they are a mess. Knowing how we have played all year, I will take nothing for granted, but expect us to win.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 10

Northern Illinois 34 Ball State 6
Record Overall 4-5 MAC South 3-3

Passing
Donnie Patton 17/28 230yds 2TD

Rushing
HB Edward Jackson 26att 188yds 1TD
HB Tyrus Rupp 10att 42yds 1TD

Receiving
WR O.J. Daniels 4cat 64yds
HB Edward Jackson 4cat 49yds 1TD
WR Grant McDonald 3cat 58yds 1TD

Defense
CB Butch Trafton 6tack 1sack
OLB Oscar Kondovski 4tack 2ast 2 pass defended
DE Mack Springer 3tack 2sack

Recap
This was our most complete game of the year. We dominated both sides of the ball. Everything was clicking this game. Two complaints are the 3 sacks we gave up and the 9 penalties for 90 yards we had. We have to play more disciplined.

Offensively, Donnie Patton has really responded from his benching. He is playing his base football of the year. Our running game was absolutely dominant today. HB Edward Jackson ran wild today and was basically unstoppable. Our WR's have been a model of consistency all year and our OLine is really starting to gel in the running game.

Defensively, this was our best game of the season. We totally shut the Ball State offense down (147 total yards). We also had out best pass rushing game of the season with 6 sacks. Though we only had 1 interception, we had several deflected passes and at least 3 dropped interceptions.

Injuries
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 5 weeks
WR Victor Holliday - Bruised Sternum - Prob 1 weeks

As we get healthier, we are playing better. Correlation? I seem to think so.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
ILB Adam Berry - Round Lake, IL Overall 659, position 34
DT Roman Lovelace - Huntington, IN - Overall 556, position 40
P Geoff Davison - Geneva, IL - Overall 919, position 28

Our recruiting class is strong. Doing some checking around, we have cleaned up with Illinois players. Neither Illinois or Northwestern got as many quality homegrown players as we have. If I can corner the Illinois market, I like our future here.


MAC South Scoreboard
Western Michigan 37 Central Michigan 7
Northern Illinois 34 Ball State 6
Bowling Green 28 Eastern Michigan 7

Unless Bowling green slips up, I think they are going to represent the MAC South in the MAC championship game. They are playing lights out.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 6 2 0 .750 266 144 5 0 0 1.000 189 54 Won 4
Western Michigan 5 3 0 .625 217 197 4 1 0 .800 168 85 Won 1
Toledo 4 4 0 .500 223 131 3 2 0 .600 149 71 Won 2
Northern Illinois 4 5 0 .444 227 301 3 3 0 .500 165 175 Won 2
Eastern Michigan 2 6 0 .250 126 258 2 3 0 .400 110 149 Lost 2
Central Michigan 2 6 0 .250 142 255 1 4 0 .200 91 157 Lost 2
Ball State 0 9 0 .000 130 354 0 6 0 .000 120 226 Lost 9 

Next weeks Schedule
Western Michigan at Bowling Green
Toledo at Miami(OH)
Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan

Some very exciting games this week. The winner of the Western Michigan/Bowling Green game will go onto the MAC championship game. Toledo takes on 7-1 Miami(OH), the team in the MAC North who will also be in the MAC championship game. Very antsy to see how these two games turn out. We have a bye this week, so we will try to finish up our recruiting and get some players healthy. If we can manage to win our last two games, we could be bowl-eligible and call our season a success.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 11

BYE
Record Overall 4-5 MAC South 3-3

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
None

Injuries
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 4 weeks

Almost fully healthy for the first time in a long time.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

Have a few more kids I am trying to target to walk on.


MAC South Scoreboard
Western Michigan 20 Bowling Green 10
Toledo 31 Miami(OH) 6
Eastern Michigan 14 Central Michigan 3

Western Michigan is now in the drivers seat to play in the MAC championship game. They had better look out for Toledo though. After some early season struggles, they are really charging. They thoroughly dominated a strong Miami(OH) team.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Western Michigan 6 3 0 .666 237 207 5 1 0 .833 188 95 Won 2
Bowling Green 6 3 0 .666 276 164 5 1 0 .833 199 74 Lost 1
Toledo 5 4 0 .555 254 137 4 2 0 .666 180 77 Won 3
Northern Illinois 4 5 0 .444 227 301 3 3 0 .500 165 175 Won 2
Eastern Michigan 3 6 0 .333 140 261 3 3 0 .500 124 152 Won 1
Central Michigan 2 7 0 .222 145 269 1 5 0 .166 94 171 Lost 3
Ball State 0 9 0 .000 130 354 0 6 0 .000 120 226 Lost 9 

Next weeks Schedule
Toledo at Northern Illinois (TV5)
Central Michigan at Buffalo
Easterm Michigan at Kent State
Miami(OH) at Western Michigan
Cebtral Florida at Ball State

We get a preview of the presumptive MAC Championship game. Should be fun to see what Western Michigan can do against a strong Miami(OH) team. Toledo comes into DeKalb to play us in a critical game for our season. If we win, we have a chance to stay bowl-eligible. If we lose, we are resigned to a losing season in my first year. Toledo features a pretty balanced attack that plays off of the strength of their QB. Their offense is 8th in the nation for 3rd down conversion percentage (46.8%). Their defense has one of the top rated pass defenses in the nation lead by all-world CB Brett Tanner (7int, 2 TD). He is the definition of a ball hawk and you throw at him at your own peril. This will be a tough game for us.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 12

Northern Illinois 35 Toledo 14
Record Overall 5-5 MAC South 4-3

Passing
Donnie Patton 21/30 226yds 2TD

Rushing
HB Edward Jackson 20att 88yds 1TD
HB Tyrus Rupp 11att 25yds

Receiving
WR Gerald Edwards 6cat 91yds
WR O.J. Daniels 3cat 42 yds
WR Grant McDonald 3cat 33yds

Defense
OLB Oscar Kondovski 7tack 2ast
CB Jared Sanford 5tack
FS Russell Herriman 2tack 1ast 1int

Recap
This was totally unexpected. We actually went dominated Toledo and beat them soundly. On both sides of the ball, we were determined not to let them beat us. We did not turn the ball over(first time all season) and we were 8/15 on 3rd down conversions.

Offensively, Patton was outstanding. Played a mistake free game and made several tough throws in traffic while the pass rush was bearing down on him. Our running game was dominant again (165yds) and Edwards had a breakout game at WR. Our OLine gave up 2 sacks but for the most part, did a decent job protecting Patton and by opening up holes for Jackson in the running game.

Defensively, we were very opportunistic getting 3 interceptions and 1 fumble. Our secondary shut down their running game and did a good job helping the front 7 in the running game with gang tackling. Though we gave up 139yds on the ground, we did a good enough job limiting their chances for big gains.

Injuries
TE J.J. Herriman - Pulled Groin - Ques 2 weeks
OLB Nicky Hancock - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 3 weeks

Hope Herriman can go next week. He will be needed.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

I am still waiting for my most prized recruit, C Stanley Campbell 43rd Overall and 2nd rated in his position in the country, to make his decision. Florida, Illinois and Michigan are all in the running for him. If I get him, My OLine next year will be outstanding. After that, I have one more scholarship.


MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 35 Toledo 14
Buffalo 27 Central Michigan 24
Kent State 20 Eastern Michigan 17
Miami(OH) 35 Western Michigan 6
Central Florida 21 Ball State 14

Due to Western Michigan's loss to Miami(OH), Bowling Green has reclaimed the lead in the division and seems primed to go to the MAC championship game. Ball State has one more chance for a win. Hopefully they can pull it off.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 7 3 0 .700 310 170 6 1 0 .857 233 80 Won 1
Western Michigan 6 4 0 .600 243 242 5 2 0 .714 194 130 Lost 1
Northern Illinois 5 5 0 .500 262 315 4 3 0 .571 200 189 Won 3
Toledo 5 5 0 .500 268 172 4 3 0 .571 194 112 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 3 7 0 .300 157 281 3 4 0 .428 141 172 Lost 1
Central Michigan 2 8 0 .200 169 296 1 6 0 .142 118 198 Lost 4
Ball State 0 10 0 .000 144 375 0 7 0 .000 134 247 Lost 10 

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan
Western Michigan at Marshall
Ball State at Central Michigan

If Ball State is going to win a game, this is the team to do it against. We travel to Ypsilant, MI against the 3-7 Eastern Michigan Eagles. The Eagles have struggled all year on offense and really lack the weapons to compete on a consistent basis. On defense, they are led by ILB Burt Pennell (119tack, 17 tack for loss). They are a swarming defense that can cause turnovers. Agagin, not taking this team for granted, but we should be them to seal our winning season and hope to get a bowl berth.

[Dolemite73]

2004 Week 13

Eastern Michigan 26 Northern Illinois 14
Record Overall 5-6 MAC South 4-4

Passing
Donnie Patton 15/27 190yds 1TD 2INT

Rushing
HB Edward Jackson 21att 53yds 1TD
HB Tyrus Rupp 5att 51yds

Receiving
WR Gerald Edwards 6cat 68yds
HB Edward Jackson 3cat 56 yds
TE J.J. Herriman 2cat 23yds

Defense
CB Jared Sanford 8tack 1ast 1pass defended
OLB Oscar Kondovski 8tack 0ast
ILB Scottie Wayne 7tack 2ast 1.5sack

Recap
5 turnovers killed us this game. Were it not for those, Eastern Michigan would have had a tough time because they did not accomplish much as a team. The Eagles only mustered 2.6YPC on the ground and 5.6YPA through the air, while going 4/14 on third downs. Though we were not much better, the turnovers killed any momentum we developed. Also 10 penalties for 85 yards hurt us badly as well.

Offensively, Patton came back down to earth a little bit. The 2 INT's he threw were killers and put us in a hole we could not dig ourselves out of. The running game could not get untracked all day and the OLine fell back into old habits by allowing 4 sacks and very little blocking in the running game (2.7YPC).

Defensively, There is not much they could have done operating on the short fields they had to defend all game.Our secondary played a good game and our front 7 defended the point of attack as well can be expected.

Injuries
N/A

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
C Stanley Campbell - Cary, IL - Overall 43, position 2
TE Preston Hartings - Monon, IN - Overall UR, position 78

I wrap up my recruiting snaring the prized catch of the season. My Offensive line in the future will be devastating. And Hartings is an underated TE with size and good hands. He will work his way into the mix sooner rather than later.


MAC South Scoreboard
Eastern Michigan 26 Northern Illinois 14
Marshall 16 Western Michigan 13
Ball State 47 Central Michigan 0

Congrats to Ball State for getting off the snide and destroying Central Michigan. Hopefully this carryovers to next year. Western Michigan's loss gurantees Bowling Green's place in the MAC tatle game.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 7 3 0 .700 310 170 6 1 0 .857 233 80 Won 1
Western Michigan 6 5 0 .545 256 258 5 3 0 .625 207 146 Lost 2
Toledo 5 5 0 .500 268 172 4 3 0 .571 194 112 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 4 7 0 .363 183 295 4 4 0 .500 167 186 Won 1
Northern Illinois 5 6 0 .454 276 341 4 4 0 .500 214 215 Lost 1
Ball State 1 10 0 .090 191 375 1 7 0 .125 181 247 Won 1
Central Michigan 2 9 0 .181 169 343 1 7 0 .125 118 245 Lost 5
Next weeks Schedule
Bowling Green at Toledo

This game really means nothing. Bowling Green can not be stopped from competing for the MAC title. Toledo ended up winning 17-14. I have no more games so I will be doing a year in review for my next post.

[Dolemite73]

MAC Championship game

Bowling Green 31 Akron 6

Bowling Green caps off an unlikely successful season with a huge victory against Akron. Now Bowling Green goes to the Amber Frey Bowl to face the 9-2 Kansas State Wildcats. I expect the Wildcats to destroy Bowling Green. The MAC is not ready to compete with the stronger conferences.

Nebraska vs. UCLA for the National Title.

BCS National Championship Game

UCLA 27 Nebraska 23

[Dolemite73]

2004 Year in Review


2004 Northern Illinois University
Individual Awards

* OLB Oscar Kondovski (Senior)
- 1st Team All-American
- All Senior
- 1st Team All MAC

* HB Edward Jackson (Senior)
- 1st Team All MAC
- MAC Rushing Champion

* QB Donnie Patton (Senior)
- MAC Academic All-American

* CB Jared Sanford (Junior)
- All Academic
- 2nd Team All MAC
- MAC All Academic
- MAC Kickoff Return Champ


2004 NIU Team Summary

The College Years
2004 Summary for Northern Illinois

Record: 5-6
Rank: 72

Northern Illinois Team Rank
Rushes 382 53
Rushing Yards 1372 56
Yards Per Carry 3.59 67 (T)
Pass Attempts 284 82
Completions 149 78 (T)
Passing Yards 1905 66
Yards Per Attempt 6.70 64
3rd Down Conversions 34.2 62
Points Per Game 25.0 59 (T)
Turnovers 23 78 (T)
Turnover Margin +1 56 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 419 103 (T)
Rushing Yards 1683 86
Yards Per Carry 4.01 69
Pass Attempts 355 114 (T)
Completions 198 107
Passing Yards 2564 109
Yards Per Attempt 7.22 78
3rd Down Conversions 42.6 107 (T)
Points Per Game 31.0 93
Turnovers 24 23 (T)

Primary Formation: I-Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
2 3 at MARY (84) 54
3 52 GOLD (116) 20
4 7 at IAST (94) 52
5 14 BOWG (36) 38
6 34 AKRN (53) 27
7 20 at CFLA (68) 23
8 24 CMIC (111) 44
9 39 at WMIC (61) 37
10 34 at BALL (120) 6
12 35 TOLE (59) 14
13 14 at EMIC (96) 26

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
10 Patton QB 200 105 1319 6.59 8 9
11 Gunn QB 84 44 586 6.97 4 5
Team --- 284 149 1905 6.70 12 14

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
43 Jackson RB 183 943 5.15 13 44 73
21 Rupp RB 92 418 4.54 4 13 19
10 Patton QB 56 -98 -1.75 1 39 191
11 Gunn QB 29 31 1.06 0 8 56
Team --- 382 1372 3.59 19 108 344

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
3 Daniels WR 53 24 341 14.2 100 2
89 Edwards WR 49 25 379 15.1 65 0
43 Jackson RB 48 31 248 8.0 200 5
82 McDonald WR 34 17 345 20.2 91 1
92 Herriman TE 33 19 254 13.3 119 0
86 Marsh WR 26 13 184 14.1 87 2
Team --- 284 149 1905 12.7 759 12

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
48 Kondovski OLB 91 24 1.0 15 0 10
24 Herriman S 63 22 0.0 5 1 5
23 Sanford CB 59 14 1.0 6 2 11
59 Wayne ILB 40 13 1.5 6 1 3
96 Porter DT 35 18 1.5 7 0 0
72 Rinehart DT 32 15 1.0 5 0 0
53 Hancock OLB 32 13 0.0 1 1 2
25 Trafton CB 32 6 1.0 1 0 7
77 Johnson DT 31 12 7.0 9 0 0
27 Walton CB 27 4 0.0 2 3 8
74 Springer DE 20 7 6.0 9 0 2
73 Adams DE 20 4 5.0 6 0 0
37 Lemoine S 20 8 0.0 1 2 1
97 Darusmont ILB 17 5 0.0 1 1 1
54 Kafka ILB 16 7 0.0 0 0 1
40 Lipford OLB 13 4 1.0 2 0 2
31 Alamar CB 11 3 0.0 0 2 0
Team --- 653 195 30.0 84 13 53

[Dolemite73]

Here is a rundown on my upcoming Freshman. Northern Illinois recruiting class was ranked 44th in the nation. Illinois was ranked 12th (go figure) but Northwestern was ranked 46th. I want to always recruit better than Northwestern, while picking off good players from Illinois.

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
Campbell, Stanley C 6-3 269 IL 43 2 2 1
Kaplan, Grant WR 5-11 168 IN 113 3 2 1
JohnSy, Conrad S 6-1 170 IL 279 16 8 2
Billingsley, Timothy T 6-4 285 IL 307 33 12 2
Horn, Hugh RB 6-0 193 IL 337 25 13 1
McCarthy, Corwin G 6-4 262 WI 365 32 11 2
Livesay, Mo QB 5-11 183 WI 394 36 12 1
Harper, Kendall T 6-2 257 IL 484 48 16 3
Lovelace, Roman DT 6-1 238 IN 556 40 14 4
Berry, Adam ILB 6-0 219 IL 659 34 22 2
Cunningham, Gilbert CB 5-9 168 IL 712 46 24 3
Small, Aaron DE 6-2 222 IL 844 88 28 1
Walters, Dave OLB 6-2 196 IL 875 55 30 4
Davison, Geoff P 6-2 181 IL 919 28 33 1
Peterson, Barry CB 5-11 159 IL --- 79 37 5
Hartings, Preston TE 6-5 245 IN --- 78 31 2

[Dolemite73]

Here is a list of my outgoing seniors with commentary on their pro football chances. I plan on importing this file into FOF and following the NIU alumni through their pro careers.

Patton, Donnie 10 QB Sr 39 39
Gunn, Jerry 11 QB Sr 34 34
Rupp, Tyrus 21 RB Sr 31 41
Schroeder, Ricardo 33 RB Sr 20 42
Gaylor, Jorge 34 RB Sr 21 21
Jackson, Edward 43 RB Sr 48 48
Daniels, O.J. 3 WR Sr 36 46
Hastings, Terry 4 WR Sr 20 34
McDonald, Grant 82 WR Sr 37 51
Holliday, Victor 85 WR Sr 31 31
Edwards, Gerald 89 WR Sr 42 44
Marsh, Warren 86 WR Sr 34 34
Morton, Paul 6 P Sr 57 57
Scheffer, Rusty 1 K Sr 39 52
Springer, Mack 74 DE Sr 19 19
Kondovski, Oscar 48 OLB Sr 54 73
Dreyfuss, George 99 OLB Sr 23 32
Walton, Freddie 27 CB Sr 25 27
Lemoine, J.C. 37 S Sr 28 42
Collins, Moe 49 S Sr 19 32

The only playes on here I see a future in the NFL are LB Oscar Kondonski and HB Edward Jackson. They may not get drafted high, but they should be drafted. The rest of the seniors will be free agent fodder. Will put them into FOF and see what happens.

[Dolemite73]

Well none of my players were drafted. They are all free agents with very little chance of getting picked up. Bummer. I am thinking as my recruiting classes graduate, I will get some NFL worthy players.

[Dolemite73]

I retained my Offensive Coordinator, but replaced the following:

Syndicate Coordinator
Darnell Briggs, 62
Good at academic eligibility, Good at soliciting donations, and Pretty Good at syndicate investigation. Much better. A little older, but better than I had.
Defensive Coordinator
Ricky Wheeler, 54
Is Terrific to Excellent in every thing but Play Calling, LB's and Congeniality. He will do wonders for our defense.

Great Lakes Scout
Corey Burke, 60
Very Good and above in everything but OL (Decent), DL (Good), LB (fair).

[Dolemite73]

Scott, Walter 8 QB Jr* 19 38
Livesay, Mo 12 QB Fr 12 54
Galloway, Jeffrey 5 QB* So* 6 13
Bohme, Earnest 15 QB* So* 6 16

Ugly. Hopefully Livesay can develop. Going to get a top flight QB is my main priority.

Baxter, Rufus 36 RB So* 29 46
Horn, Hugh 32 RB Fr 31 64
Salter, Ray 46 RB* Fr 10 24
Beals, Arnie 45 RB Sr 27 48

After our seniors left, we had no depth. Going to suffer this year until Horn develops for next year.

Barlow, Thurman 20 FB Sr 36 36
Mattes, Les 35 FB So 17 30
Malone, Terry 44 FB Sr 24 24


Just block and get good grades. That is all I want from my FB's.

Zulkowski, Todd 81 TE Jr* 17 19
Herriman, J.J. 92 TE Sr 48 48
Getson, Dean 88 TE Jr* 34 57
Hartings, Preston 87 TE Fr 16 44 ]

We are counting on Herriman to step up big time this year. He is our most experienced pass catcher.

Mueller, Andre 83 WR Jr 25 38
Kaplan, Grant 3 WR Fr 24 75
Serra, Brock 2 WR* Sr* 16 28
Finley, Archie 85 WR* Fr 2 2
Polifka, Gerald 9 WR* Fr 2 27

Our WR depth was so bad after losing 6 seniors last year, I had to convert Mueller from TE to WR and I cant redshirt Kaplan. The kid has potential in the stratosphere. I expect big things from this kid.

Roller, Harvey 57 C Sr* 53 55
Campbell, Stanley 58 C Fr 26 96
Hoffman, Toby 50 C* Jr* 19 48
Samuelson, Juan 52 G Sr* 31 37
Binette, Jose 79 G Sr 22 22
Boehner, Dwight 71 G So* 12 54
McCarthy, Corwin 74 G Fr 9 51
Schroeder, Joel 78 G* Jr* 6 18
Walton, Brandon 60 G* So 18 18
Haber, Warren 64 T So 8 50
Panko, James 68 T Sr 50 53
Beebe, Conrad 61 T Sr 36 70
Harper, Kendall 69 T Fr 11 64
Billingsley, Timothy 66 T Fr 16 65
Hanson, Mel 67 T* So 8 47

Our most experienced unit on offense. They are all poor run blockers, but should be pretty decent this year.

[Dolemite73]

Cox, Orlando 75 DE Sr* 22 35
Adams, Eddie 73 DE Sr 21 21
Gibson, Cornelius 93 DE Sr 16 29
Small, Aaron 76 DE Fr 19 46
Bensen, Will 94 DE* Jr* 17 26
Jamison, Morris 91 DE* Jr* 8 19
I am going with Gibson over Adams due to better run defense. I need another influx of talent here.

Rinehart, Stanley 72 DT Sr 25 25
Porter, Ross 96 DT Jr* 22 65
Johnson, Kris 77 DT Sr* 13 42
Lovelace, Roman 70 DT Fr 15 56
Tate, J.R. 90 DT* Jr* 11 16
Hoping our new Defensive Coordinator can coach these guys up to defend the run better.

Berry, Adam 47 ILB Fr 16 61
Wayne, Scottie 59 ILB* Sr 27 43
Grange, Hunter 51 ILB Sr 21 21
Darusmont, Will 97 ILB* Jr* 5 42
Hancock, Nicky 53 OLB Sr 30 37
Dickens, Alex 98 OLB* Jr* 16 49
Kafka, J.B. 54 OLB Jr* 10 40
Lipford, Karl 40 OLB Jr 22 48
Walters, Dave 55 OLB Fr 5 76
Our OLB's are terrible. Just have to keep bringing new talent in.

Trafton, Butch 25 CB Sr 35 35
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr 23 23
Sanford, Jared 23 CB Sr 66 74
Cunningham, Gilbert 29 CB Fr 24 41
Peterson, Barry 48 CB Fr 31 44
Kozhin, Bernie 22 CB* So* 10 21
Strength of our defense. Sanford should shutdown his side of the field and Trafton receive valuable experience last year.

Herriman, Russell 24 S Jr 35 36
JohnSy, Conrad 33 S Fr 27 75
Mansour, Edgar 30 S* So 15 25
Sotelo, Winston 28 S* Jr* 15 31
Campbell, Dale 49 S* Fr 4 17

Hopefully our S can develop. Pretty ugly right now, though.

[Dolemite73]

Barrett, Ike 7 P Jr* 24 53
Davison, Geoff 4 P Fr 34 52
Foster, Arnold 13 K Sr* 44 71
Lukes, J.B. 19 K* Fr 1 23

Davison should be really good. Our punting game last year was pretty disappointing.

[Dolemite73]

Preseason Top 25 and MAC Rankings

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida State 0-0 ACC 1.00 1.00 0.00 0.12 2.12 1
Michigan 0-0 B10 2.00 2.00 0.00 0.52 4.52 2
Ohio State 0-0 B10 3.00 3.00 0.00 0.68 6.68 3
Nebraska 0-0 B12 4.00 5.00 0.00 1.04 10.04 4
Georgia 0-0 SEC 7.00 6.00 0.00 2.08 15.08 5
California-Los Angeles 0-0 P10 6.00 7.50 0.00 1.92 15.42 6
Oklahoma 0-0 B12 5.00 10.00 0.00 1.12 16.12 7
Miami of Florida 0-0 ACC 8.00 7.50 0.00 1.36 16.86 8
Florida 0-0 SEC 9.00 6.50 0.00 2.04 17.54 9
Texas 0-0 B12 11.00 10.50 0.00 1.20 22.70 10
Tennessee 0-0 SEC 10.00 13.50 0.00 2.20 25.70 11
Louisiana State 0-0 SEC 13.00 13.00 0.00 2.40 28.40 12
Georgia Tech 0-0 ACC 18.00 13.00 0.00 0.16 31.16 13
Auburn 0-0 SEC 12.00 17.50 0.00 2.36 31.86 14
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 17.00 14.50 0.00 1.24 32.74 15
Southern California 0-0 P10 16.00 16.00 0.00 1.88 33.88 16
Virginia Tech 0-0 ACC 15.00 17.50 0.00 1.56 34.06 17
North Carolina State 0-0 ACC 19.00 15.00 0.00 0.28 34.28 18
Kansas State 0-0 B12 14.00 22.00 0.00 0.96 36.96 19
Penn State 0-0 B10 23.00 18.50 0.00 0.72 42.22 20
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 20.00 19.50 0.00 4.56 44.06 21
Virginia 0-0 ACC 21.00 23.00 0.00 0.32 44.32 22
Oregon 0-0 P10 22.00 24.00 0.00 1.76 47.76 23
Utah 0-0 MOW 27.00 22.50 0.00 2.76 52.26 24
Wisconsin 0-0 B10 24.00 29.00 0.00 0.80 53.80 25

MAC North
School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 46.00 45.50 0.00 3.84 95.34 46
Marshall 0-0 MAC 62.00 61.50 0.00 3.80 127.30 60
Akron 0-0 MAC 75.00 66.00 0.00 3.64 144.64 68
Kent State 0-0 MAC 76.00 67.00 0.00 3.76 146.76 70
Central Florida 0-0 MAC 78.00 75.50 0.00 4.44 157.94 79
Buffalo 0-0 MAC 85.00 76.50 0.00 3.72 165.22 83
Ohio 0-0 MAC 123.00123.500.00 3.88 250.38 124

MAC South
Bowling Green 0-0 MAC 52.00 42.50 0.00 3.68 98.18 49
Toledo 0-0 MAC 56.00 63.00 0.00 4.08 123.08 58
Western Michigan 0-0 MAC 71.00 75.00 0.00 4.12 150.12 74
Northern Illinois 0-0 MAC 86.00 84.50 0.00 4.04 174.54 86
Eastern Michigan 0-0 MAC 101.0089.50 0.00 4.00 194.50 96
Central Michigan 0-0 MAC 114.00118.500.00 3.96 236.46 119
Ball State 0-0 MAC 120.00114.000.00 3.92 237.92 120
I do not expect Toledo to have the year they had last year. I see them on top of the division.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Season Schedule

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 at East Carolina
3 ASHEVILLE
5 (46) MIAMI OF OHIO
6 at Goldsboro
7 WESTERN MICHIGAN
8 at Akron
9 at Toledo
10 at Eastern Michigan
11 BOWLING GREEN
12 CENTRAL MICHIGAN
13 at Ball State


Seeing how our talent has taken a step back, I think we are going to struggle this year.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week Preseason

Bye Week
Record Overall 0-0 MAC South 0-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
None

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

As I see it my recruiting priorities this year are in this order: WR, OLB, DE, S, QB, ILB, TE, G, T, C and FB. Got a couple of kids ranked at the top of the state from DeKalb, IL (WR and HB). Will be all over them. Also, the top TE in the nation and 8th ranked overall lives 25 miles from NIU. Will be making him a priority as well.

Next weeks Schedule
Bowling Green at Maryland
Ball State at UAB
Northern Illinois at East Carolina

Bowling Green gets tested early against Maryland. We'll see if their successful year last year was a fluke or not. Ball State only won one game last year. Lest see if the can make it 2 in a row. I go to Greenville, NC to take on the ECU Pirates. Looking at their roster, they have worse talent than we do except in their secondary. Their safeties are hard hitting and control the middle of the field well. Will be a nice test for our new QB Walter Scott.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 1

Eastern Carolina 21 Northern Illinois 20
Record Overall 0-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
Walter Scott 12/20 188yds 1TD

Rushing
HB Arnie Beals 18att 109yds 1TD
HB Rufus Baxter 8att 32yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 5cat 123yds 1TD
HB Arnie Beals 5cat 29yds
WR Brock Serra 2cat 36yds

Defense
DT Stanley Rinehart 6tack 2ast 1sack
DT Ross Porter 6tack 3ast
OLB Karl Lipford 6tack 1 forced fum

Recap
One bad quarter of football killed us. At halftime, we were leading 14-6 and were playing pretty well. ECU then scores 15 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter. We had scoring opportunities in the 4th quarter, but could only get 2 FG vice touchdowns.

Offensively, new starting QB Walter Scott played a good game. He took what the defense gave them, including a beautiful slant pass to Freshman WR Grant Kaplan ran 67yds for a touchdown. Backup HB had a really good game for an injured Rufus Baxter and may have earned himself more playing time next game. Kaplan debut at WR as a true freshman was a revelation. We have to find ways to get this kid the ball. Our OLine was decent, but did allow 3 sacks.

Defensively, our inability to stop the ECU running attack (220 yards) and our uneven pass rush allowed ECU to win this game. Our secondary played a very good game (175yds passing) with an interception. All-American candidate CB Jared Sandford shut down his side of the field and only allow 1 atch all game long.

Injuries
HB Rufus Baxter - Separated Shoulder - Out 8 weeks
FB Les Mattes - Sprained Ankle - Ques 1 week
TE J.J. Herriman - Bruised Shoulder - Porb 3 weeks

Big injury to a player we can not afford to lose. Our depth at HB is bad and I really don't want to remove the redshirt of prized freshman HB Hugh Horn. This bears watching.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

Just targeting certain kids this week.

This weeks Games
Bowling Green 34 Maryland 21
UAB 45 Ball State 12
East Carolina 21 Northern Illinois 20

Bowling Green looks tough this year. To go into Maryland and beat them like they did says a lot. Ball State is destroyed by UAB, but that was to be expected.

Next weeks Schedule
#16 South Florida at #12 Bowling Green (TV1)
Western Michigan at Texas A&M
New Mexico at Eastern Michigan
Toledo at #6 Washington (TV3)

Bowling Green makes a HUGE jump in the ratings and now gets to advertise their program on the Game of the Week. Lucky bastards. Toledo has a very tough game going into Seattle to play the tough Washington Huskies. Will be quite a test for Toledo.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 2

BYE
Record Overall 0-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
Bye week this week. Still have not decided what I am going to do at HB.


Injuries
HB Rufus Baxter - Separated Shoulder - Out 6 weeks
TE J.J. Herriman - Bruised Shoulder - Prob 1 week

Hopefully I can get Baxter back next week. Even injured, he is better than my other backup options. Beals will get the start next week.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None
More strategic targeting.

This weeks Games
Bowling Green 27 #16 South Florida 0
Texas A&M 35 Western Michigan 3
New Mexico 20 Eastern Michigan 14
#6 Washington 66 Toledo 14

Made a mistake on last weeks ranking. Bowling Green was not ranked 12th in the nation. But they still go into South Florida and destroy the Bulls. Bowling Green will be amazing in divisional play.

Next weeks Schedule
Asheville at Northern Illinois
Central Michigan at South Florida
Ball State at Bowling Green
Eastern Michigan at Texas Tech
Toledo at #9 Tennessee

I guess Toledo decided to get their obligatory 2 losses out of the way now. What a tough schedule! Bowling Green should roll all over Ball State to start the season 3-0. The Asheville Blue Ridges come into DeKalb to take us on next week. Asheville features a true freshman at QB who can be rattled by pressure (he was sacked 6 times last week). He also threw 3 interceptions last week. On defense, they feature a 34 defense with passable LB's that can be attacked on the edges.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 3

Northern Illinois 24 Asheville 13
Record Overall 1-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
Walter Scott 22/34 1241yds 2TD 1INT

Rushing
HB Arnie Beals 27att 135yds 1TD
HB Ray Salter 8att 43yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 8cat 159yds 2TD
WR Brock Serra 7cat 47yds
WR Andre Mueller 2cat 21yds

Defense
CB Jessie Alamar 4tack 3ast 1sack 1pass def
OLB Karl Lipford 3tack 2sack 1 forced fum
DE Orlando Cox 2tack 1ast 1.5sack

Recap
We played a really good game. Things started out rough when Asheville took a quick 10-0 lead in the 1st quarter behind a 67yd interception return for a TD. We did not let that deter as as we started pounding the ball in the running game.

Offensively, QB Walter Scott is impressing me greatly. He plays an efficient game and does not try to do things with his arm that he is not able to do. HB Beals is also impressing the hell out of me. He was dominant thins game. I may end up redshirting HB Baxter, who started the season as a starter. WR Kaplan gives our offense an element we lacked all last year. He is explosive and is probably one of the best Freshman in the country. The OLine played a very good game opening up huge holes in the running game and only giving up 1 sack all day.

Defensively, Our pass rush was relentless (6 sacks). We were in the QB's face all game and this allowed us to hold Asheville to 2/17 on 3rd down conversions. Our LB's played a good game holding Asheville to 95 yds rushing and the secondary was dominant. Our CB's dropped sure interceptions at least 3 times and deflected 10 total passes.

Injuries
HB Rufus Baxter - Separated Shoulder - Out 5 weeks
TE J.J. Herriman - Bruised Shoulder - Prob 1 week

I will decide next week if I redshirt Baxter.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None
More strategic targeting.

This weeks Games
Northern Illinois 24 Asheville 13
South Florida 56 Central Michigan 21
Bowling Green 41 Ball State 10
Texas Tech 55 Eastern Michigan 3
#9 Tennessee 34 Toledo 7

I know Toledo is glad to be done with those games. They were outscored 100-21 and had no chance to compete against those powerhouse schools. Bowling Green continues to roll and South Florida demolishes Central Michigan.

Next weeks Schedule
Bowling Green at #4 Oklahoma (TV1)
Central Michigan at Kentucky
Memphis at Western Michigan
Ball State at Kent State

Bowling Green gets another chance to impress the nation going into Norman, OK to take on the Sooners. I am very interested to see how they perform. Also have a couple intersting non-conference games as well. Central Michigan could pull of an upset. NIU has another bye, so we will be hitting the recruiting trail hard.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 4

BYE
Record Overall 1-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
Spent the bye week getting fully healthy and recruiting.

Injuries
HB Rufus Baxter - Separated Shoulder - Out 5 weeks

I have decided not to redshirt Baxter for right now.

Recruiting

Visits
HB Steve Rasmussen (6'2" 203lbs) - Cary, IL - Overall 51, position 5
ILB Corey Crane (6'2" 215lbs) - Bensenville, IL - Overall 56, position 1
P Kenneth Wilcox (5'11" 166lbs) - Aurora, IL - Overall 223, position 4
K Jimmie Bock (5'8" 171lbs) - Mount Prospect, IL - Overall 244, position 6
C Jake Smith (6'7" 300lbs) - Hinkley, IL - Overall 557, position 34
DT Edward Dunne (6'3" 273lbs) - Round Lake, IL - Overall 667, position 42

Commits
None

A lot of kids are coming for our Homecoming game. The crown jewels are Rasmussen and Crane. Illinois is my main competition for them. Smith idolizes playing for the NIU Huskies, so I expect a commitment from him soon.

This weeks Games
Bowling Green 21 #4 Oklahoma 13
Central Michigan 20 Kentucky 17
Western Michigan 59 Memphis 24
Ball State 24 Kent State 7

Bowling Green is playing amazing. They beat Oklahoma in Norman. We may have to start talking about them as a BCS buster. I don't see anyone in the MAC beating them right now. Ball state does not have to wait all year for a win, which I am sure they are happy about.

Next weeks Schedule
Miami(OH) at Northern Illinois
Bowling Green at Toledo
Central Michigan at Marshall
Ohio at Western Michigan
Akron at Ball State

Usually Bowling Green-Toledo would be a good game, but I assume this will be a blow out. Toledo is not a strong as they have been in the past. The 0-2 Miami(OH) Redhawks come to DeKalb to take us on. Miami(OH) have been struggling with turnovers. They are last in the nation in Turnover Ratio. In two games, their QB has thrown 7 picks. Defensively, the Redhawks are very strong against the run and the pass. If we can not get turnovers, we may have a tough time beating them.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 5

Miami(OH) 35 Northern Illinois 0
Record Overall 1-2 MAC South 1-0

Passing
Walter Scott 19/37 163yds 0TD 4INT

Rushing
HB Arnie Beals 11att 29yds
HB Ray Salter 5att 21yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 6cat 80yds
HB Arnie Beals 4cat 13yds
WR Brock Serra 4cat 31yds

Defense
FS Russell Herriman 8tack 3ast 1sack
ILB Scottie Wayne 6tack 2ast
CB Jared Sanford 6tack

Recap
Ugly. That is the only word to describe this game. 5 turnovers added with 10 penalties equals a bad day at the office for the NIU Huskies.

Offensively, new starting QB Walter Scott was throwing the ball all over the field.....to the other team. Once the team fell behind, he tried to take silly chances and paid for them. Hopefully he learned his lesson. The running game was awful and never got into a groove. WR Kaplan had a strong game, but the other receivers did not do much. The OLine was not able to open up holes in the running game, plus gave up 4 sacks.

Defensively, our inability to put up any resistance to the Miami(OH) passing game (360 yards) doomed us. Our defensive back were getting beat all day. The run defense was strong, but our front 7 was not able to get steady pressure on the QB. Their QB had a wonder game (34/49 360yds 5TD 1INT).

Injuries
T James Panko - Broken Jaw - Out 6 weeks
HB Rufus Baxter - Separated Shoulder - Out 4 weeks
FB Terry Malone - Knee Surgery - Out 4 weeks
TE J.J. Herriman - Influenza - Prob 2 weeks

Losing Panko hurts. Not sure what our depth looks like at this point.

Recruiting

Visits
T Harvey Hemond (6'9" 309lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 146, position 22
S Maurice Shaffer (6'3" 178lbs) - Antioch, IL - Overall 314, position 24
TE Blaine Williamson (6'5" 234lbs) - Cary, IL - Overall 454, position 19
QB Issac Grant (6'3" 185lbs) - Machesney Park, IL - Overall 488, position 30
DT Rondell Lynn (6'2" 247lbs) - Naperville, IL - Overall 768, position 51
HB Earnest Lofton (5'10" 178lbs) - DeKalb, IL - Overall 794, position 61
WR Kelvin Ardley (6'2" 178lbs) - Dolton, IL - Overall UR, position UR
ILB Mario Witherspoon (6' 0" 213lbs) - DeKalb, IL - Overall UR, Position UR
CB Shawn Perry (5'9" 170lbs) - Park Forest, IL - Overall UR, position UR

Commits
HB Steve Rasmussen (6'2" 203lbs) - Cary, IL - Overall 51, position 5

Having the 5th ranked HB in the country commit to our program so fast is amazing. Even though we got hammered in our homecoming game, evidently, he liked what he saw and knew this was the place for him. This kid could be something special. Out of the kids visiting, my main target is that Hemond kid. He is one of the largest kids I have ever seen. He is an absolute monster and looks like he could easily gain 50lbs of weight and still not look fat. The unranked kids wont get offers, but could walk on and do wonders for my team GPA.

This weeks Games
Miami(OH) 35 Northern Illinois 0
Eastern Michigan 31 Buffalo 3
Toledo 54 Bowling Green 7
Central Michigan 22 Marshall 16
Western Michigan 52 Ohio 0
Akron 48 Ball State 20

Amazing what happens when a team loses its two top HB's to injury, ala Bowling Green. Since Bowling Green runs the Wing T offense, they are dependent on their two HB's. Once those kids got injured, you see the result. Kudos to Toledo for knocking Bowling Green down a peg or two. Central Michigan upset Marshall as well.

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Goldsboro
Louisiana-Lafayette at Toledo
Louisiana-Monroe at Central Michigan
Western Michigan at Notre Dame
Ball State at Charlotte
Eastern Michigan at Asheville

Western Michigan goes into South Bend, IN to take on the Fighting Irish. Western Michigan has a pretty good team this year and they really have a chance to beat the Irish. We travel to Goldsboro, NC to take on the 1-3 Goldsboro Pig Pickers. The Pickers are a prolific run and shoot team and have been successful moving the ball through the air. On the flipside, the Pickers have the worst pass defense in the country, so we should have a big day against them.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 6

Goldsboro 37 Northern Illinois 10
Record Overall 1-3 MAC South 1-0

Passing
Walter Scott 14/27 146yds 1TD

Rushing
HB Arnie Beals 11att 10yds
HB Ray Salter 6att 33yds

Receiving
HB Arnie Beals 6cat 52yds
WR Grant Kaplan 5cat 66yds 1TD
TE J.J. Herriman 3cat 13yds

Defense
FS Russell Herriman 9tack 0ast
ILB Scottie Wayne 7tack 0ast 1sack 1 forced fum
CB Butch Trafton 8tack 1ast

Recap
This was a tough loss. We got outworked in every facet of the game. We may have to make a few adjustments on offense. Our inability to run the ball is hampering our development.

Offensively, though QB Walter Scott did not make a mistake, he also did not make the big throws needed to change to momentum of the game. There several times he had a receiver open, but could not put the ball where it was needed. The running game remains our biggest weakness and we are proving just how much we miss our starting HB. WR Kaplan played very well and made some clutch catches. Our OLine got owned during this game allowing 6 sacks.

Defensively, our secondary is really struggling right now. They are letting mediocre QB's and WR's make fools out of them. Our run defense was very weak this game as well. In all, we gave a very embarrassing performance.

Injuries
Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr Out Torn Knee Ligamen 17 Weeks
Malone, Terry 44 FB Sr Out Arthroscopic Knee 3 Weeks
Mueller, Andre 83 WR Jr Out Hyperextended Kne 4 Weeks
Panko, James 68 T Sr Out Broken Jaw 5 Weeks
Baxter, Rufus 36 RB So* Questionable Separated Shoulde 3 Weeks
Herriman, J.J. 92 TE Sr Probable Influenza 1 Week
Serra, Brock 2 WR* Sr* Probable Broken Hand 5 Weeks


Ouch. This explains why I am losing so bad. These injuries are killing me.

Recruiting

Visits
QB Lawrence Manez (6'2" 186lbs) - Wauconda, IL - Overall 555, position 34
DE Sammy Tuttle (6'4" 255lbs) - Wales, WI - Overall 479, position 48
OLB Marcus Ward (5'10" 197lbs) - Sun Prarie, WI - Overall 871, position 60
S Russell Demps (5'10" 167lbs) - Aurora, IL - Overall UR, position 96

Commits
TE Blaine Williamson (6'5" 234lbs) - Cary, IL - Overall 454, position 19
ILB Mario Witherspoon (6' 0" 213lbs) - DeKalb, IL - Overall UR, Position UR
C Jake Smith (6'7" 300lbs) - Hinkley, IL - Overall 557, position 34

I like these players that committed. Wiliamson has size and could be a very good blocker down the road. Smith has the size to move to Tackle down the road.

This weeks Games
Goldsboro 37 Northern Illinois 10
Toledo 33 Louisiana-Lafayette 14
Central Michigan 14 Louisiana-Monroe 10
Notre Dame 41 Western Michigan 9
Charlotte 19 Ball State 0
Asheville 35 Eastern Michigan 28

Looks like Central Michigan is making a move. They are playing good football. Once divisional play begins, I think Toledo will move to the top.

Next weeks Schedule
Western Michigan at Northern Illinois
Bowling Green at Marshall
Toledo at Ball State
Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan

Now the divisional games begin. The 2-2 Western Michigan Chippewas come to DeKalb to take us on. Western Michigan features a strong running game and a strong secondary. They can be run on though, so we will have to ensure we pound the ball between the tackles. Also their QB has thrown 9 interceptions, so we can exploit that as well.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 7

Northern Illinois 31 Western Michigan 21
Record Overall 2-3 MAC South 1-1

Passing
Walter Scott 17/29 256yds 1TD 1INT

Rushing
HB Arnie Beals 23att 140yds 1TD
HB Rufus Baxter 10att 30yds 1TD

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 6cat 97yds
TE J.J. Herriman 3cat 29yds 1TD
WR Gerald Polifka 2cat 52yds

Defense
FS Russell Herriman 6tack 1ast 2 pass def
DE Will Bensen 4tack 1ast 2sack
CB Jared Sanford 6tack 2pass def

Recap
Much better game. This game was actually not as close as the score shows because we were up 31-0 with 9:07 to go in the 4th quarter before Western Michigan scored 21 unanswered points. We dominated in the trenches this game. Plus we did not make the costly mistakes we had been making in the past 2 games.

Offensively, QB Walter Scott played a very controlled and disciplined ball game. His play action game was working and he hit WR Grant Kaplan for some very big gains. The stroy of the game was HB Arnie Beals. Myself and the coaches challenged him in practice this week and he stepped up to give us his best game of the season. With HB Rufus Baxter finally getting healthy, we may be able to utilize both of them in the backfield. The offensive line played outstanding. They allowed one sack all game long. Of note, our offense also went 9/18 on third downs.

Defensively, we shut the Chippewa offense down for the majority of the game. We let our feet off of the accelerator towards the end of the game, allowing them 3 TD's. We got 5 sacks on their QB and we also got an interception and a fumble. Our LB's were sturdy in run support and did a much better job of stuffing the middle. Our secondary did an excellent job of shutting down the Western Michigan WR's.

Injuries
Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr Out Torn Knee Ligamen 17 Weeks
Johnson, Kris 77 DT Sr* Out Hyperextended Elb 3 Weeks
Malone, Terry 44 FB Sr Out Arthroscopic Knee 2 Weeks
Panko, James 68 T Sr Out Broken Jaw 4 Weeks
Herriman, Russell 24 S Jr Doubtful Sprained Knee 5 Weeks
Mueller, Andre 83 WR Jr Doubtful Hyperextended Kne 3 Weeks
Baxter, Rufus 36 RB So* Probable Separated Shoulde 2 Weeks
Herriman, J.J. 92 TE Sr Probable Influenza 1 Week
Serra, Brock 2 WR* Sr* Probable Broken Hand 4 Weeks


Double Ouch. We lose our defensive player who has played the best so far this year. Our inexperienced backup players are being severely tested under fire.

Recruiting

Visits
G Gilbert Morris (6'1" 267lbs) - Cary Illinois - Overall 105, position 13
HB Randy Brown (5'10" 181lbs) - Shorewood, WI - Overall 273, position 15
WR Jerry Webb (6'2" 201lbs) - DeKalb, IL - Overall 306, position 23
T Wally Sanford (6'5" 265lbs) - Mount Prospect, IL - Overall 326, position 37
DE Bart Berberich (6'5" 227lbs) - Frankilin Park, IL - Overall 387, position 34
S Brandon Snyder (6'0" 179lbs) - Kokomo, IN - Overall 472, position 41
OLB Calvin Alford (6'1" 193lbs) - Bartonville, IL - Overall 521, position 35
DE Christian Levine (6'3" 225lbs) - Manitowoc, WI - Overall 557, position 55
OLB Trevor Cochran (6'1" 205lbs) - Sussex, WI - Overall 587, position 38
S A.J. Hunziker (5'10" 177lbs) - Kewanee, WI - Overall 728, position 58
FB Dixon Logan (5'9" 193lbs) - Winnebago, IL - Overall 823, position 27
DT Donovan Hall (6'2" 251lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 850, position 58
FB Bryant Hutchins (6'1" 221lbs) - Gary, IN - Overall 856, position 28
OLB George Bauer (6'2" 217lbs) - Bensenville, IL - Overall UR, position 79

Commits
P Kenneth Wilcox (5'11" 166lbs) - Aurora, IL - Overall 223, position 4

Lots of recruits this week. Would love to get the Webb and Morris. Would also like to get one of the Safties as well for my depth. Have some good OLB prospects that we should get as well. Excited about the next few weeks to see who comes and joins us.

This weeks Games
Northern Illinois 31 Western Michigan 21
Marshall 21 Bowling Green 17
Toledo 31 Ball State 0
Central Michigan 58 Eastern Michigan 10

Bowling Green actually is struggling a little bit. Toledo is making a move towards the lead in the division and Central Michigan destroys Eastern Michigan.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Central Michigan 4 1 0 .800 135 109 2 0 0 1.000 80 26 Won 4
Toledo 3 2 0 .600 139 121 2 0 0 1.000 85 7 Won 3
Northern Illinois 2 3 0 .400 85 127 1 1 0 .500 31 56 Won 1
Western Michigan 2 3 0 .400 144 131 1 1 0 .500 73 31 Lost 2
Eastern Michigan 1 4 0 .200 86 171 1 1 0 .500 41 61 Lost 2
Bowling Green 4 2 0 .666 147 119 1 2 0 .333 65 85 Lost 2
Ball State 1 5 0 .166 66 191 1 3 0 .250 54 127 Lost 3 

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Akron
Bowling Green at Ohio
Toledo at Miami (OH)
Kent State at Eastern Michigan
Central Florida at Central Michigan
Western Michigan at Buffalo

Now we should see a separation between the haves and the have nots in the MAC South division. We travel to Ohio to take the 2-3 Akron Zips. They feature a decent passing game based off of the Flexbone Offense. They struggle to run the ball though. On defense, the are also decent and led by S Drew Johnstone (38tack, 6 tack for loss) who hits like a ton of bricks and also cover huge amounts of ground in the secondary. We will look to establish our running game hoping to set up the play action pass.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 8

Northern Illinois 23 Akron 21
Record Overall 3-3 MAC South 2-1

Passing
Walter Scott 17/28 297yds 2TD

Rushing
HB Arnie Beals 21att 56yds
HB Rufus Baxter 8att 25yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 6cat 178yds 1TD
WR Brock Serra 3cat 40yds 1TD
TE J.J. Herriman 2cat 27yds

Defense
DT Ross Porter 12tack 3ast 1sack
FS Russell Herriman 7tack 3ast 1 pass def
CB Jared Sanford 6tack 3ast

Recap
With 1:10 left in the 4th quarter, Akron scores a go ahead TD for a 21-20 lead. After the ensuing kickoff, Northern Illinois gets the ball on their own 15yd line. The next play, QB Walter Scott hit WR Grant Kaplan on a bubble screen and Kaplan turns that into a 47yd gain down the left sideline. After Kaplan goes out of bounds, an Akron defender hits him out of bounds for a huge 15yd penalty. 1st and 10 on Akron's 23yd line. A couple of runs gets the ball down to Akron's 7yd line. With :20 lef, NIU kicks the game winning field goal.

Offensively, QB Walter Scott had a huge game. Due to the running game struggling, Scott put the team on his shoulders and delivered when it counted. Akron was stuffing the run all day and HB Beals had a tough time finding running room. What more can we say about WR Kaplan? Monster game and this kid is special. Our OLine had an up and down game. They did not allow a sack, but the running ngame only averaged 3YPC.

Defensively, we struggled. Akron rushed for 178yds on 4.1YPC. They threw for 225yds through the air. We probably would have lost this game if it were not for the heroics of QB Scott. Though our DLine got 3 sacks, we did not get steady pressure on the Akron QB.

Injuries
Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr Out Torn Knee Ligamen 16 Weeks
Panko, James 68 T Sr Out Broken Jaw 3 Weeks
Herriman, Russell 24 S Jr Questionable Sprained Knee 4 Weeks
Johnson, Kris 77 DT Sr* Questionable Hyperextended Elb 2 Weeks
Malone, Terry 44 FB Sr Questionable Arthroscopic Knee 1 Week
Mueller, Andre 83 WR Jr Questionable Hyperextended Kne 2 Weeks
Baxter, Rufus 36 RB So* Probable Separated Shoulde 1 Week
Serra, Brock 2 WR* Sr* Probable Broken Hand 3 Weeks


No new injuries. Maybe we can be healthy by the end of the year.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
S Maurice Shaffer (6'3" 178lbs) - Antioch, IL - Overall 314, position 24
T Harvey Hemond (6'9" 309lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 146, position 22
G Gilbert Morris (6'1" 267lbs) - Cary Illinois - Overall 105, position 13
QB Issac Grant (6'3" 185lbs) - Machesney Park, IL - Overall 488, position 30

Out of all of our recruits left to commit, these 4 are the ones we really wanted. Our recruiting class will be strong this year.

This weeks Games
Northern Illinois 23 Akron 21
Ohio 28 Bowling Green 20
Toledo 40 Miami (OH) 23
Kent State 37 Eastern Michigan 3
Central Florida 12 Central Michigan 9
Western Michigan 38 Buffalo 19

Huge upset by Ohio. Bowling Green is seriously struggling right now. Toledo is now on top of the division.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 4 2 0 .666 179 144 3 0 0 1.000 125 30 Won 4
Central Michigan 4 2 0 .666 144 121 2 1 0 .666 89 38 Lost 1
**Northern Illinois 3 3 0 .500 108 148 2 1 0 .666 54 77 Won 2
Western Michigan 3 3 0 .500 182 150 2 1 0 .666 111 50 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 1 5 0 .166 89 208 1 2 0 .333 44 98 Lost 3
Bowling Green 4 3 0 .571 167 147 1 3 0 .250 85 113 Lost 3
Ball State 1 5 0 .166 66 191 1 3 0 .250 54 127 Lost 3 

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Toledo
Central Michigan at Bowling Green
Ball State at Eastern Michigan

This next game against Toledo will make or break our season. If we win, we will be in contention for the division title. If we lose, we will probably not make a bowl game this year. This game is critical for us. The Toledo Rockets feature a diverse offense with a decent running game and a good passing game. Their strength is on defense featuring a strong run defense led by DT Thomas Marsh (30tack 12 tack for loss 4sack). They can be passed on though, so hopefully we can exploit this weakness with WR Kaplan.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 9

Toledo 35 Northern Illnois 6
Record Overall 3-4 MAC South 2-2

Passing
Walter Scott 5/22 59yds 2INT
Jeffrey Galloway 6/8 43yds

Rushing
HB Rufus Baxter 9att 42yds
HB Ray Salter 5att 47yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 3cat 29yds
WR Gerald Polifka 2cat 15yds
WR Brock Serra 1cat 29yds

Defense
DT Ross Porter 7tack 3ast
FS Russell Herriman 7tack 3ast
OLB Karl Lipford 6tack

Recap
Utter annihilation. The worse game we have played in my two season here. We were not prepared in any phase of this game. 4 turnovers. 8 sacks allowed. 2.2YPC. 37% completion percentage. I could go one, but I wont bother. This was an destruction of our team.

Offensively, QB Walter Scott had no time to throw the ball. He was under pressure all game long. We decided to pull him after one particularly vicious hit by Toledo DT Thomas Marsh (7tack 4sacks). QB Jeff Galloway played ok, but it was far too little, far too late. HB Beal went down early with a concussion, so HB Baxter was able to get some extended time with a little success. I may start him next game. Our OLine was terrible.

Defensively, we got our butts handed to us. Toledo rushed for 212yds and controlled the line of scrimmage all game. We got no pressure on the QB and could not make any stops when we needed too.

Injuries
Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr Out Torn Knee Ligamen 16 Weeks
Herriman, Russell 24 S Jr Questionable Sprained Knee 3 Weeks
Panko, James 68 T Sr Questionable Broken Jaw 2 Weeks
Johnson, Kris 77 DT Sr* Probable Hyperextended Elb 1 Week
Mueller, Andre 83 WR Jr Probable Hyperextended Kne 1 Week
Serra, Brock 2 WR* Sr* Probable Broken Hand 2 Weeks


Well at least we are slowly starting to get healthy.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
ILB Corey Crane (6'2" 215lbs) - Bensenville, IL - Overall 56, position 1
DT Rondell Lynn (6'2" 247lbs) - Naperville, IL - Overall 768, position 51
DE Sammy Tuttle (6'4" 255lbs) - Wales, WI - Overall 479, position 48
S Russell Demps (5'10" 167lbs) - Aurora, IL - Overall UR, position 96


Getting Crane was a coup. Illinois was after him hot and heavy. I have room for 4 more recruits. Hope to get some WR's. I really need some.

This weeks Games
Toledo 35 Northern Illinois 6
Bowling Green 23 Central Michigan 20
Eastern Michigan 25 Ball State 21

Bowling Green finally wins after a 3 game losing streak. Toledo has taken control of the division and should win it.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 5 2 0 .714 214 150 4 0 0 1.000 160 36 Won 5
Western Michigan 3 3 0 .500 182 150 2 1 0 .666 111 50 Won 1
Central Michigan 4 3 0 .571 164 144 2 2 0 .500 109 61 Lost 2
**Northern Illinois 3 4 0 .428 114 183 2 2 0 .500 60 112 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 2 5 0 .285 114 229 2 2 0 .500 69 119 Won 1
Bowling Green 5 3 0 .625 190 167 2 3 0 .400 108 133 Won 1
Ball State 1 6 0 .142 87 216 1 4 0 .200 75 152 Lost 4
Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan
Central Michigan at Ball State
Toledo at Western Michigan

Good game this weekend with Toledo and Western Michigan. Western Michigan will be very motivated to win this game so they can get closer to the division lead. We travel to Ypsilanti, MI this weekend to take on the 2-5 Eastern Michigan Eagles. The Eagles have struggle on both sides of the ball this year. The are 121st in the nation on turnover ratio (-14) and have not had good years from their skill position players.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 10

Eastern Michigan 40 Northern Illnois 13
Record Overall 3-5 MAC South 2-3

Passing
Walter Scott 12/36 166yds 1TD

Rushing
HB Rufus Baxter 10att 43yds
HB Arnie Beals 6att 18yds

Receiving
WR Andre Mueller 6cat 90yds 1TD
WR Grant Kaplan 2cat 41yds
WR Brock Serra 2cat 30yds

Defense
DT Stanley Rinehart 7tack 6ast .5sack
DT Ross Porter 7tack 3ast
FS Russell Herriman 7tack 3ast
CB Butch Trafton 7tack 1ast 1int

Recap
The wheels are starting to come off. We are just not very consistent. We cant convert on 3rd down (2/12) and we can't protect the QB (5 sacks). Our talent level is seriously being exposed for all to see. It is very disheartening.

Offensively, QB Walter Scott needs to be protected to succeed. He is not the type of QB that can avoid a heavy rush and make things happen on the run. That is not his game. Our lack of a passing game is also affecting our running game. All of these faults lie on the Offensive Line. We have some good talent coming on the line in the coming years, so I hope we can be better.

Defensively, it is more of the same. Eastern Michigan rushed for 229yds and passed for 267yds. Our secondary allowed the Eagles QB to complete 21 out of 29 passes. Our LB's were thoroughly manhandled in the running game. In short, we got demolished. Our DT's are playing like gangbusters. DT Ross Porter is second on the team in tackles (43) and leads our team in tackles for loss (14).

Injuries
Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr Out Torn Knee Ligamen 15 Weeks
Lipford, Karl 40 OLB Jr Out Hyperextended Kne 4 Weeks
Herriman, Russell 24 S Jr Probable Sprained Knee 2 Weeks
Panko, James 68 T Sr Probable Broken Jaw 1 Week
Sanford, Jared 23 CB Sr Probable Bruised Sternum 5 Weeks
Serra, Brock 2 WR* Sr* Probable Broken Hand 1 Week

These injuries are partly why we are so inconsistent. We just need more depth.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

Have room for 3 more players. Had my top WR recruit spurn me for NC State and my top OLB prospect choose Illinois. So I am kind of scrambling right now to fine replacements.

This weeks Games
Eastern Michigan 40 Northern Illinois 13
Ball State 13 Central Michigan 10
Western Michigan 34 Toledo 26

Though Toledo is on top of the division, Western Michigan is going to battle them the rest of the year for the chance to go to the MAC title game.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 5 3 0 .625 240 184 4 1 0 .800 186 70 Lost 1
Western Michigan 4 3 0 .571 216 176 3 1 0 .750 145 76 Won 2
Eastern Michigan 3 5 0 .375 154 242 3 2 0 .600 109 132 Won 2
Bowling Green 5 3 0 .625 190 167 2 3 0 .400 108 133 Won 1
Central Michigan 4 4 0 .500 174 157 2 3 0 .400 119 74 Lost 3
**Northern Illinois 3 5 0 .375 127 223 2 3 0 .400 73 152 Lost 2
Ball State 2 6 0 .250 100 226 2 4 0 .333 88 162 Won 1 

Next weeks Schedule
Bowling Green at Northern Illinois
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan
Ball State at Iowa State
Toledo at Central Michigan

Basically playing out the string. Bowling Green features a prolific running game based on the Wing T offense that is very hard to stop. With victories against ranked teams this year, I am not sure how we can handle them. On defense, Bowling Green is led by undersized DE Chester Marte (35tack 8.5sack 18tack for loss). He will be a very tough matchup for my Tackles.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 11

Bowling Green 34 Northern Illinois 24
Record Overall 3-6 MAC South 2-4

Passing
Walter Scott 19/33 yds 285yds 3TD 3INT

Rushing
HB Rufus Baxter 9att 12yds
HB Arnie Beals 9att 19yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 5cat 96yds 2TD
TE J.J. Herriman 4cat 54yds
HB Arnie Beals 3cat 21yds 1TD

Defense
DT Ross Porter 11tack 6ast
FS Russell Herriman 10tack 5ast
CB Jared Sandford 6tack 3ast

Recap
In the 1st quarter of this game, we jumped out to a 17-0 lead. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves. Then reality struck when Bowling Green scored 34 unanswered point, 27 of them in the second quarter. Talk about a kick to the groin.

Offensively, QB Walter Scott put in an Herculean effort despit 3 interceptions. With no running game, he alone was able to move the ball and try to get our team back into the game. His development is probably the most fun thing to see this year. Next years QB competition should be a spirited affair. Our running and pass rushing struggles coincide with the loss of LT James Panko. Without him, our entire line has struggled. Luckily we have some redshirts coming in next year that should do wonders for our line.

Defensively, one quarter of football doomed us. Our inability to stop the run is pathetic and is downright embarrassing. Our secondary played a really good game (only surrendered 122yds passing) but could not deal with Bowling Green bruising HB's running wild in the secondary all game long. We need a huge infusion of talent in our LB corps, that is evident.

Injuries
Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr Out Torn Knee Ligamen 15 Weeks
Herriman, Russell 24 S Jr Doubtful Sprained Knee 5 Weeks
Lipford, Karl 40 OLB Jr Doubtful Hyperextended Kne 3 Weeks
Sanford, Jared 23 CB Sr Probable Bruised Sternum 4 Weeks


These injuries killed our season.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
DE Christian Levine (6'3" 225lbs) - Manitowoc, WI - Overall 557, position 55
OLB Rico Garrison (6'2" 203lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 900, position 62

Good late signings here. Having lost out on my targeting OLB, I happen to see that Garrison has slipped under my radar and was being heavily recruited by Air Force. Well I swooped in at the 11th hour, wined and dined him and let him know that DeKalb, IL has much better weather than Colorado Springs, CO. Looks like I convinced him, luckily. Targeting one last WR. He won't be a stud, but he should be solid.

This weeks Games
Bowling Green 34 Northern Illinois 24
Eastern Michigan 17 Western Michigan 13
Iowa State 51 Ball State 10
Toledo 38 Central Michigan 3

Western Michigan's lost guarantees Toledo a trip to the MAC title game. Congrats goes out to Toledo on a fantastic end to their season.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 6 3 0 .666 278 187 5 1 0 .833 224 73 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 4 5 0 .444 171 255 4 2 0 .666 126 145 Won 3
Western Michigan 4 4 0 .500 229 193 3 2 0 .600 158 93 Lost 1
Bowling Green 6 3 0 .666 224 191 3 3 0 .500 142 157 Won 2
Central Michigan 4 5 0 .444 177 195 2 4 0 .333 122 112 Lost 4
**Northern Illinois 3 6 0 .333 151 257 2 4 0 .333 97 186 Lost 3
Ball State 2 7 0 .222 110 277 2 4 0 .333 88 162 Lost 1 

Next weeks Schedule
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois
Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green
Ball State at Western Michigan
Central Florida at Toledo

Hopefully we can end up the season strong. Central Michigan currently has a 4 game losing streak. Offensively, they are pretty balance and have been successful running and passing the ball (QB Walter Buel 147/265 1582yds 11TD 5INT). Defensively, they have lost their 3 starting LB's, which is the main reason for these losses. Hopefully we can finally get our running game going so we can take advantage of their weakness.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 12

Northern Illinois 48 Central Michigan 14
Record Overall 4-6 MAC South 3-4

Passing
Walter Scott 12/25 yds 143yds 1TD 1INT

Rushing
HB Rufus Baxter 22att 153yds 2TD
HB Arnie Beals 12att 38yds

Receiving
WR Andre Mueller 3cat 37yds
TE J.J. Herriman 3cat 18yds
WR Brock Serra 2cat 19yds

Defense
FS Russell Herriman 5tack 1ast
DT Kris Johnson 4tack .5sack
DT Ross Porter 3tack 3ast .5sack

Recap
This game was very much needed. We needed a win where everything came together and it did during this game. Kudos to all hands.

Offensively, QB Walter Scott actually had help from the running game today. I was a tad bit disappointed in his performance as his completion percentage was low and he threw a silly interception. On the flipside, he did run for 2TD today. Our HB's and our OLine were able to actually run the ball. We ran for 280yds and was pretty much unstoppable. Our QB was only sacked once and did not have a lot of pressure on him today.

Defensively, we held Central Michigan to 200 total yards. We got 3 sacks on the QB and for once, we shut down the opposing teams running game. The secondary did a wonderful job of shutting down the passing game as well.

Injuries
Player # Pos Elig Health Injury Full Strn.
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr Out Torn Knee Ligamen 14 Weeks
Davison, Geoff 4 P Fr Out Torn Knee Cartila 7 Weeks
Herriman, Russell 24 S Jr Questionable Sprained Knee 4 Weeks
Lipford, Karl 40 OLB Jr Questionable Hyperextended Kne 2 Weeks
Sanford, Jared 23 CB Sr Probable Bruised Sternum 2 Weeks

I just can't catch a break. Now I lose my Punter!

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
WR Grady Kemp (6'0" 163lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall UR, position 90

Our recruiting is complete. I sure wish I could have gotten another WR. Good class overall.

This weeks Games
Northern Illinois 48 Central Michigan 14
Bowling Green 37 Eastern Michigan 12
Western Michigan 25 Ball State 7
Toledo 31 Central Florida 6

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 7 3 0 .700 309 193 6 1 0 .857 255 79 Won 2
Western Michigan 5 4 0 .555 254 200 4 2 0 .666 183 100 Won 1
Bowling Green 7 3 0 .700 261 203 4 3 0 .571 179 169 Won 3
Eastern Michigan 4 6 0 .400 183 292 4 3 0 .571 138 182 Lost 1
**Northern Illinois 4 6 0 .400 199 271 3 4 0 .428 145 200 Won 1
Ball State 2 8 0 .200 117 302 2 5 0 .285 95 187 Lost 2
Central Michigan 4 6 0 .400 191 243 2 5 0 .285 136 160 Lost 5

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Ball State
Western Michigan at Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan at Toledo

If we get to 5 wins, I actually will be happy. Our team this year is not as talented as last years team was. If we can match the 5 victories from last year, I will consider our season a quasi-success considering all of the adversity we dealt with. Ball state has had a better season than last year. Though they have won just two games, they do have some talent on the DLine (led by DT Marlon Roback with 47tack 4.5sack 11tack for loss). They are not very good on offense and hopefully we can take advantage of that.

[bbgunn]

Even the punter is ripping his knee up. Talk about bad breaks.

[Dolemite73]

Even the punter is ripping his knee up. Talk about bad breaks.
It has been a rough year. Looking forward to next year.

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 13

Northern Illinois 38 Ball State 24
Record Overall 5-6 MAC South 4-4

Passing
Walter Scott 14/23 yds 182yds 3TD

Rushing
HB Rufus Baxter 18att 113yds
HB Arnie Beals 10att 51yds

Receiving
WR Brock Serra 3cat 75yds
WR Andre Mueller 2cat 19yds 1TD
WR Grant Kaplan 2cat 23yds

Defense
DT Ross Porter 7tack 3ast .5sack
FS Russell Herriman 5tack 3ast
CB Bernie Kohzin 4tack 2ast 1sack

Recap
We end the year strong. One thing I have noticed is when we successfully run the ball, we usually win.

Offensively, QB Walter Scott made the safe throws today. When he does that, we are a better team. HB Rufus Baxter was dominant today and will be in the mix for starting next year. The Offensive line yielded 4 sacks today and has been one of the worst pass blocking lines in the MAC. Have plenty of talent coming in so I expect we are going to improve.

Defensively, we gave up far too much yardage on the ground (206yds). Our secondary, towards the end of the year, did a fantastic job of controlling the opponents passing game.

Injuries
N/A...no more games. Maybe my punter will be ready for Spring practices.


Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
Here is the final list of my recruiting class:

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
Rasmussen, Steven RB 6-2 203 IL 51 5 2 1
Crane, Corey ILB 6-2 213 IL 56 1 3 1
Morris, Gilbert G 6-1 267 IL 105 13 6 2
Hemond, Harvey T 6-9 309 IL 146 22 9 3
Wilcox, Kenneth P 5-11 166 IL 233 4 11 1
Shaffer, Maurice S 6-3 178 IL 314 24 15 1
Williamson, Blaine TE 6-5 234 IL 454 19 21 2
Grant, Isaac QB 6-3 193 IL 488 30 24 2
Smith, Jake C 6-7 300 IL 557 34 27 2
Lynn, Rondell DT 6-2 247 IL 768 51 35 2
Kemp, Grady WR 6-0 163 IL --- 90 48 2
Demps, Russell S 5-10 167 IL --- 96 54 4
Witherspoon, Mario ILB 6-0 213 IL --- --- --- 15
This weeks Games
Northern Illinois 38 Ball State 24
Western Michigan 21 Central Michigan 17
Toledo 24 Eastern Michigan 10

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 8 3 0 .727 333 203 7 1 0 .875 279 89 Won 3
Western Michigan 6 4 0 .600 275 217 5 2 0 .714 204 117 Won 2
Bowling Green 7 3 0 .700 261 203 4 3 0 .571 179 169 Won 3
Eastern Michigan 4 7 0 .363 193 316 4 4 0 .500 148 206 Lost 2
Northern Illinois 5 6 0 .454 237 295 4 4 0 .500 183 224 Won 2
Ball State 2 9 0 .181 141 340 2 6 0 .250 119 225 Lost 3
Central Michigan 4 7 0 .363 208 264 2 6 0 .250 153 181 Lost 6

Next weeks Schedule
Western Michigan at Bowling Green

[Dolemite73]

2005 Week 14

End of Season
Record Overall 5-6 MAC South 4-4

End of Season stats
The College Years
2005 Summary for Northern Illinois

Record: 5-6
Rank: 78

Northern Illinois Team Rank
Rushes 392 55
Rushing Yards 1320 75
Yards Per Carry 3.36 85
Pass Attempts 327 55
Completions 171 60
Passing Yards 2173 66
Yards Per Attempt 6.64 77
3rd Down Conversions 32.5 83 (T)
Points Per Game 21.5 81
Turnovers 20 50 (T)
Turnover Margin -2 75 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 350 31 (T)
Rushing Yards 1594 73
Yards Per Carry 4.55 100 (T)
Pass Attempts 371 120
Completions 205 106
Passing Yards 2152 40 (T)
Yards Per Attempt 5.80 10
3rd Down Conversions 29.8 28
Points Per Game 26.8 78
Turnovers 18 86 (T)

Primary Formation: Pro Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 20 at ECAR (38) 21
3 24 ASHE (122) 13
5 0 MIAO (52) 35
6 10 at GOLD (80) 37
7 31 WMIC (60) 21
8 23 at AKRN (74) 21
9 6 at TOLE (35) 35
10 13 at EMIC (91) 40
11 24 BOWG (34) 34
12 48 CMIC (94) 14
13 38 at BALL (114) 24

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
8 Scott QB 317 163 2126 6.70 15 12
Team --- 327 171 2173 6.64 15 12

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
45 Beals RB 150 606 4.04 3 42 46
36 Baxter RB 94 450 4.78 3 19 18
8 Scott QB 63 -72 -1.14 2 42 198
46 Salter RB 48 236 4.91 0 9 5
Team --- 392 1320 3.36 10 122 298

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
3 Kaplan WR 103 49 926 18.8 349 7
2 Serra WR 56 29 365 12.5 97 1
45 Beals RB 38 26 153 5.8 72 1
83 Mueller WR 35 17 204 12.0 110 2
92 Herriman TE 35 17 149 8.7 64 1
9 Polifka WR 18 6 101 16.8 6 0
36 Baxter RB 14 8 92 11.5 45 2
Team --- 327 171 2173 12.7 822 15

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
24 Herriman S 68 24 0.0 10 3 8
96 Porter DT 64 26 4.0 14 0 0
23 Sanford CB 52 13 0.0 8 0 15
25 Trafton CB 39 9 0.0 0 2 11
59 Wayne ILB 38 16 2.0 4 1 5
53 Hancock OLB 33 7 3.0 8 0 1
28 Sotelo S 32 5 0.0 4 0 3
40 Lipford OLB 30 7 3.0 7 0 3
72 Rinehart DT 28 19 3.5 4 0 0
94 Bensen DE 19 3 5.5 7 0 0 
The College Years
73 Adams DE 18 6 2.5 4 0 0
98 Dickens OLB 18 6 1.5 3 2 1
22 Kozhin CB 17 7 1.0 1 0 2
75 Cox DE 13 6 5.5 6 0 0
77 Johnson DT 13 4 3.0 5 0 0
Team --- 596 181 37.0 91 8 54 


This weeks Games
Bowling Green 41 Western Michigan 14

Next weeks Schedule
Toledo at Marshall

For the MAC Title. These two teams are very closely matched, so it should be a heck of a game.

[Dolemite73]

Toledo won the MAC Title by beating Marshal 33-7. The bowl list is below:

Game Matchup
Solecismic Bowl Virginia (11-0) vs Georgia (10-1)
Angelica Bowl Washington (10-1) vs Louisiana State (11-1)
Sinclair Lewis Bowl Florida State (9-2) vs Utah (10-1)
Dore Schary Bowl Ohio State (8-3) vs Colorado (11-1)
Edible Fruit Bowl Clemson (8-3) vs Michigan (8-3)
Neverending Hype Bowl Texas (8-4) vs Washington State (9-2)
Medicine Bowl Nebraska (9-2) vs Virginia Tech (8-3)
Belle of the Bowl Syracuse (9-2) vs Florida (10-2)
Anachronism Bowl Penn State (9-2) vs Colorado State (8-3)
Fair And Balanced Bowl North Carolina State (6-5) vs California-Los Angeles
Bennifer Bowl Wisconsin (8-3) vs Tennessee (9-2)
Corporate Entity Bowl Miami of Florida (6-5) vs Texas Christian (10-1)
Smoking Cessation Bowl Michigan State (8-3) vs Kansas State (9-2)
Forged Document Bowl San Diego State (7-4) vs Notre Dame (8-3)
Butterfly Ballot Bowl Georgia Tech (6-5) vs Mississippi (8-3)
Generation Why Bowl Purdue (6-5) vs Tulsa (6-5)
Argyle Socks Bowl Oregon State (8-3) vs Nevada-Las Vegas (6-5)
Amber Frey Bowl Oklahoma (8-3) vs Toledo (9-3)
Swift Boat Bowl Oregon (6-5) vs Auburn (7-4)
Noreaster Bowl Boston College (9-2) vs Louisville (9-2)
Unrequited Love Bowl West Virginia (6-5) vs Marshall (8-4)
Used Car Bowl Texas A&M (8-3) vs Bowling Green (8-3)
Happy Fun Bowl North Texas (8-3) vs Hickory (9-2)

[Dolemite73]

Game Matchup
Solecismic Bowl Georgia (11-1) 48, Virginia (11-1) 7
Angelica Bowl Louisiana State (12-1) 23, Washington (10-2) 3
Sinclair Lewis Bowl Utah (11-1) 27, Florida State (9-3) 20
Dore Schary Bowl Ohio State (9-3) 38, Colorado (11-2) 7
Edible Fruit Bowl Michigan (9-3) 27, Clemson (8-4) 26
Neverending Hype Bowl Texas (9-4) 55, Washington State (9-3) 49
Medicine Bowl Nebraska (10-2) 38, Virginia Tech (8-4) 31
Belle of the Bowl Florida (11-2) 31, Syracuse (9-3) 17
Anachronism Bowl Penn State (10-2) 45, Colorado State (8-4) 20
Fair And Balanced Bowl California-Los Angeles (9-4) 45, North Carolina State
Bennifer Bowl Tennessee (10-2) 35, Wisconsin (8-4) 7
Corporate Entity Bowl Miami of Florida (7-5) 48, Texas Christian (10-2) 26
Smoking Cessation Bowl Kansas State (10-2) 33, Michigan State (8-4) 27
Forged Document Bowl Notre Dame (9-3) 55, San Diego State (7-5) 13
Butterfly Ballot Bowl Mississippi (9-3) 17, Georgia Tech (6-6) 14
Generation Why Bowl Purdue (7-5) 45, Tulsa (6-6) 14
Argyle Socks Bowl Oregon State (9-3) 38, Nevada-Las Vegas (6-6) 14
Amber Frey Bowl Oklahoma (9-3) 27, Toledo (9-4) 11
Swift Boat Bowl Auburn (8-4) 21, Oregon (6-6) 17
Noreaster Bowl Louisville (10-2) 31, Boston College (9-3) 21
Unrequited Love Bowl West Virginia (7-5) 38, Marshall (8-5) 10
Used Car Bowl Texas A&M (9-3) 38, Bowling Green (8-4) 10
Happy Fun Bowl Hickory (10-2) 35, North Texas (8-4) 23

Well the MAC gets destroyed in the 3 bowls they were in. Congrats to Georgia for the National Championship win.

[Dolemite73]

Final 2005 Rankings and Standings:

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Georgia 11-1 SEC 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.16 3.16 1
Louisiana State 12-1 SEC 2.25 2.00 1.00 1.64 6.89 2
Florida 11-2 SEC 4.50 4.50 2.00 0.44 11.44 3
Utah 11-1 MOW 4.00 4.50 1.00 3.16 12.66 4
Tennessee 10-2 SEC 2.75 7.50 2.00 0.56 12.81 5
Virginia 11-1 ACC 7.25 4.00 1.00 1.92 14.17 6
Nebraska 10-2 B12 9.00 5.00 2.00 1.28 17.28 7
Kansas State 10-2 B12 6.75 11.00 2.00 0.88 20.63 8
Florida State 9-3 ACC 10.00 8.50 3.00 0.80 22.30 9
Washington 10-2 P10 9.50 13.00 2.00 0.68 25.18 10
Penn State 10-2 B10 12.50 10.00 2.00 1.12 25.62 11
Colorado 11-2 B12 7.25 15.50 2.00 1.68 26.43 12
Michigan 9-3 B10 14.50 10.00 3.00 0.60 28.10 13
Ohio State 9-3 B10 14.00 11.00 3.00 0.36 28.36 14
Oklahoma 9-3 B12 12.00 14.00 3.00 0.64 29.64 15
Texas A&M 9-3 B12 18.50 17.00 3.00 0.92 39.42 16
California-Los Angeles 9-4 P10 15.25 20.00 4.00 0.76 40.01 17
Louisville 10-2 USA 15.75 19.00 2.00 3.96 40.71 18
Texas Christian 10-2 USA 22.75 14.50 2.00 3.12 42.37 19
Texas 9-4 B12 18.25 21.50 4.00 1.56 45.31 20
Washington State 9-3 P10 20.50 22.00 3.00 2.08 47.58 21
Notre Dame 9-3 IND 23.50 19.00 3.00 3.56 49.06 22
Oregon State 9-3 P10 18.50 27.50 3.00 2.76 51.76 23
Syracuse 9-3 BEA 23.00 24.00 3.00 3.20 53.20 24
Auburn 8-4 SEC 23.00 27.00 4.00 1.00 55.00 25


Final MAC South Standings:

School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 9 4 0 .692 377 237 7 1 0 .875 279 89 Lost 1
Bowling Green 8 4 0 .666 312 255 5 3 0 .625 220 183 Lost 1
Western Michigan 6 5 0 .545 289 258 5 3 0 .625 218 158 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 4 7 0 .363 193 316 4 4 0 .500 148 206 Lost 2
Northern Illinois 5 6 0 .454 237 295 4 4 0 .500 183 224 Won 2
Ball State 2 9 0 .181 141 340 2 6 0 .250 119 225 Lost 3
Central Michigan 4 7 0 .363 208 264 2 6 0 .250 153 181 Lost 6 

[Dolemite73]

Here are the Team awards:

CB Jared Sanford
- College Football All Academic Team
- MAC All Academic Team

WR Grant Kaplan
- College Football All Freshman Team
- MAC Offensive Freshman of the Year
- MAC Second Team WR
- MAC All Academic Team
- MAC Single season Receiving Record (926yds)

K Arnie Foster
- MAC Second Team K

Others making the MAC All Academic Team
FB Thurman Barlow
DE Orlando Cox
P Geoff Davison

[Dolemite73]

Here are a list of my outgoing seniors:

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Barlow, Thurman 20 FB Sr 36 36
Malone, Terry 44 FB Sr 24 24
Herriman, J.J. 92 TE Sr 48 48
Binette, Jose 79 G Sr 22 22
Panko, James 68 T Sr 50 53
Beebe, Conrad 61 T Sr 36 70
Adams, Eddie 73 DE Sr 21 21
Rinehart, Stanley 72 DT Sr 25 25
Hancock, Nicky 53 OLB Sr 30 37
Alamar, Jessie 31 CB Sr 23 23
Beals, Arnie 45 RB Sr 27 48
Gibson, Cornelius 93 DE Sr 16 29
Wayne, Scottie 59 ILB Sr 27 43
Grange, Hunter 51 ILB Sr 21 21
Trafton, Butch 25 CB Sr 35 35
Sanford, Jared 23 CB Sr 66 74


Panko and Sanford will most likely be looked at by NFL teams. Will plug them into FOF and follow any Northern Illinois alumni.

[Dolemite73]

After plugging the draft into FOF, CB Jared Sanford and T Conrad Beebe were the only players at the combine. Sanford will be drafted (4.1 grade). Beebe probably wont (2.2 grade).

[RedHawk00]

you and the other TCY dynasty folks are really making me think about sending the $20 Solecismic's way.

[Dolemite73]

you and the other TCY dynasty folks are really making me think about sending the $20 Solecismic's way.
You should do it. This is a great game.

[Dolemite73]

Just one more thing to end the 2005 season. CB Jared Sanford did not get drafted. So for the second year, we have no NIU alumni in the NFL. Now onto the..........

2006 Northern Illinois Huskies

Well we are in year 3 of my mad science project. Time to see who my laboratory assistant are. My Defensive Coordinator jumped to be the Defensive Coordinator of the Syracuse Orgemen and my Syndicate Coordinator retired. So these are the new coaches:

I retained my Offensive Coordinator, but replaced the following:

Syndicate Coordinator
Oscar Oscarson, 55
Pretty Good at academic eligibility, Decent at soliciting donations, and Terrible at syndicate investigation. And trust me, he was the best I could find.

Defensive Coordinator
Luke Wozniczka, 48
Good or above at everything but LB's and Injury avoidance. Not as good as my coordinator last year, but he was better than the others I had to choose from.

[Dolemite73]

Starters are bold. Redshirts are red.

Livesay, Mo 12 QB So* 27 54
Scott, Walter 8 QB Sr* 25 38
Grant, Isaac 6 QB Fr 12 60
Bohme, Earnest 15 QB* Jr* 9 16
Galloway, Jeffrey 5 QB* Jr* 6 13


Livesay and Scott are very close, but Livesay is a better 3rd down passer, so I will go with him. Starting to get some good depth here, with Grant waiting in the wings.

Rasmussen, Steven 26 RB Fr 47 88
Horn, Hugh 32 RB So* 34 64
Baxter, Rufus 36 RB Jr* 32 46
Salter, Ray 46 RB So 11 24
Quick, Bennie 39 RB* So 9 17

Huge gamble here redshirting Rasmussen, but I think we can get by with Horn until Rasmussen explodes on the scene next year. Good depth here with Baxter as well.

Mattes, Les 35 FB Jr 17 30
Nestor, Kendrick 20 FB* Fr 3 22

Just block and get good grades.

Getson, Dean 88 TE Sr* 34 57
Williamson, Blaine 92 TE Fr 26 41
Zulkowski, Todd 81 TE Sr* 19 19
Hartings, Preston 87 TE So* 16 44

After three long years on the bench, Getson finally gets his chance. He is undersized though (6'2" 231lbs) so I will bring in Zulkowski in blocking situations.

Kaplan, Grant 3 WR So 36 75
Mueller, Andre 83 WR Sr 29 39
Serra, Brock 2 WR Sr 19 28
Kemp, Grady 1 WR Fr 19 48
Finley, Archie 85 WR* So 3 3
Polifka, Gerald 9 WR* So 2 27

Kaplan should be a monster this year. He kind of hit a wall last year towards the end, but I expect him to dominate. Getting deeper here is my number one priority in recruiting. Hope to get at least 2.

Roller, Harvey 57 C Sr 52 55
Campbell, Stanley 58 C So* 34 96
Hoffman, Toby 50 C Sr* 25 48
Samuelson, Juan 52 G Sr 37 37
McCarthy, Corwin 74 G So* 31 51
Boehner, Dwight 71 G Jr* 25 54
Walton, Brandon 60 G Jr 23 23
Morris, Gilbert 72 G Fr 22 74
Schroeder, Joel 78 G Sr* 12 18
Harper, Kendall 69 T So* 33 64
Billingsley, Timothy 66 T So 26 65
Haber, Warren 64 T Jr 18 50
Hemond, Harvey 65 T Fr 5 83
Smith, Jake 59 T Fr 24 52
Hanson, Mel 67 T* Jr 11 47

I am deep here. Very deep. And though I still have some subpar run blockers here (Roller and Samuelson), The future is bright here on the line. I am excited to see these kids develop.

[Dolemite73]

Small, Aaron 76 DE So* 37 46
Cox, Orlando 75 DE Sr 22 35
Tuttle, Sammy 95 DE Fr 19 77
Bensen, Will 94 DE Sr* 18 26
Levine, Christian 79 DE Fr 18 80
Jamison, Morris 91 DE Sr* 13 19

Not deep here yet, but help is on the way next year. Small should have a really good year.

Lovelace, Roman 70 DT So* 43 56
Porter, Ross 96 DT Sr* 29 65
Tate, J.R. 90 DT Sr* 15 16
Johnson, Kris 77 DT Sr 15 42
Lynn, Rondell 73 DT Fr 14 74

Porter was a beast last year. Lovelace should be a nice pass rushing DT. Will look for more depth here.

Berry, Adam 47 ILB So* 26 61
Crane, Corey 56 ILB Fr 18 85
Witherspoon, Mario 41 ILB Fr 12 16
Darusmont, Will 97 ILB Sr* 8 42
Lipford, Karl 40 OLB Sr 29 48
Garrison, Rico 45 OLB Fr 11 50
Walters, Dave 55 OLB So 8 76
Kafka, J.B. 54 OLB Sr* 5 29
Dickens, Alex 98 OLB* Sr* 12 38

The OLB's are the weakness of this team. We are just not developing these guys.

Peterson, Barry 48 CB So* 36 44
Cunningham, Gilbert 29 CB So* 32 41
Mansour, Edgar 30 CB* Jr 18 25
Kozhin, Bernie 22 CB* Jr* 12 21
Euell, Doug 21 CB* So 4 4

Need depth here. If a starter goes down, we are in trouble.

Herriman, Russell 24 S Sr 40 40
Shaffer, Maurice 23 S Fr 32 97
JohnSy, Conrad 33 S So* 29 75
Demps, Russell 42 S Fr 12 42
Sotelo, Winston 28 S Sr* 9 18 Campbell, Dale 49 S* So 5 17
Zimmerman, Gilbert 43 S* So 3 12

Tough to redshirt Shaffer, but it is for the best down the road. The back end of my defense will be a work in progress.

[Dolemite73]

Davison, Geoff 4 P So 46 52
Wilcox, Kenneth 17 P Fr 31 73
Barrett, Ike 7 P Sr* 23 53
Augustson, Bob 10 P* So* 8 19
Foster, Arnold 13 K Sr 58 71
Kelley, Howie 16 K* So* 11 11
Lukes, J.B. 19 K* So* 2 23

Hopefully My main punter wont tear his knee up this year.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Preseason Poll and MAC Preview:

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Florida State 0-0 ACC 2.00 1.50 0.00 0.12 3.62 1
Georgia 0-0 SEC 1.00 2.50 0.00 2.08 5.58 2
Florida 0-0 SEC 3.00 3.00 0.00 2.04 8.04 3
Michigan 0-0 B10 5.00 3.50 0.00 0.52 9.02 4
Ohio State 0-0 B10 6.00 5.50 0.00 0.68 12.18 5
Tennessee 0-0 SEC 4.00 8.50 0.00 2.20 14.70 6
Nebraska 0-0 B12 7.00 8.50 0.00 1.04 16.54 7
Louisiana State 0-0 SEC 8.00 7.00 0.00 2.40 17.40 8
Oklahoma 0-0 B12 9.00 10.50 0.00 1.12 20.62 9
California-Los Angeles 0-0 P10 10.00 10.50 0.00 1.92 22.42 10
Texas 0-0 B12 12.00 13.00 0.00 1.20 26.20 11
Utah 0-0 MOW 13.00 11.00 0.00 2.76 26.76 12
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 15.00 11.50 0.00 1.24 27.74 13
Kansas State 0-0 B12 11.00 17.50 0.00 0.96 29.46 14
Penn State 0-0 B10 17.00 12.00 0.00 0.72 29.72 15
Virginia 0-0 ACC 14.00 16.00 0.00 0.32 30.32 16
Miami of Florida 0-0 ACC 16.00 15.50 0.00 1.36 32.86 17
Washington 0-0 P10 18.00 19.00 0.00 1.96 38.96 18
Notre Dame 0-0 IND 20.00 19.50 0.00 4.56 44.06 19
Texas Christian 0-0 USA 23.00 19.50 0.00 3.16 45.66 20
Auburn 0-0 SEC 19.00 24.50 0.00 2.36 45.86 21
Washington State 0-0 P10 22.00 24.50 0.00 2.00 48.50 22
Virginia Tech 0-0 ACC 21.00 26.50 0.00 1.56 49.06 23
Southern California 0-0 P10 25.00 23.50 0.00 1.88 50.38 24
Georgia Tech 0-0 ACC 30.00 23.50 0.00 0.16 53.66 25


MAC North
School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 51.00 51.50 0.00 3.84 106.34 53
Marshall 0-0 MAC 54.00 52.50 0.00 3.80 110.30 55
Kent State 0-0 MAC 68.00 62.50 0.00 3.76 134.26 65
Akron 0-0 MAC 80.00 72.00 0.00 3.64 155.64 76
Buffalo 0-0 MAC 86.00 76.00 0.00 3.72 165.72 80
Central Florida 0-0 MAC 105.0098.00 0.00 4.44 207.44 103
Ohio 0-0 MAC 122.00123.500.00 3.88 249.38 124


MAC South
Bowling Green 0-0 MAC 43.00 36.00 0.00 3.68 82.68 40
Toledo 0-0 MAC 46.00 52.50 0.00 4.08 102.58 51
Western Michigan 0-0 MAC 67.00 68.00 0.00 4.12 139.12 66
Northern Illinois 0-0 MAC 87.00 86.50 0.00 4.04 177.54 88
Eastern Michigan 0-0 MAC 99.00 85.50 0.00 4.00 188.50 94
Central Michigan 0-0 MAC 103.00110.000.00 3.96 216.96 108
Ball State 0-0 MAC 115.00106.500.00 3.92 225.42 113

[Dolemite73]

Here is the 2006 Northern Illinois Schedule:

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 at (6) Ohio State
2 at Rice
3 BYE
4 WESTERN MICHIGAN
5 KENT STATE
6 at Goldsboro
7 at (43) Bowling Green
8 CENTRAL FLORIDA
9 at (46) Toledo
10 at Eastern Michigan
11 BYE
12 CENTRAL MICHIGAN
13 at Ball State

Home Games in ALL CAPS

Ouch! Only 4 homes games. I start out in Columbus, OH at Ohio State. Ugly Schedule.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Preseason

Recruiting

Visits
S Conrad JohnSy – Wesmont, IL Overall 279, position 16

Commits
None

As I see it my recruiting priorities are WR, OLB, DT and secondary. Will be focusing on these and less on QB, HB and the Offensive line. Looking at the local kids, there is not a lot of talent in the positions I am targeting. Will be looking in WI and IN to fill the talent gap.

MAC South Scoreboard
N/A

MAC South Standings
N/A


Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at #6 Ohio State
#15 Texas A&M at Western Michigan
Eastern Michigan at Charlotte

I expect us to lose by 40 points at Ohio State. They are powerful on both sides of the ball and their starting Offensive Line averages 6'5" and 315lbs. Western Michigan will get blown out by the Aggies. I am hoping that NIU shows a few bright spots.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 1

Ohio State 52 Northern Illinois 0
Record Overall 0-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
Mo Livesay 11/23 yds 113yds

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 16att 11yds
HB Rufs Baxter 10att 32yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 3cat 40yds
TE Dean Getson 3cat 22yds
WR Andre Mueller 1cat 16yds

Defense
OLB Dave Walters 8tack 1ast
FS Russell Herriman 4tack 4ast
DT Ross Porter 5tack 1ast

Recap
In front of 101,600 screaming Buckeye fans, we go into Columbus and get annihilated. Despite the score, there were some positives. We did not throw an interception (and only had 1 fumble). Our QB was only scaked 3 times against a powerful pass rush. We were 6/15 on 3rd down conversions. Some positive things to build on going forward. On the negative side, we gave up 519 total yards. We could not run the ball or develop any pass rush. Hapefully we can improve this.

Injuries
DE Aaron Small - Influenza - Ques 2 weeks

Got out of Ohio intact. That is very good going forward.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

Just target kids in Wisconsin this week.

MAC South Scoreboard
Ohio State 52 Northern Illinois 0
Texas A&M 27 Western Michigan 24
Charlotte 42 Eastern Michigan 24

What a game by Western Mich. They were on the 3 yard line with :48 driving for the game winning TD, when their QB fumble the exchange from the C. The Aggies recovered to seal the victory.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Central Michigan 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 6
Bowling Green 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Toledo 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Ball State 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3
Western Michigan 0 1 0 .000 24 27 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Eastern Michigan 0 1 0 .000 24 42 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3
Northern Illinois 0 1 0 .000 0 52 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1 

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Rice
Washington at Toledo
#20 Alabama-Birmingham at Ball State
Iowa State at Eastern Michigan

Some interesting games this week. Very interested to see if Toledo can get revenge for that 66-14 thrashing that Washington gave them last season. We go to Houston, TX to play the Rice Owls. The Owls features a running based offense with two very good HB's. Defensively, they are not that talented and can be exploited with a balanced attack. Will look to get my running game going.

[bbgunn]

#20 Alabama-Birmingham at Ball State

UAB is #20?!? It took me seven seasons in my old UAB dynasty to get them into the Top 25, and they're already #20 in your dynasty's third season?

Anyway, that is looking to be a nice offensive line. The Huskies should have a pretty good season this year... or next.

[Dolemite73]

UAB is #20?!? It took me seven seasons in my old UAB dynasty to get them into the Top 25, and they're already #20 in your dynasty's third season?

Anyway, that is looking to be a nice offensive line. The Huskies should have a pretty good season this year... or next.
Want me to post some stuff on UAB? I can't wait to see what my line can do.

[bbgunn]

If you don't mind posting stuff on UAB, please do. :) Great job with the dynasty, by the way.

[Dolemite73]

UAB Roster
Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Jamison, Tracy 19 QB Sr 17 17
Walker, Darrell 11 QB Sr 26 50
Cook, Bryan 8 QB Fr 19 28
Glenn, Tyrus 2 QB* Sr* 11 11
Agrawall, Norbert 34 RB Sr* 6 26
Hughey, Reuben 36 RB Sr 22 22
Kayton, Cris 30 RB Jr* 30 30
Starks, Chuck 28 RB So 32 50
Atkins, Keith 49 RB Fr 26 46
Buckner, Kyle 21 FB Sr 40 64
Boyer, Raymond 24 FB Jr* 27 44
Murphy, Doug 32 FB So* 31 41
Reid, Dale 20 FB Fr 19 37
Cortez, Sammy 91 TE Jr 18 18
Hancock, Rick 84 TE Sr* 6 6
Bradley, James 98 TE So* 18 37
Stanton, Rod 81 TE Fr 9 26
Malone, Timothy 88 WR Sr* 10 41
Edwards, Jared 89 WR Sr 14 14
Cox, J.R. 87 WR So 22 37
Fabian, Alfred 82 WR Fr 23 35
Savoy, Tommy 5 WR* So 13 13
Enman, Grady 80 WR* So 9 22
Stone, Scott 51 C Sr 34 34
Sherman, Travis 57 C Fr 3 24
Shaw, Rickey 64 G Jr 12 43
Burge, Oscar 69 G Jr 20 28
Sughroue, Wayne 60 G Sr* 22 44
Wedderburn, Max 70 G Sr* 11 40
Parker, Ronald 63 G So* 19 41
Lewis, Daniel 62 G So* 24 32
Money, Jorge 68 G Fr 14 44
Lowe, Archie 77 T Sr 26 41
Willis, Kenyon 75 T Sr* 5 41
Cade, Jerry 72 T Sr 32 58
McConkey, Terrance 67 T So* 22 42
Ryder, Hunter 65 T So* 16 32
Walsh, Jeremy 61 T Fr 14 14
Brayshaw, Ethan 73 T Fr 15 32
Socha, C.J. 3 P Sr* 5 15
Edwards, Irving 4 P So 34 83
Seymore, Luke 16 P Fr 35 35
Womack, Omar 17 K Sr 28 53
Meadows, Chris 7 K Jr* 6 54
Dawson, Ed 15 K Fr 24 80
Rivera, Matt 78 DE So* 16 57
Pearson, Donny 79 DE Fr 7 51
Hochheiser, Corey 74 DE* Jr 7 23
Dunn, Terry 95 DE* Sr 10 18
Conway, Mickey 92 DT Jr 8 37
Guthrie, Wendell 71 DT Jr 12 19
Givens, Karl 99 DT Jr 30 34
Willis, Walter 50 DT So* 28 49
Mruczkowski, J.C. 90 DT* Jr* 13 13
Darling, Ken 44 ILB Jr 9 9
Barton, Ronnie 55 ILB Sr* 10 10
Burks, Daren 43 ILB Sr 43 43
Mohler, Willie 53 ILB So* 28 60
Brookes, Victor 97 ILB Fr 17 44
Jerman, Lionel 96 ILB Fr 8 51
Hankton, Bruce 42 ILB* Jr 13 26
Hoover, Buddy 56 OLB Sr 23 29
Wheeler, Tom 45 OLB So* 24 39
Tadlock, Austin 58 OLB Fr 11 32
Tierney, Brant 47 OLB Fr 3 33
Grunow, Tim 94 OLB* Sr* 16 16
McElroy, Luther 54 OLB* Jr 9 9
Vallery, Shane 38 CB Sr 11 11
Lowe, Drew 27 CB So 17 40
Knops, Morris 29 CB So 22 67
Bradshaw, Darryl 33 CB* Jr 9 39
Tate, Harris 40 CB* So 1 24
Reid, Aaron 41 S Jr 14 52
Sturm, Clifton 48 S Jr 25 44 
Bradford, Darrell 31 S Jr 10 24
Ellison, Bryce 37 S So 24 60
Walker, Clarence 22 S* So 9 28


2006 Summary for Alabama-Birmingham

Record: 1-0
Rank: 20

Alabama-Birmingham Team Rank
Rushes 27 36
Rushing Yards 137 20
Yards Per Carry 5.07 9
Pass Attempts 41 5 (T)
Completions 27 5
Passing Yards 361 3
Yards Per Attempt 8.80 12
3rd Down Conversions 66.6 3
Points Per Game 41.0 9 (T)
Turnovers 2 108 (T)
Turnover Margin +2 5 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 44 118 (T)
Rushing Yards 228 122
Yards Per Carry 5.18 118
Pass Attempts 20 85 (T)
Completions 11 88 (T)
Passing Yards 182 99
Yards Per Attempt 9.10 115
3rd Down Conversions 50.0 114 (T)
Points Per Game 21.0 99
Turnovers 4 4 (T)

Primary Formation: Pro Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 41 WILM (93) 21
2 at BALL (115)
3 at GOLD (117)
5 SMIS (65)
6 at ARMY (97)
7 TXCH (37)
8 at SFLA (74)
9 at LOUV (46)
10 HOUS (86)
12 at CINC (113)
13 MEMP (22)

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
11 Walker QB 41 27 361 8.80 5 2
Team --- 41 27 361 8.80 5 2

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
28 Starks RB 10 72 7.20 0 2 9
30 Kayton RB 7 13 1.85 0 1 0
11 Walker QB 5 8 1.60 1 2 7
49 Atkins RB 3 34 11.33 0 0 0
Team --- 27 137 5.07 1 5 16

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
89 Edwards WR 10 6 115 19.1 18 1
28 Starks RB 6 4 32 8.0 13 1
30 Kayton RB 5 3 31 10.3 11 1
88 Malone WR 5 1 6 6.0 0 0
5 Savoy WR 4 3 35 11.6 32 1
87 Cox WR 4 4 71 17.7 51 1
21 Buckner FB 3 3 13 4.3 17 0
81 Stanton TE 2 2 42 21.0 13 0
91 Cortez TE 1 1 16 16.0 4 0
98 Bradley TE 1 0 0 0.0 0 0
Team --- 41 27 361 13.3 159 5

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
53 Mohler ILB 9 5 0.0 0 0 0
99 Givens DT 5 0 0.0 0 0 0
56 Hoover OLB 5 1 0.0 0 0 0
43 Burks ILB 4 3 0.0 0 0 0
41 Reid S 4 2 0.0 0 0 0
48 Sturm S 4 1 0.0 0 0 0
27 Lowe CB 4 2 0.0 0 1 1 
The College Years
29 Knops CB 4 0 0.0 0 0 0
79 Pearson DE 4 1 2.0 2 0 0
38 Vallery CB 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
78 Rivera DE 3 0 0.0 0 0 0
97 Brookes ILB 3 0 0.0 0 1 0
31 Bradford S 2 0 0.0 0 1 0
88 Malone WR 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
89 Edwards WR 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
74 Hochheiser DE 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
95 Dunn DE 1 0 1.0 1 0 0
45 Wheeler OLB 1 0 0.0 0 0 0
Team --- 59 16 3.0 3 3 2 

2004 Record: 2-9
2005 Record: 6-5
Prestige: Very Good (68)
Bowl Appearances: None
Academic Ranking: 49th

Looking at their roster, I do not know how in the heck these guys are ranked 20th.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 2

Rice 31 Northern Illinois 28
Record Overall 0-2 MAC South 0-0

Passing
Mo Livesay 20/30 yds 258yds 3TD

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 22att 110yds
HB Rufus Baxter 13att 75yds

Receiving
HB Hugh Horn 4cat 81yds 1TD
WR Andre Mueller 4cat 72yds
TE Dean Getson 4cat 39yds

Defense
FS Russell Herriman 9tack
CB Barry Peterson 7tack 1ast .5sack
OLB Dave Walters 6tack 1int

Recap
Ok, this was weird. With :29 seconds in the game, Rice scores the go-ahead TD to make the score 31-28. On the ensuing kickoff, I get the ball to my 38yd line. On the next play, I throw a 44 yd bomb to WR Andre Mueller and get the ball to Rice's 18yd line. I call my last timeout. Think the next play will be a FG to send the game into overtime, right? Well for some strange reason, the game calls an off tackle runs that runs the time out. Bug? I think so. That call at the end of the game makes no sense.

Offensively, my offense was potent. We moved the ball well and gained 410 total yards (258 in the air, 194 on the ground). The downside was our Offensive line yielded 5 sacks. Hopefully we can gel quickly. We fumbled 4 times (lost 3) so this killed our drives as well.

Defensively, we gave up far too many yards (280 in the air, 179 on the ground). Though we held Rice to 3/12 3rd down conversions, we gave up the big play far too often. We we needed a stop, we did not get one. We got good pressure on the QB (4 sacks). DE Orlando Cox got 2 of those sacks, so he may be an impact player for us.

Injuries
DE Aaron Small - Influenza - Ques 1 weeks

Hope we can stay this healthy all year.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

I have all of my kids targeted. Just waiting for the visits to start. With this bye week, I will be working the phones arranging visits..

MAC South Scoreboard
Rice 31 Northern Illinois 28
Washington 38 Toledo 14
Ball State 49 #20 Alabama-Birmingham 21
Iowa State 52 Eastern Michigan 17

Ball State comes away with a huge statement game, demolishing UAB. I will be keeping an eye on them going forward. The other games cam out as I expected them too.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Ball State 1 0 0 1.000 49 21 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Bowling Green 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Central Michigan 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 6
Western Michigan 0 1 0 .000 24 27 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Toledo 0 1 0 .000 14 38 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Eastern Michigan 0 2 0 .000 41 94 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 4
Northern Illinois 0 2 0 .000 28 83 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2 

Next weeks Schedule
Central Michigan at Oklahoma State
Toledo at Western Michigan
Bowling Green at South Florida

Will be interesting to see how Central Michigan holds up against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Central Michigan is only a 4pt underdog, so they have a very good chance of winning.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 3

BYE
Record Overall 0-2 MAC South 0-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A.

Injuries
N/A

Recruiting

Visits
ILB Jim Wheeler (6'2" 214lbs) - Evanston, IL - Overall 345, position 22
OLB Tommy Washington (5'10" 198lbs) - Algonquin, IL - Overall 724, position 43

Commits
None

I get a couple of good LB's in for visits. OLB Washington idolizes wearing the black and the red of the NIU Huskies, so my bet is he will be signing on with us during this visit.

MAC South Scoreboard
Oklahoma State 48 Central Michigan 7
Toledo 38 Western Michigan 31
Bowling Green 22 South Florida 20

Bowling Green looks strong again this year. And Central Michigan got totally outclassed. Nice win for Bowling Green against a tough South Florida team.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 1 1 0 .500 52 69 1 0 0 1.000 38 31 Won 1
Ball State 1 0 0 1.000 49 21 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Bowling Green 1 0 0 1.000 22 20 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Central Michigan 0 1 0 .000 7 48 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 7
Eastern Michigan 0 2 0 .000 41 94 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 4
Northern Illinois 0 2 0 .000 28 83 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Western Michigan 0 2 0 .000 55 65 0 1 0 .000 31 38 Lost 3 

Next weeks Schedule
Western Michigan at Northern Illinois
Central Michigan at Wake Forest
Ball State at Memphis
Ohio at Eastern Michigan
Goldsboro at Bowling Green

Central Michigan goes to NC to play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Should be a blowout for Wake Forest, as we rarely can compete against the BCS conferences. I play my first home game of the year, hosting Western Michigan. They are led by a tough, hardnosed HB Louis Dohn (43car 257yds through 2 games). On defense, they are very weak against the run, so we will look to exploit this.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 4

Northern Illinois 27 Western Michigan 24
Record Overall 1-2 MAC South 1-0

Passing
Mo Livesay 20/34 yds 245yds 2TD

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 14att 16yds
HB Rufus Baxter 13att 89yds 1TD

Receiving
WR Kaplan 6cat 89yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 5cat 49yds
WR Brock Serra 3cat 63yds 1TD

Defense
OLB Dave Walters 11tack 1sack
DT Ross Porter 9tack 3ast
FS Russell Herriman 6tack 5ast
CB Barry Peterson 2int

Recap
Wild game. With 4:48 left in the 4th quarter, Western Michigan scores a go ahead touchdown to bring the score to 24-20. The teams trade possession and clinging to the lead, with 1:48 left in the 4th quarter, they punt the ball to CB Gilbert Cunningham, who streaks down the left sideline for the game winning touchdown! Amzing end to the game.

Offensively, we played decently on offense. We moved the ball well and gained 343 total yards (245 in the air, 128 on the ground). QB Mo Livesay is having a spactacular year. He has given us a dimension in the passing game that we have lacked in past years. Good to see WR Grant Kaplan break out of his mini slump as well. The downside was our Offensive line yielded 3 sacks.

Defensively, we gave up far too many yards on the ground (184 on the ground), but made the plays we needed to to win the game (last second interception, one of two by CB Barry Peterson, sealed the win for us). We got good pressure on the QB again pressure on the QB (4 sacks). DE Orlando Cox got 2 of more sacks, and is looking like a player. In the secondary, we did a wonderful job of shutting down the Western Michigan passing game (10/16 138yds).

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 15 weeks
HB Rufus Baxter - Hyperextended Elbow - Doubt 2 weeks
ILB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Knee - Out 5 weeks

Bad injuries here. Losing Mueller for the year hurt as he is our big possession WR. Losing Berry will test my already shaky LB corps.

Recruiting

Visits
WR Melvin Ponzo (6'3" 198lbs) - Spring Green, WI - Overall 644, position 54
S Jeff Price (5'9" 176lbs) - Tomah, WI - Overall 328, position 11

Commits
None

Denials
None

Two good recruits on hand his week to be wined and dined. Should have a good chance to get both of them.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 27 Western Michigan 24
Wake Forest 31 Central Michigan 17
Ball State 21 Memphis 14
Eastern Michigan 40 Ohio 21
Goldsboro 31 Bowling Green 10

Shocking loss by Bowling Green to Goldsboro. Ball State used to be the division weak sister, but no longer. They are looking good finally.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 1 1 0 .500 52 69 1 0 0 1.000 38 31 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 1 2 0 .333 81 115 1 0 0 1.000 40 21 Won 1
Northern Illinois 1 2 0 .333 55 107 1 0 0 1.000 27 24 Won 1
Ball State 2 0 0 1.000 70 35 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 2
Bowling Green 1 1 0 .500 32 51 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Central Michigan 0 2 0 .000 24 79 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 8
Western Michigan 0 3 0 .000 79 92 0 2 0 .000 55 65 Lost 4  

Next weeks Schedule
Kent State at Northern Illinois
Akron at Toledo
Bowling Green at Central Florida
Marshall at Ball State
Miami(OH) at Western Michigan

Good potential game between Marshall and Ball State. Let's see if Ball State is for real this year. Kent State comes to DeKalb, IL to take us on. The Kent State Golden Flashes are currently 1-2 (and reeling after getting beat by #1 Georgia 76-7) and are stuggling on both sides of the ball. Their QB has thrown 4 interceptions already this year and their defense really has a hard time against the run. We should do ok if we play our kind of game.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 5

Northern Illinois 34 Kent State 20
Record Overall 2-2 MAC South 2-0

Passing
Mo Livesay 18/24 yds 257yds 1TD

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 19att 61yds 2TD
HB Rufus Baxter 7att 50yds 1TD

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 4cat 134yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 7cat 30yds
WR Grady Kemp 3cat 52

Defense
FS Conrad JohnSy 9tack 3ast
OLB Dave Walters 6tack 3ast 1int
DT Ross Porter 6tack 4ast 1sack

Recap
Really good win for us. We pretty much had this game from the start. Kenstate did get the game within 1 touchdown (27-20) in the 4th quarter, but a 73yd drive was capped off with a HB Hugh Horn TD which put the game out of reach.
Offensively, we are just rolling along. QB Mo Livesy is one of the most consistent QB in the division. His season stats to date (4 games) are 69/111 873yds 6TD 0INT. He has taken care of the ball and does not make mistakes. The running game was sufficient today and WR Kaplan had a monster day. He is really hitting his stride. The Offensive line only allowe 2 sacks and controlled the line of scrimmage for the majority of the game.
Defensively, our run defense (158 yards) is really going to have to improve for us to beat teams in our division. Our secodary only allowed a few catches (9/24) but gave up way too many big passing plays (224 yards in the air). We also did not get good pressure on the QB. Will have to tighten things up for our next few games as the next 3 are all on the road.

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 14 weeks
HB Rufus Baxter - Hyperextended Elbow - Doubt 2 weeks
ILB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Knee - Out 4 weeks

No new ones and hopfully I can get Baxter back in a wekk healthy.

Recruiting

Visits
G Clarence Fisk (6'6" 283lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 252, position 28
OLB Jonathan Thiele (6'0" 201lbs) - Weyauwega, WI - Overall 67, position 3

Commits
ILB Jim Wheeler (6'2" 214lbs) - Evanston, IL - Overall 345, position 22
OLB Tommy Washington (5'10" 198lbs) - Algonquin, IL - Overall 724, position 43

Got very two good LB recruits and going hard after an outstanding prospect (Thiele). And Fisk would go great with my staple of offensive linemen.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 34 Kent State 20
Akron 31 Toledo 24
Central Florida 28 Bowling Green 3
Ball State 35 Marshall 28
Western Michigan 52 Miami(OH) 21

Ball State is for real. Huge victory against Marshall. They may be a force to be reckoned with going forward.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 2 2 0 .500 89 127 2 0 0 1.000 61 44 Won 2
Ball State 3 0 0 1.000 105 63 1 0 0 1.000 35 28 Won 3
Eastern Michigan 1 2 0 .333 81 115 1 0 0 1.000 40 21 Won 1
Toledo 1 2 0 .333 76 100 1 1 0 .500 62 62 Lost 1
Western Michigan 1 3 0 .250 131 113 1 2 0 .333 107 86 Won 1
Central Michigan 0 2 0 .000 24 79 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 8
Bowling Green 1 2 0 .333 35 79 0 1 0 .000 3 28 Lost 2

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Goldsboro
Temple at Bowling Green
Ball State at Charlotte
Louisiana-Monroe at Central Michigan
Asheville at Eastern Michigan
Louisiana-Lafayette at Toledo
#24 Notre Dame at Western Michigan

Full slate of games here. Interested to see how Western Michigan performs against Notre Dame. We take on the 2-2 Goldsboro Pig Pickers in Goldsboro, NC. The Pickers have a pretty prolific Run and Shoot offense that has put up some points on the board the past few weeks. On defense, their pass defense is pretty strong, led by DE Issac Taxin (5.5 sacks and 9 tack for loss) and CB Harvey Colon (4 interceptions). We should be able to run and stop the run on this team.

[bbgunn]

Looking at their roster, I do not know how in the heck these guys are ranked 20th.

Me neither. My goodness, what a bad roster. Must be the coaching.

[Dolemite73]

Me neither. My goodness, what a bad roster. Must be the coaching.
Presently, they are 3-1 and ranked 55th in the nation. They must have one hell of a coaching staff.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 6

Northern Illinois 30 Goldsboro 0
Record Overall 3-2 MAC South 2-0

Passing
Mo Livesay 18/29 yds 189yds

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 26att 101yds 1TD
HB Rufus Baxter 5att 47yds 1TD

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 5cat 50yds, 1 rushing TD
HB Hugh Horn 4cat 41yds
TE Dean Getson 3cat 47yds

Defense
CB Barry Peterson 1tack 1ast 2int
FS Conrad JohnSy 4tack 6ast
CB Edgar Mansour 4tack

Recap
Three games in a row! We really dominating in all phases of the game.

Offensively, I am extremely happy how we are playing. QB Mo Livesy is staring to become Mr. Automatic in games. He just does not seem to make mistakes. I love his approach to playing the QB position. The running game is also becoming a source of steadyness in our offense. We even let WR Kaplan run a wildcat play, which he successfully ran for a TD. Thought the Offensive line allowed 2 sacks, theycontrolled the line of scrimmage for the majority of the game and opened up holes in the passing game.

Defensively, we shut this team down. 22 yards rushing. 3 interceptions. No big plays in the passing game to a Run and Shoot team. We did well. We are still not getting enough pressure on the QB, but as long as we are holding strong at the point of attack, I can live with the small sack totals. On special teams, K Arnold Foster kicked 3 FG and was steady on kickoffs.

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 14 weeks
ILB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Knee - Out 4 weeks
HB Rufus Baxter - Hyperextended Elbow - Doubt 2 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Bad Cold - 1 week

Though Baxter is playing hurt, I am impressed with what he has accomplished in the running game spelling HB Horn.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
G Clarence Fisk (6'6" 283lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 252, position 28

Another stud to add to my impressive offensive line stable.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 30 Goldboro 0
Bowling Green 38 Temple 13
Charlotte 44 Ball State 10
Louisiana-Monroe 23 Central Michigan 3
Eastern Michigan 41 Asheville 24
Toledo 33 Louisiana-Lafayette 7
#24 Notre Dame 42 Western Michigan 9

Ball State loses to the 79th ranked team in the nation. Not only do they lose, they get hammered. Will see how the look during divisional play.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 3 2 0 .600 119 127 2 0 0 1.000 61 44 Won 3
Ball State 3 1 0 .750 115 107 1 0 0 1.000 35 28 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 2 2 0 .500 122 139 1 0 0 1.000 40 21 Won 2
Toledo 2 2 0 .500 109 107 1 1 0 .500 62 62 Won 1
Western Michigan 1 4 0 .200 140 155 1 2 0 .333 107 86 Lost 1
Central Michigan 0 3 0 .000 27 102 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 9
Bowling Green 2 2 0 .500 73 92 0 1 0 .000 3 28 Won 1
Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Bowling Green
Toledo at Ball State
Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan

MAC South divisional play begins in earnest this week. We travel at Bowling Green, OH to take on the 2-2 Bowling Green Falcons. The Falcons are mainly a defensive team in nature. On offense they get by, but are not spectacular by any leaps and bounds. On defense, they the Falcons are strong along the defensive front and are very tough to run on (17th run defense in the nation). Their secondary play press coverage and are very good at it. We will need to grind these guys down with our superior offensive line and hope for a few turnovers. If we win this game, it will springboard us towards the division title.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 7

Northern Illinois 31 Bowling Green 21
Record Overall 4-2 MAC South 3-0

Passing
Mo Livesay 14/25 198yds 2TD 1INT

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 29att 120yds 1TD
HB Rufus Baxter 4att 0yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 5cat 94yds 1TD
TE Dean Getson 2cat 30yds
HB Hugh Horn 2cat 30yds

Defense
FS Conrad JohnSy 7tack
OLB Dave Walters 6tack 2ast 1sack
SS Russell Herriman 6tack 2ast 1int

Recap
Well I can officially say we are contenders in the MAC South. To go on the road and play as well as we are playing is a testament to our players and our coaches. We played an outstanding game which was not as close as the score indicates due to a very late touchdown by Bowling Green.

Offensively, things have not gone this well in my entire tenure I have been here. Our offense is like a well-tuned engine. QB Mo Livesy had to grind this game out due to a severed head cold. Even though he was ill, he was successful, his first interception of the year not withstanding. Though the running game is not flashy, they are getting the job done every week. And Kaplan is leading the MAC in receiving yardage. And our Offensive line, even though they allowed 2 sacks,is really starting to gel.

Defensively, we are playing well. Still giving up too much yardage on the ground (179yds), but doing very well limiting the passing game (165yds, 6.1 YPA). We got only got 2 sacks, but we got 4 turnovers (2 interceptions, 2 fumbles).

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 13 weeks
ILB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Knee - Ques 2 weeks
HB Rufus Baxter - Hyperextended Elbow - Ques 1 week
WR Grant Kaplan - Concussion - Prob 4 weeks

Uh oh. Kaplan is the last player on this team I need not playing at 100%. This is going to hurt. I have a true freshman (WR Grady Kemp) on the other side of him starting that I had to remove his redshirt due to the injury to Mueller.

Recruiting

Visits
DT Tommie Walters (6'4" 244lbs) - Lincolnshire, IL - Overall 124, position 8
T Jumbo Clinton (6'3" 258lbs) - Minooka, IL - Overall 233, position 23
DE Mack Blocker (6'1" 235lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 587, position 69

Commits
OLB Jonathan Thiele (6'0" 201lbs) - Weyauwega, WI - Overall 67, position 3

I am really liking my defensive pickups. My LB depth should be outstanding going forward.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 31 Bowling Green 21
Ball State 31 Toledo 14
Central Michigan 19 Eastern Michigan 17

Toledo is struggling this year. And Ball State will most likely be my main nemisis for the MAC South title.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 4 2 0 .666 150 148 3 0 0 1.000 92 65 Won 4
Ball State 4 1 0 .800 146 121 2 0 0 1.000 66 42 Won 1
Central Michigan 1 3 0 .250 46 119 1 0 0 1.000 19 17 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 2 3 0 .400 139 158 1 1 0 .500 57 40 Lost 1
Toledo 2 3 0 .400 123 138 1 2 0 .333 76 93 Lost 1
Western Michigan 1 4 0 .200 140 155 1 2 0 .333 107 86 Lost 1
Bowling Green 2 3 0 .400 94 123 0 2 0 .000 24 59 Lost 1
Next weeks Schedule
Central Florida at Northern Illinois (TV4)
Eastern Michigan at Marshall
Central Michigan at Akron
Ball State at Buffalo
Western Michigan at Kent State
Toledo at Ohio

Some really good games this week. The 3-2 Central Florida Knights travel to Dekalb to take us on. The Knights features a pretty balanced team. They are effective in the air and very effective on the ground (averaging 5.6 YPC). Defensively, they are very stingy with their pass defense and do not allow many yard through the air (164 YPG). Will have to establish my play action game early to soften the Knights up.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 8

Northern Illinois 31 Central Florida 7
Record Overall 5-2 MAC South 4-0

Passing
Mo Livesay 9/16 100yds

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 30att 106yds 1TD
HB Rufus Baxter 6att 43yds 1TD

Receiving
FB Les Mattes 4cat 13yds
TE Dean Getson 2cat 38yds
WR Brock Serra 1cat 29yds

Defense
OLB Dave Walters 8tack 1ast 1int (This kid has been a monster this year)
ILB Will Darusmont 6tack 3ast 1sack
FS Conrad JohnSy 6tack 4ast 1int 1TD

Recap
Well, we caome back home having won 3 games in a row on the road. Our team is playing very well right now.

Offensively, we decided to use our physical advantage on an undersized Central Florida Defensive line. We wanted to run the ball down their throats. And we succeeded. QB Mo Livesy basically had to be a caretaker today. We did not need his heroics to succeed. HB Horn punished the Central Florida front 7. And out OLine was superb. They really wore the Central Florida Knights down with their physicality.

Defensively, we dominated them. We held them to 215 total yards (164 in the air, 51 on the ground)and only 2.8 yards per play. We got 4 interceptions and we sacked the QB 4 times. DE Orlando Cox was huge today with 2 sacks and constant pressure.

Injuries
DE Aaron Small - Torn ACL - Out 41 weeks
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 13 weeks
TE Dean Getson - Wrist Sprain - Out 6 weeks
DE Orlando Cox - Starined Tricep - 5 weeks
WR Grant Kaplan - Consussion Syndrome = Doubt
ILB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Knee - Ques 2 weeks
HB Rufus Baxter - Hyperextended Elbow - Ques 1 week
P Geoff Davison - Broken Nose - Prob 1 week

Very ugly injury report. I am down to my back up DE's, my best WR is down for concussions, my starting TE is out for the year and my punter broke his nose. Has anyone ever had an injury prone punter?

Recruiting

Visits
WR Leo Smallwood (6'2" 190lbs) - Monroe, WI - Overall 200, position 12
K Bobby Owens (5'8" 153lbs) - La Salle, IL - Overall 885, position 30

Commits
None

Getting Smallwood would be a coup. He is a heck of a player (89cat 2153yds 17TD).

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 31 Central Florida 7
Marshall 45 Eastern Michigan 14
Akron 19 Central Michigan 13
Ball State 34 Buffalo 31
Western Michigan 35 Kent State 28
Toledo 35 Ohio 9

Ball State will be right there with me the rest of the year. We play them in Ball State for the last game of the year. I suspect that game will decide the division.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 5 2 0 .714 181 155 4 0 0 1.000 123 72 Won 5
Ball State 5 1 0 .833 180 152 3 0 0 1.000 100 73 Won 2
Toledo 3 3 0 .500 157 147 2 2 0 .500 110 102 Won 1
Western Michigan 2 4 0 .333 175 183 2 2 0 .500 142 114 Won 1
Central Michigan 1 4 0 .200 59 138 1 1 0 .500 32 36 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 2 4 0 .333 153 203 1 2 0 .333 71 85 Lost 2
Bowling Green 2 3 0 .400 94 123 0 2 0 .000 24 59 Lost 1
Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Toledo (TV4)
Buffalo at Central Michigan
Ball State at Eastern Michigan
Bowling Green at Western Michigan

We have a very tough game this week in Toledo. Considering our injury situation, this one will be a grind. Toledo has not been very strong this year as opposed to other years. They are still dangerous and feature a strong rushing game and an elite pass rush (their starting DE's have 18.5 sacks). The will turn the ball over though, so this may be something we can exploit.

[Recoil]

Where did NIU start off academically?

Also, great start to the season.

[Dolemite73]

Where did NIU start off academically?

Also, great start to the season.
I got really lucky. I started off at a 94/100. Currently, I am the number 1 academic school in the nation.

[RedHawk00]

dominating in MAC play, that is a great start

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 9

Toledo 20 Northern Illinois 14
Record Overall 5-3 MAC South 4-1

Passing
Mo Livesay 16/31 yds 156yds 1TD 2INT

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 19att 68yds 1TD
HB Rufus Baxter 12att 35yds

Receiving
HB Hugh Horn 3cat 16yds
WR Grady Kemp 2cat 54yds
HB Rufus Baxter 2cat 12yds

Defense
SS Russell Herriman 8tack 1ast 1int
OLB Dave Walters 7tack 1ast 1sack
DT Ross Porter 6tack 4ast 1sack

Recap
This game was a tale of two halves. In the first half, Toledo jumped out to a 20-0 lead (including a crushing pick-six interception right before halftime). In the second half, our offense finally went to work and our defense put the clamps down on Toledo, but we could not catch up.

Offensively, we struggled. QB Mo Livesy was not as accurate as usual, plus he threw 2 interceptions. The running game was not able to get into a groove today which hampered our play action attack. The Offensive line only allowed 2 sacks but was not able to produce space in the running game for the running backs to work.

Defensively, our defense really played a good game. We only gave up 262 total yards (155 in the air, 107 on the ground). We got 3 sacks from our DLine and 2 interceptions from our secondary. We definitely played well enough to win the game on the defensive side of the ball.

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 14 weeks
ILB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Knee - Out 4 weeks

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
DT Tommie Walters (6'4" 244lbs) - Lincolnshire, IL - Overall 124, position 8
S Jeff Price (5'9" 176lbs) - Tomah, WI - Overall 328, position 11

Just waiting on a few kids to make up their minds.

MAC South Scoreboard
Toledo 20 Northern Illinois 14
Buffalo 22 Central Michigan 17
Eastern Michigan 24 Ball State 22
Western Michigan 17 Bowling Green 14

Toledo and NIU are now tied for the MAC South lead and it will be a dogfight from here on out.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 5 2 0 .714 185 135 4 1 0 .800 138 90 Won 4
Northern Illinois 5 3 0 .625 173 177 4 1 0 .800 115 94 Lost 1
Western Michigan 3 4 0 .428 198 176 3 2 0 .600 165 107 Won 2
Eastern Michigan 3 4 0 .428 202 227 2 2 0 .500 120 109 Won 1
Central Michigan 1 5 0 .166 96 195 1 2 0 .333 69 93 Lost 2
Ball State 3 4 0 .428 151 186 1 3 0 .250 71 107 Lost 4
Bowling Green 2 4 0 .333 103 132 0 3 0 .000 33 68 Lost 2
Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan
Central Michigan at Ball State
Bowling Green at Toledo

Bowling Green has been struggling, but I hope they can take down Toledo. We travel to Ypsilanti, MI to take on the 3-4 Eastern Michigan Eagles. The Eagles rely on their passing game, lead by their good QB Junior Dode (avg 210yds per game). Defensively, they are not strong at all and can be ran or passed on. Hopefully our play action attack can be more successful this week.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 10

Northern Illinois 17 Eastern Michigan 10
Record Overall 6-3 MAC South 5-1

Passing
Mo Livesay 17/27 yds 300yds 1TD

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 30att 119yds 1TD
HB Rufus Baxter 4att 24yds

Receiving
HB Hugh Horn 5cat 43yds
WR Grant Kaplan 4cat 142yds 1TD
TE Dean Getson 4cat 63yds
WR Grady Kemp 4cat 52yds

Defense
OLB Dave Walters 9tack 3ast
ILB Adam Berry 8tack 3ast 1sack
CB Bernie Kohzin 4tack 1ast 2sack

Recap
This win now makes us bowl-eligible! Next year, I can also extend out my recruiting area by 50 miles per win over 6. This was a very close game. We were tied up 10-10 with 3:45 left in the 4th quarter when QB Mo Livesay hits WR Grant Kaplan for a 85yd TD. The defense held the Eagle offense when they got down to the NIU 29yd line with 3 seconds left. The pass to the end zone was knocked away to preserve the victory.

Offensively, we came back strong from last week. We gained 433 total yards. QB Mo Livesy atoned for last weeks bad game with a gem. The running game was able to grind out the difficult yards and keep our defense off of the field when they needed a rest. The Offensive line allowed 3 sacks and plenty of pressure on our QB.

Defensively, gave up far too many yards on the ground (221 yards). We got steady pressure on the QB and sacked him 5 times. Our secondary held the Eastern Michigan 15/39 178yds. Our secondary has had a very good year.

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 9 weeks
ILB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Knee - Ques 1 week
FB Les Mattes - Broken Hand - Prob 9 weeks

Looks like my starting FB will be playing with a cast the rest of the year.

Recruiting

Visits
DE Adam Harris (6'2" 216lbs) - North Chicago, IL - Overall UR, position UR
CB Quinn Grey (5'11" 163lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall UR, position UR

Commits
K Bobby Owens (5'8" 153lbs) - La Salle, IL - Overall 885, position 30
T Jumbo Clinton (6'3" 258lbs) - Minooka, IL - Overall 233, position 23

This is shaping up to be one of my best recruiting classes. Trying to fill out the class with the remaining weeks left.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 17 Eastern Michigan 10
Central Michigan 20 Ball State 17
Toledo 31 Bowling Green at 17

I really need Toledo to lose so I can compete for the MAC Title.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 6 2 0 .750 216 152 5 1 0 .833 169 107 Won 5
Northern Illinois 6 3 0 .666 190 187 5 1 0 .833 132 104 Won 1
Western Michigan 3 4 0 .428 198 176 3 2 0 .600 165 107 Won 2
Central Michigan 2 5 0 .285 116 212 2 2 0 .500 89 110 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 3 5 0 .375 212 244 2 3 0 .400 130 126 Lost 1
Ball State 3 5 0 .375 168 206 1 4 0 .200 88 127 Lost 5
Bowling Green 2 5 0 .285 120 163 0 4 0 .000 50 99 Lost 3 

Next weeks Schedule
Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan
Toledo at Central Michigan
Ball State at Bowling Green

We will be rooting for Central Michigan. We need Toledo taken down. On our by week, we will try to get some of our players healthy for our end of season push. We have Central Michigan and Ball State left on our schedule, so I fully expect us to win 8 games and go to a bowl! But I want that MAC Title.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 11

BYE
Record Overall 6-3 MAC South 5-1

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 8 weeks
FB Les Mattes - Broken Hand - Prob 6 weeks

Recruiting

Visits
FB Curtis Weber (6'3" 234lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall UR, position 72

Commits
DE Adam Harris (6'2" 216lbs) - North Chicago, IL - Overall UR, position UR

Got a CB and the FB above left as my targets. Hopefully I get them.

MAC South Scoreboard
Western Michigan 38 Eastern Michigan 35
Toledo 38 Central Michigan 6
Bowling Green 31 Ball State 3

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 7 2 0 .777 254 158 6 1 0 .857 207 113 Won 6
Northern Illinois 6 3 0 .666 190 187 5 1 0 .833 132 104 Won 1
Western Michigan 4 4 0 .500 236 211 4 2 0 .666 203 142 Won 3
Central Michigan 2 6 0 .250 122 250 2 3 0 .400 95 148 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 3 6 0 .333 247 282 2 4 0 .333 165 164 Lost 2
Bowling Green 3 5 0 .375 151 166 1 4 0 .200 81 102 Won 1
Ball State 3 6 0 .333 171 237 1 5 0 .166 91 158 Lost 6

Next weeks Schedule
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois
Ball State at Western Michigan
Ball State at Miami (OH)
Toledo at Notre Dame

Toledo takes a 6 game win streak into South Bend to take on Notre Dame. Will be an exciting game. Too bad, a loss to Notre Dame does nothing for my division title hopes. We have Central Michigan coming to DeKalb this week. Eastern Michigan is struggling this year. Their best unit is their secondary (31st in the nation on passing yards allowed).

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 12

Central Michigan 21 Northern Illinois 20
Record Overall 6-4 MAC South 5-2

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 18/37 203yds 2TD 2INT

Rushing
HB Rufus Baxter 18att 83yds
HB Hugh Horn 17att 77yds

Receiving
HB Hugh Horn 5cat 41yds
WR Grant Kaplan 4cat 60yds 1TD
TE Dean Getson 3cat 46yds 1TD

Defense
OLB Dave Walters 7tack
DT Ross Porter 6tack 3ast 1sack
FS Conrad JohnSy 6tack 2ast

Recap
Crushing loss. We were up 17-0 going into 4th quarter, when reels off 2 TD's. We kick a FG to go up 20-14. With :09 left in the 4th quarter, Central Michigan scores the game winning TD and extra point to win the game.

Offensively, QB Mo Livesay struggled. He was just not very accurate. The running game was strong and the Offensive line was outstanding (1 sack allowed). If we got our typical game from Livesay, I dare say we would have won this game. Those 2 interceptions were killer.

Defensively, we played a very solid game, only allowing 95 ds on the ground and 185yds in the air. Our pass rush was not consistent, but our LB's stuffed the run and blitzed effectively causing a lot of inaccurate passes (16/31 for Central Michigan). The secondary added 2 more interception to their total and has been our best defensive unit.

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 8 weeks
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Knee - Doubt 6 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Pulled Groin - Doubt 5 weeks

Having my two starting WR out for the year kills our offense. We have zero depth behind them and will struggle to score going forward.

Recruiting

Visits
WR Corey Barnes (5'11" 173lbs) - Medford, WI - Overall UR, position UR

Commits
None

Still trying to get a few walk ons.

Next weeks Schedule
Central Michigan 21 Northern Illinois 20
Western Michigan 49 Ball State 10
Bowling Green 49 Miami (OH) 23
Toledo 17 Notre Dame 10

Heck of a win by Toledo. Going into South Bend and defeating Notre Dame establishes their continued ascension to the elite teams in college football.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 8 2 0 .800 271 168 6 1 0 .857 207 113 Won 7
Northern Illinois 6 4 0 .600 210 208 5 2 0 .714 152 125 Lost 1
Western Michigan 5 4 0 .555 285 221 5 2 0 .714 252 152 Won 4
Central Michigan 3 6 0 .333 143 270 3 3 0 .500 116 168 Won 1
Bowling Green 4 5 0 .444 200 189 2 4 0 .333 130 125 Won 2
Eastern Michigan 3 6 0 .333 247 282 2 4 0 .333 165 164 Lost 2
Ball State 3 7 0 .300 181 286 1 6 0 .142 101 207 Lost 7
Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Ball State
Western Michigan at Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green

We need this game. With 7 wins, we should get a bowl berth. Ball State has lost 7 games in a row and struggle on both sides of the ball. We should not have much trouble beating them if we play our game.

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 13

Northern Illinois 31 Ball State 17
Record Overall 7-4 MAC South 6-2

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 18/27 207yds 2TD 1INT

Rushing
HB Hugh Horn 27att 147yds 2TD
HB Rufus Baxter 7att 37yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 5cat 71yds
HB Hugh Horn 4cat 55yds 1TD
WR Grady Kemp 4cat 29yds

Defense
ILB Adam Berry 9tack 2ast
FS Conrad JohnSy 6tack 2ast
SS Russell Herriman 5tack

Recap
We end our year with a win and finish with a record of 7-4. This is a 2 game improvement over the last two season and I am extremely satisfied.

Offensively, QB Mo Livesay finished up the year strong. Going forward, he will most likely be our starter going into the spring game. The running game was finished up strong as well. The Offensive line really gelled towards the end of the year and will just get better with the infusion of talent we are getting in the future.

Defensively, we are going to be a force next year. We have some very good players and they are young. We can grow going forward.

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 8 weeks
DT Kris Johnson - Hyperextended Knee - Out 3 weeks
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Knee - Doubt 5 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Pulled Groin - Doubt 5 weeks

Hope we can get some of our players healthy for whatever bowl game we play in.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
FB Curtis Weber (6'3" 234lbs) - Chicago, IL- Overall UR, position 72


Still trying to get a few walk ons.

 Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois 31 Ball State 17
Western Michigan 44 Central Michigan 14
Bowling Green 28 Eastern Michigan 3

Western Michigan is making a move to get 7 wins and a possible bowl game.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 8 2 0 .800 271 168 6 1 0 .857 207 113 Won 7
Northern Illinois 7 4 0 .636 241 225 6 2 0 .750 183 142 Won 1
Western Michigan 6 4 0 .600 329 235 6 2 0 .750 296 166 Won 5
Bowling Green 5 5 0 .500 228 192 3 4 0 .428 158 128 Won 3
Central Michigan 3 7 0 .300 157 314 3 4 0 .428 130 212 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 3 7 0 .300 250 310 2 5 0 .285 168 192 Lost 3
Ball State 3 8 0 .272 198 317 1 7 0 .125 118 238 Lost 8 

Next weeks Schedule
Eastern Michigan at #23 Toledo
Western Michigan at Washington
Central Michigan at Bowling Green

Western Michigan goes into Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies. They are very closely matched, so this should be an outstanding game. Toledo gets a tune up game before they take on the MAC North champion (Marshall or Central Florida).

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 14

BYE
Record Overall 7-4 MAC South 6-2

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
WR Andre Mueller - Dislocated Shoulder - Out 7 weeks
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Knee - Quest 4 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Pulled Groin - Quest 4 weeks

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
CB Quinn Grey (5'11" 163lbs) - Chicago, IL- Overall UR, position UR

Next weeks Schedule

#23 Toledo 49 Eastern Michigan 34
Washington 48 Western Michigan 28
Bowling Green 35 Central Michigan 17

Toledo faces Marshall for the MAC Title.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 9 2 0 .818 320 202 7 1 0 .875 256 147 Won 8
Northern Illinois 7 4 0 .636 241 225 6 2 0 .750 183 142 Won 1
Western Michigan 6 5 0 .545 357 283 6 2 0 .750 296 166 Lost 1
Bowling Green 6 5 0 .545 263 209 4 4 0 .500 193 145 Won 4
Central Michigan 3 8 0 .272 174 349 3 5 0 .375 147 247 Lost 2
Eastern Michigan 3 8 0 .272 284 359 2 6 0 .250 202 241 Lost 4
Ball State 3 8 0 .272 198 317 1 7 0 .125 118 238 Lost 8

Next weeks Schedule
#22 Toledo vs #23 Marshall

[Dolemite73]

2006 Week 15

Recap
Well, we were hosed out of a bowl game. And looking at this list, there are plenty of 6-5 teams that got in. Sucks royally! Toledo defeted Marshall, so they go to the Amber Frey Bowl.

Game Matchup
Solecismic Bowl Georgia (10-1) vs Tennessee (12-0)
Angelica Bowl Kansas State (12-0) vs Pittsburgh (11-0)
Sinclair Lewis Bowl Florida State (10-1) vs Utah (10-1)
Dore Schary Bowl Penn State (10-1) vs Washington State (9-2)
Edible Fruit Bowl Michigan (10-1) vs Virginia Tech (10-1)
Neverending Hype Bowl Oklahoma (10-2) vs California-Los Angeles (8-3)
Medicine Bowl Clemson (9-2) vs Nebraska (10-1)
Belle of the Bowl West Virginia (8-3) vs Arkansas (7-5)
Anachronism Bowl Ohio State (9-2) vs Colorado State (7-4)
Fair And Balanced Bowl Virginia (8-3) vs Southern California (7-4)
Bennifer Bowl Michigan State (7-4) vs Florida (8-3)
Corporate Entity Bowl North Carolina State (7-4) vs Texas Christian (9-2)
Smoking Cessation Bowl Colorado (9-2) vs Marshall (9-3)
Forged Document Bowl Air Force (7-4) vs Navy (8-3)
Butterfly Ballot Bowl Miami of Florida (6-5) vs Louisiana State (7-4)
Generation Why Bowl Boise State (11-0) vs Buffalo (8-3)
Argyle Socks Bowl Washington (6-5) vs Brigham Young (6-5)
Amber Frey Bowl Texas (7-4) vs Toledo (10-2)
Swift Boat Bowl Oregon (6-5) vs Auburn (7-4)
Noreaster Bowl Syracuse (7-4) vs Louisville (9-3)
Unrequited Love Bowl Temple (6-5) vs Louisiana Tech (8-3)
Used Car Bowl Georgia Tech (6-5) vs Notre Dame (7-4)
Happy Fun Bowl New Mexico State (11-0) vs Hickory (8-3) -bbgun should like this one

Recruiting
Here is my final recruiting class. Added some quality and some depth.
Player Pos HT WT ST NRank ByPos StRank ByPos
Thiele, Jonathan OLB 6-0 201 WI 67 3 1 1
Walters, Tommie DT 6-4 244 IL 124 8 8 1
Price, Jeff S 5-9 176 WI 328 11 8 1
Wheeler, Jim ILB 6-2 214 IL 345 22 16 3
Clinton, Jumbo T 6-3 258 IL 233 23 12 2
Fisk, Clarence G 6-6 283 IL 252 28 13 2
Owens, Bobby K 5-8 153 IL 885 30 34 1
Washington, Tommy OLB 5-10 198 IL 724 43 29 3
Ponzo, Melvin WR 6-3 189 WI 644 54 9 2
Weber, Curtis FB 6-3 234 IL --- 72 73 3
Goetz, Isaac QB 6-3 203 IL --- --- --- 6
Barnes, Corey WR 5-11 173 WI --- --- 24 4
Lissvall, Jose WR 6-4 195 IL --- --- --- 18
Gay, Kris DE 6-3 218 IL --- --- 56 7
Harris, Adam DE 6-2 216 IL --- --- 48 5
Grey, Quinn CB 5-11 163 IL --- --- 65 5

MAC South Scoreboard
N/A

Next weeks Schedule
Amber Frey Bowl Texas (7-4) vs Toledo (10-2)

This should be an interesting matchup. The MAC representative has not won this bowl in 2 years, so it should be a dog fight.

[bbgunn]

New Mexico State is 11-0?!? Unbelievable. Go Aggies!

[Dolemite73]

New Mexico State is 11-0?!? Unbelievable. Go Aggies!
You want the particulars?

[Dolemite73]

Here are our end of season stats:

2006 Summary for Northern Illinois

Record: 7-4
Rank: 46

Northern Illinois Team Rank
Rushes 405 56
Rushing Yards 1259 83 (T)
Yards Per Carry 3.10 99
Pass Attempts 330 63
Completions 204 36 (T)
Passing Yards 2334 56
Yards Per Attempt 7.07 60
3rd Down Conversions 40.1 37
Points Per Game 21.9 79 (T)
Turnovers 20 43 (T)
Turnover Margin +3 38 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 366 21
Rushing Yards 1283 36
Yards Per Carry 3.50 47
Pass Attempts 306 25
Completions 161 23
Passing Yards 2142 31
Yards Per Attempt 7.00 54
3rd Down Conversions 29.6 22
Points Per Game 20.4 29
Turnovers 23 52 (T)

Primary Formation: Pro Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 0 at OHST (10) 52
2 28 at RICE (72) 31
4 27 WMIC (49) 24
5 34 KENT (85) 20
6 30 at GOLD (116) 0
7 23 at BOWG (47) 16
8 17 CFLA (61) 14
9 14 at TOLE (21) 20
10 17 at EMIC (102) 10
12 20 CMIC (103) 21
13 31 at BALL (105) 17

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
12 Livesay QB 330 204 2334 7.07 14 9
Team --- 330 204 2334 7.07 14 9

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
32 Horn RB 246 850 3.45 10 62 84
36 Baxter RB 101 522 5.16 3 19 23
12 Livesay QB 46 -151 -3.28 0 37 199
Team --- 405 1259 3.10 14 121 309

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
3 Kaplan WR 90 49 751 15.3 207 7
32 Horn RB 66 54 463 8.5 285 2
1 Kemp WR 44 23 296 12.8 59 0
88 Getson TE 39 28 320 11.4 158 2
2 Serra WR 25 13 150 11.5 56 1
36 Baxter RB 19 9 51 5.6 17 0
35 Mattes FB 19 12 77 6.4 53 1
9 Polifka WR 11 5 58 11.6 3 0
Team --- 330 204 2334 11.4 856 14

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
24 Herriman S 71 17 0.0 10 2 3
55 Walters OLB 70 13 2.0 14 3 3
96 Porter DT 63 30 5.0 13 0 0
33 JohnSy S 63 37 0.0 8 0 10
48 Peterson CB 37 8 0.5 1 8 5
47 Berry ILB 36 19 1.0 4 0 4
29 Cunningham CB 28 7 0.0 0 1 8
40 Lipford OLB 22 6 1.0 3 1 6
97 Darusmont ILB 19 13 0.0 1 0 3
76 Small DE 18 9 4.5 7 0 0 
The College Years
30 Mansour CB 17 4 1.0 1 3 1
70 Lovelace DT 14 10 2.5 5 0 0
75 Cox DE 12 2 6.0 6 0 0
22 Kozhin CB 12 4 2.0 3 0 1
Team --- 557 189 28.0 82 18 46 

The bowl results are below:

Game Matchup
Solecismic Bowl Tennessee (13-0) 31, Georgia (10-2) 21
Angelica Bowl Kansas State (13-0) 31, Pittsburgh (11-1) 3
Sinclair Lewis Bowl Utah (11-1) 10, Florida State (10-2) 9
Dore Schary Bowl Penn State (11-1) 40, Washington State (9-3) 15
Edible Fruit Bowl Michigan (11-1) 42, Virginia Tech (10-2) 14
Neverending Hype Bowl California-Los Angeles (9-3) 21, Oklahoma (10-3) 14
Medicine Bowl Nebraska (11-1) 24, Clemson (9-3) 14
Belle of the Bowl Arkansas (8-5) 38, West Virginia (8-4) 13
Anachronism Bowl Ohio State (10-2) 34, Colorado State (7-5) 17
Fair And Balanced Bowl Southern California (8-4) 52, Virginia (8-4) 14
Bennifer Bowl Florida (9-3) 37, Michigan State (7-5) 21
Corporate Entity Bowl North Carolina State (8-4) 34, Texas Christian (9-3)
Smoking Cessation Bowl Colorado (10-2) 38, Marshall (9-4) 3
Forged Document Bowl Navy (9-3) 41, Air Force (7-5) 14
Butterfly Ballot Bowl Miami of Florida (7-5) 16, Louisiana State (7-5) 7
Generation Why Bowl Boise State (12-0) 34, Buffalo (8-4) 3
Argyle Socks Bowl Washington (7-5) 49, Brigham Young (6-6) 21
Amber Frey Bowl Texas (8-4) 17, Toledo (10-3) 7
Swift Boat Bowl Oregon (7-5) 33, Auburn (7-5) 30
Noreaster Bowl Syracuse (8-4) 38, Louisville (9-4) 3
Unrequited Love Bowl Louisiana Tech (9-3) 21, Temple (6-6) 14
Used Car Bowl Georgia Tech (7-5) 28, Notre Dame (7-5) 7
Happy Fun Bowl New Mexico State (12-0) 34, Hickory (8-4) 31

4 teams go undefeated. Playoffs anyone? Northern Illinois had the 13th ranked recruiting class. Illinois was 47th. Northwester was 111th. I am killing them in state.


Our awards winners are:
College Football All Academic Team
HB Hugh Horn
WR Grant Kaplan
OG Corwin McCarthy
P Geoff Davison

MAC First Team
WR Grant Kaplan
DT Ross Porter
OLB Dave Walters

MAC Second Team
OG Corwin McCarthy
CB Barry Peterson

MAC Academic Team
HB Hugh Horn
WR Grant Kaplan
OG Corwin McCarthy
OT Timothy Billingsley
P Geoff Davison
K Arnold Foster
DE Orlando Cox
FS Conrad JohnSy

MAC Interception King - CB Barry Peterson (8 interceptions)

Here are the seniors that are leaving this year and examining their pro chances.
Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Cox, Orlando 75 DE Sr 22 35
Foster, Arnold 13 K Sr 58 71
Johnson, Kris 77 DT Sr 15 42
Roller, Harvey 57 C Sr 52 55
Samuelson, Juan 52 G Sr 37 37
Serra, Brock 2 WR Sr 19 28
Herriman, Russell 24 S Sr 40 40
Lipford, Karl 40 OLB Sr 29 48
Mueller, Andre 83 WR Sr 29 39

Though Herriman was a steady player for us, I see no future in the NFL for him. Roller maybe our best hope.

[bbgunn]

You want the particulars?
By all means. I want to see what life could be like in my parallel universe. :)

[Dolemite73]

New Mexico State is 11-0?!? Unbelievable. Go Aggies!
Here is their team and stats. They finished ranked 11th in the nation! They must have had Nick Saban coaching them, because their players are pretty average:

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Eichler, Heath 7 QB Sr 30 30
Henderson, Benjamin 2 QB Sr 7 7
Warren, Jeffrey 3 QB So 30 45
Shelton, Ricky 15 QB Fr 5 70
Ellison, Riddick 8 QB* Fr 0 0
Becker, Craig 20 RB Jr 18 57
Garcia, Corwin 34 RB Sr 50 66
Farley, Lenny 29 RB* Fr 15 15
Pak, Allen 39 RB* Fr 14 30
Woods, Kenneth 46 FB Sr 11 11
Reynolds, Winston 23 FB* So 15 15
Lancaster, Doug 47 FB* Fr 10 25
Hedgepeth, Lamont 81 TE Jr 18 18
Shea, Emmanuel 91 TE Sr 32 37
Howe, Bernard 90 TE So* 29 74
Newell, Wally 88 WR Sr 48 48
Richard, Devin 5 WR Sr 13 40
Landrum, Clay 4 WR Jr 10 37
Gillespie, Nathan 83 WR Jr 18 33
Horner, Steve 82 WR So* 46 65
Crosco, Rodney 86 WR So* 20 42
Benton, Dominic 6 WR Fr 19 30
Enochs, Leslie 85 WR Fr 14 55
Walsh, Zach 1 WR* Jr* 11 11
Garrison, Al 89 WR* Jr* 12 12
Campbell, Ross 53 C Sr 43 43
Bensen, Carlton 51 C So* 21 58
Montgomery, Shaun 50 C Fr 15 29
Fehrman, Gerald 65 G Sr 24 24
Jeans, Marty 74 G So* 0 50
Wolf, Clifton 61 G Fr 8 62
Chadwick, Rich 70 G* Fr 9 38
Foreman, Dean 60 T Sr 22 48
Hook, Henry 62 T Jr 27 27
Grasso, Nolan 78 T Sr* 33 48
Campos, Brett 63 T Sr 42 49
Warren, Howie 68 T So* 26 41
Wynne, Hardy 69 T So* 12 48
Robasky, Jeff 66 T Fr 7 44
Mittleman, Shawn 67 T* So* 2 2
Spearman, Oliver 52 T* So 9 9
Andrews, Ronald 64 T* So 10 28
Caputo, Don 10 P Sr 25 62
Murphy, Juan 16 P Jr* 36 61
Wilcox, Ernie 14 P Fr 13 99
Amato, Bill 9 K Jr* 45 45
Lynn, Donny 13 K Fr 17 32
Webster, Neil 77 DE Sr* 21 42
Reich, Kennedy 75 DE Sr 29 52
Hippler, Everett 93 DE Fr 0 17
Farmer, Ty 95 DE Fr 16 90
McGregor, Dominic 71 DE* Sr* 8 52
Alston, Timothy 72 DE* Jr* 20 36
Labbe, J.T. 92 DT Sr 41 54
Cooley, Joel 73 DT Sr 21 21
Hernandez, Blake 99 DT So* 19 75
Vamos, Wally 76 DT So* 13 71
Mason, Mitchell 79 DT Fr 20 64
Davison, John 94 DT Fr 2 51
Finley, Seth 97 DT* Sr* 23 23
Scott, Roger 98 ILB Sr 44 44
Mayes, Marlon 58 ILB Jr 10 45
Lacey, Tony 42 ILB So 38 38
Whiting, Winfred 45 OLB Jr 24 45
Bernard, Phil 54 OLB So 44 44
May, Freddie 48 OLB Fr 16 45
Brandon, Orlando 44 OLB Fr 14 86
Mixon, Robbie 59 OLB* So 11 11
Douglas, Emmanuel 55 OLB* So 11 11
Joseph, Ellis 40 OLB* So 0 28
Lovejoy, Norm 43 OLB* Fr 0 30
Colvin, Rod 33 CB So* 17 73
Dodge, David 49 CB So* 36 36
Ellis, Jeffrey 32 CB* Sr 1 32 
Rosenkoetter, Cory 27 CB* Fr 0 43
Frederick, Rickey 25 S Jr 36 70
Money, Lewis 41 S Sr 17 45
Robins, Teddy 37 S So 34 34
Tatum, Bob 26 S So* 32 32
Lundy, Gene 21 S Fr 26 91
Knopf, Andy 38 S Fr 32 32



Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
2 at Kentucky W, 41-10 40,600 Sunny, 62 TV 3
3 DUKE W, 30-7 18,700 Sunny, 76
$$5 at Middle Tennessee State W, 20-9 23,400 Stormy, 52 TV 5
6 NEW MEXICO W, 28-21 20,500 Sunny, 74
$$7 IDAHO W, 28-3 19,600 Sunny, 66
$$8 TROY W, 31-28 20,900 Sunny, 61
$$9 at Arkansas State W, 35-28 25,400 Sunny, 51 TV 3
$$10 NORTH TEXAS W, 41-0 23,800 Sunny, 64 TV 3
$$11 at Louisiana-Monroe W, 10-7 16,600 Stormy, 58
$$12 at Utah State W, 30-3 20,700 Rain, 46
$$13 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE W, 28-21 23,400 Sunny, 64
**16 vs (37) Hickory W, 34-31 15,000 Sunny, 58 TV 1


2006 Summary for New Mexico State

Record: 12-0
Rank: 11

New Mexico State Team Rank
Rushes 573 4
Rushing Yards 2487 4
Yards Per Carry 4.34 16 (T)
Pass Attempts 244 110 (T)
Completions 151 88
Passing Yards 1986 84
Yards Per Attempt 8.13 28
3rd Down Conversions 45.8 6
Points Per Game 29.6 33
Turnovers 11 4 (T)
Turnover Margin +27 1 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 371 23 (T)
Rushing Yards 1315 41
Yards Per Carry 3.54 50 (T)
Pass Attempts 324 52 (T)
Completions 149 7
Passing Yards 1945 10
Yards Per Attempt 6.00 16 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 35.2 45 (T)
Points Per Game 14.0 8
Turnovers 38 2

Primary Formation: Wing-T Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
2 41 at KNTK (111) 10
3 30 DUKE (121) 7
5 20 at MDTN (60) 9
6 28 NMEX (97) 21
7 28 IDAH (112) 3
8 31 TROY (100) 28
9 35 at ARST (51) 28
10 41 NTEX (66) 0
11 10 at LAMN (90) 7
12 30 at UTST (115) 3
13 28 LALF (117) 21
16 34 vs HICK (37) 31

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
7 Eichler QB 201 121 1675 8.33 14 4
3 Warren QB 37 26 273 7.37 3 0
Team --- 244 151 1986 8.13 17 4

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
34 Garcia RB 388 1912 4.92 19 100 149
29 Farley RB 113 540 4.77 6 23 25
7 Eichler QB 38 -41 -1.07 0 26 96
Team --- 573 2487 4.34 26 159 309

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
82 Horner WR 63 41 681 16.6 291 10
34 Garcia RB 48 34 246 7.2 172 0
88 Newell WR 43 15 217 14.4 66 1
90 Howe TE 34 24 303 12.6 127 1
86 Crosco WR 31 21 330 15.7 80 1
Team --- 244 151 1986 13.1 822 17

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
42 Lacey ILB 85 32 2.5 17 0 7
98 Scott ILB 67 18 1.0 14 0 1
33 Colvin CB 48 15 0.0 4 5 6
54 Bernard OLB 39 14 0.0 5 1 2
25 Frederick S 37 19 0.0 4 6 9
49 Dodge CB 36 13 0.0 2 3 6
37 Robins S 36 20 0.0 1 5 6
45 Whiting OLB 32 9 3.0 3 1 1
75 Reich DE 24 14 5.5 9 0 0
32 Ellis CB 20 2 1.0 1 0 2
41 Money S 20 4 0.0 3 2 0 
The College Years
92 Labbe DT 17 7 7.0 7 0 0
97 Finley DT 16 6 4.5 6 0 0
27 Rosenkoetter CB 14 5 0.5 3 0 6
Team --- 584 198 34.0 89 25 48 

[Dolemite73]

Well Herriman, Roller and Foster got invited to the combine. Nether of them were drafted. Will see if they are picked as free agents, but I seriously doubt it.

[bbgunn]

Thanks for those New Mexico State stats. They have a stud at RB; the coaching staff knew what they were doing.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Northern Illinois Huskies

Well we are in year 4 begins. Last year was very successful, but we did not go to a bowl. This year the goal is to win 8 games, play for the MAC title and go to a bowl. I had 3 minor players leave the team due to playing time issues. We had 1 back DE get suspended for academics and we had 1 backup OLB suspended for a fight on campus.

I had a couple of minor scouts retire, so I will be replacing them. They really don't matter because we mainly just recruit in the Great Lakes region. Since I won 7 games, I can recruit up to 250 miles now, which should get us into the Iowa and Missouri, and Minnesota market.

[Dolemite73]

Starters are in Bold. Redshirts are in Red.

Livesay, Mo 12 QB Jr* 48 54
Scott, Walter 8 QB Sr 26 38
Grant, Isaac 6 QB So* 18 60
Goetz, Isaac 10 QB* Fr 13 36
Galloway, Jeffrey 5 QB* Sr* 9 13
Bohme, Earnest 15 QB* Sr* 8 16


Mo Livesay will be the man. He had a nice year last year and has developed nicely.

Rasmussen, Steven 26 RB So* 53 88
Horn, Hugh 32 RB Jr* 38 64
Baxter, Rufus 36 RB Sr* 34 46
Salter, Ray 46 RB Jr 12 24
Quick, Bennie 39 RB* Jr 9 17


The redshirt freshman from last year gets the start. He is a stud and should have a huge year running behind my experienced offensive line. Can't wait to unveil our new running game. Quick was whining about more free time, so I redshirt his keister so he will have all of the free time he needs.

Mattes, Les 35 FB Sr 24 30
Weber, Curtis 31 FB Fr 16 43
Nestor, Kendrick 20 FB* So 4 22


I don't expect much from my FB's.

Getson, Dean 88 TE Sr 44 57
Williamson, Blaine 92 TE So* 31 41
Hartings, Preston 87 TE Jr* 23 44
Zulkowski, Todd 81 TE Sr 21 21


Getson is the better pass catcher. Williamson is the much better blocker. Will alternate.

Kaplan, Grant 3 WR Jr 51 75
Kemp, Grady 1 WR So 33 48
Ponzo, Melvin 82 WR Fr 22 70
Barnes, Corey 84 WR Fr 18 38
Lissvall, Jose 86 WR* Fr 10 10
Finley, Archie 85 WR* Jr 3 3
Polifka, Gerald 9 WR* Jr 2 27


Not going to redshirt anyone. Need the depth, even though we are extremely young here. Ponzo has a good chance to be a solid #2 WR down the road.

Campbell, Stanley 58 C Jr* 37 96
Hoffman, Toby 50 C Sr 28 48
McCarthy, Corwin 74 G Jr* 39 51
Boehner, Dwight 71 G Sr* 36 54
Walton, Brandon 60 G Sr 23 23
Fisk, Clarence 77 G Fr 23 84
Morris, Gilbert 72 G So* 21 74
Harper, Kendall 69 T Jr* 57 64
Billingsley, Timothy 66 T Jr 51 65
Smith, Jake 59 T So* 24 40
Hemond, Harvey 65 T So* 23 83
Haber, Warren 64 T Sr 22 50
Clinton, Jumbo 68 T Fr 12 75
Hanson, Mel 67 T* Sr 16 47


Our Tackles are strong. Our staring line averages 6'3" and 295lbs (with LT Billingsley at 6'4" 325lbs as our monster). Our run blocking is a little below average, but with our new HB, we should still be ok.

[Dolemite73]

Suspended players are in italics.


Small, Aaron 76 DE Jr* 54 54
Tuttle, Sammy 95 DE So* 39 77
Levine, Christian 79 DE So* 26 80
Bensen, Will 94 DE Sr 16 25
Jamison, Morris 91 DE Sr 16 19
Harris, Adam 93 DE Fr 7 41
Hall, Leslie 99 DE* So* 10 10
Gay, Kris 78 DE* Fr 8 42


I love our DE's. We are young and talented.

Lovelace, Roman 70 DT Jr* 61 61
Porter, Ross 96 DT Sr 32 66
Lynn, Rondell 73 DT So* 24 74
Tate, J.R. 90 DT Sr 19 19
Walters, Tommie 75 DT Fr 9 85


I am looking for Lovelace to breakout this year. Porter has been the much better player to this point.

Berry, Adam 47 ILB Jr* 34 61
Crane, Corey 56 ILB So* 34 85
Witherspoon, Mario 41 ILB So 14 16
Wheeler, Jim 53 ILB Fr 13 61
Darusmont, Will 97 ILB Sr 11 42
Stewart, Marlon 44 ILB* So 7 18


Berry has the much better bars, so he gets the start. Crane has the much higher endurance, so I am sure he will see a lot of time.

Thiele, Jonathan 52 OLB Fr 28 60
Washington, Tommy 40 OLB Fr 25 47
Garrison, Rico 45 OLB So* 23 50
Walters, Dave 55 OLB Jr 16 76
Kafka, J.B. 54 OLB Sr 9 29
Dickens, Alex 98 OLB* Sr 13 38


Though Walters has very low bars, we was a 1st team All MAC OLB last year, so I give him the start.

Peterson, Barry 48 CB Jr* 45 45
Cunningham, Gilbert 29 CB Jr* 41 41
Grey, Quinn 27 CB Fr 21 53
Kozhin, Bernie 22 CB* Sr* 16 21
Mansour, Edgar 30 CB* Sr 14 18 
Euell, Doug 21 CB* Jr 4 4


Need to get some more talent here.

JohnSy, Conrad 33 S Jr* 38 75
Shaffer, Maurice 23 S So* 29 96
Price, Jeff 24 S Fr 27 82
Demps, Russell 42 S So 17 42
Sotelo, Winston 28 S Sr 9 18
Campbell, Dale 49 S* Jr 6 17
Zimmerman, Gilbert 43 S* Jr 3 11


Our depth sucks here.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Preseason Top 25 poll and MAC preview:

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Georgia 0-0 SEC 1.00 1.00 0.00 2.08 4.08 1
Florida State 0-0 ACC 4.00 3.00 0.00 0.12 7.12 2
Nebraska 0-0 B12 2.00 4.50 0.00 1.04 7.54 3
Michigan 0-0 B10 5.00 4.00 0.00 0.52 9.52 4
Tennessee 0-0 SEC 3.00 6.50 0.00 2.20 11.70 5
Ohio State 0-0 B10 7.00 5.50 0.00 0.68 13.18 6
Kansas State 0-0 B12 6.00 8.50 0.00 0.96 15.46 7
Florida 0-0 SEC 8.00 6.50 0.00 2.04 16.54 8
Oklahoma 0-0 B12 9.00 11.50 0.00 1.12 21.62 9
Penn State 0-0 B10 12.00 9.00 0.00 0.72 21.72 10
Louisiana State 0-0 SEC 10.00 9.50 0.00 2.40 21.90 11
Utah 0-0 MOW 11.00 9.50 0.00 2.76 23.26 12
California-Los Angeles 0-0 P10 13.00 13.00 0.00 1.92 27.92 13
Texas 0-0 B12 14.00 13.00 0.00 1.20 28.20 14
Colorado 0-0 B12 15.00 19.00 0.00 0.84 34.84 15
Virginia Tech 0-0 ACC 16.00 20.00 0.00 1.56 37.56 16
Miami of Florida 0-0 ACC 18.00 18.50 0.00 1.36 37.86 17
Washington State 0-0 P10 17.00 19.00 0.00 2.00 38.00 18
Texas A&M 0-0 B12 22.00 18.50 0.00 1.24 41.74 19
Virginia 0-0 ACC 19.00 23.50 0.00 0.32 42.82 20
Syracuse 0-0 BEA 23.00 20.00 0.00 1.48 44.48 21
Washington 0-0 P10 20.00 23.50 0.00 1.96 45.46 22
Southern California 0-0 P10 24.00 23.00 0.00 1.88 48.88 23
North Carolina State 0-0 ACC 26.00 23.00 0.00 0.28 49.28 24
Texas Christian 0-0 USA 25.00 21.50 0.00 3.16 49.66 25

MAC North
Marshall 0-0 MAC 46.00 46.00 0.00 3.80 95.80 45
Buffalo 0-0 MAC 55.00 52.50 0.00 3.72 111.22 53
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 63.00 64.50 0.00 3.84 131.34 63
Central Florida 0-0 MAC 75.00 71.50 0.00 4.44 150.94 72
Akron 0-0 MAC 90.00 81.00 0.00 3.64 174.64 85
Kent State 0-0 MAC 91.00 82.00 0.00 3.76 176.76 86
Ohio 0-0 MAC 124.00124.500.00 3.88 252.38 125

MAC South
Toledo 0-0 MAC 30.00 35.50 0.00 4.08 69.58 34
Bowling Green 0-0 MAC 48.00 41.00 0.00 3.68 92.68 43
Western Michigan 0-0 MAC 57.00 61.00 0.00 4.12 122.12 58
Northern Illinois 0-0 MAC 56.00 63.00 0.00 4.04 123.04 61
Ball State 0-0 MAC 105.0094.50 0.00 3.92 203.42 101
Eastern Michigan 0-0 MAC 112.0097.00 0.00 4.00 213.00 104
Central Michigan 0-0 MAC 106.00111.000.00 3.96 220.96 111

[Dolemite73]

2007 Northern Illinois Schedule:

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
1 BYE
2 at (25) Texas Christian
3 BYE
4 at (4) Florida State
5 at Kent State
6 at Goldsboro
7 EASTERN MICHIGAN
8 at Central Florida
9 at Central Michigan
11 WESTERN MICHIGAN
12 BALL STATE
13 (48) BOWLING GREEN
14 at (30) Toledo

WTF?!?!? 6 out of the first 7 games are on the road. Maybe I need to stop letting the game generate the schedule and start doing it manually. This is one rough schedule.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Preseason

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

There are not a lot of quality offensive players in Illinois this year. Will look in other states now.

MAC South Scoreboard
N/A

MAC South Standings
N/A


Next weeks Schedule
Illinois at Central Michigan
Temple at Bowling Green

Some good games. I could see the MAC teams winning both of these games.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 1

BYE
Record Overall 0-0 MAC South 0-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
N/A

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

Indiana and Wisconsin are my targets this week.

MAC South Scoreboard
Illinois 34 Central Michigan 6
Bowling Green 45 Temple 17

Bowling Green starts out strong.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 1 0 0 1.000 45 17 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 5
Eastern Michigan 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 4
Northern Illinois 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Ball State 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 8
Western Michigan 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Toledo 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Central Michigan 0 1 0 .000 6 34 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3
Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illniois at TCU
Washington at Western Michigan
Wake Forest at Central Michigan
Eastern Mchigan at Idaho

We travel to Forth Worth Texas to take on the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU has some very good players on offense. Defensively though, they are not as talented as my defense. We will try to play some ball control offense to wear their defense down and try to keep their offense off of the field.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 2

TCU 48 Northern Illinois 14
Record Overall 0-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 15/28 176yds 1TD 2INT

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 11att 48yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 7att 42yds

Receiving
WR Grady Kemp 3cat 69yds
WR Grant Kaplan 3cat 47yds
HB Steven Rasmussen 3cat 5yds

Defense
MLB Corey Crane 9tack 6ast 2sack
SS Maurice Shaffer 9tack 2ast
OLB Rico Garrison 6tack

Recap
This game went about as I expected. We were just outworked and outhustled. They were the better team today.

Offensively, we struggled. We could never establish our identity. Gaining only 256 total yards is not going to cut it against a strong team. We probably should have ran the ball more. When we did it, we were mildly successful. The Offensive Line did well to only give up 2 sacks against this defense.

Defensively, we did not play well. We gave up 255 yards on the ground and 274 yards in the air. Our Front seven was outstanding at rushing the passer today (5 sacks), but gave up far too many yards on the ground. Our secondary was atrocious (the TCU QB was 20/21 for 274 yds and 3TD's). Hopefully, we can have a better showing in the future.

Injuries
DE Aaron Small - Bruised Shoulder - Prob 1 week

Recruiting

Visits
None


Commits
None

Still throwing out feelers.

MAC South Scoreboard
TCU 48 Northern Illniois 14
Western Michigan 24 Washington 6
Central Michigan 59 Wake Forest 17
Eastern Mchigan 45 Idaho 17

Some big wins for the MAC against some of the bigger conferences. Western Michigan's huge win stands out and puts them into the discussion for the MAC South title.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Bowling Green 1 0 0 1.000 45 17 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 5
Eastern Michigan 1 0 0 1.000 45 17 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Western Michigan 1 0 0 1.000 24 6 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Central Michigan 1 1 0 .500 65 51 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Toledo 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Ball State 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 8
Northern Illinois 0 1 0 .000 14 48 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1

Next weeks Schedule
#23 Colorado State at #25 Bowling Green (TV2)
Western Michigan at #9 UCLA (TV3)
Tulane at Ball State
Alabama at Toledo
Eastern Mchigan at #12 Washington State (TV4)

Lots of games on TV this week. Glad to see Bowling Green in the Top 25. We shall see if they can step up to the challenge. Interested to see if Western Michigan can surprise UCLA.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 3
BYE
Record Overall 0-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
N/A

Recruiting

Visits
G Gino Cambell (6'3" 283lbs) - Argenta, IL - Overall 7. position 1


Commits
None

Would love to get this kid. And he is very interested in us as well.

MAC South Scoreboard
#23 Colorado State 20 #25 Bowling Green 17
#9 UCLA 38 Western Michigan 16
Tulane 27 Ball State 17
Toledo 35 Alabama 24
#12 Washington State 34 Eastern Mchigan 7

Toledo shows they can hang with the SEC. Again, they are my favorite to take the MAC South division title.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 1 0 0 1.000 35 24 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Bowling Green 1 1 0 .500 62 37 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Central Michigan 1 1 0 .500 65 51 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 1 1 0 .500 52 51 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Western Michigan 1 1 0 .500 40 44 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Ball State 0 1 0 .000 17 27 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 9
Northern Illinois 0 1 0 .000 14 48 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Florida State
Miami(OH) at Central Michigan (TV4)
Ball State at #7 Oklahoma (TV5)
#16 Toledo at Bowling Green (TV3)
Eastern Michigan at Ohio

Nice early season matchup featuring Toledo and Bowling Green. Should go a long way towards establishing the favorite in the division. We travel to Tallahassee to take on the 0-1 Florida State Seminoles. We do not match up well with this team at all. They have better players on both sides of the ball. Can hope for an upset, but I have a feeling we are going to get demolished this game.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 4

Northern Illinois 23 Florida State 20
Record Overall 1-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 13/26 145yds

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 27att 48yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 6att 13yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 5cat 59yds
WR Grady Kemp 2cat 26yds
HB Hugh Horn 1cat 24yds

Defense
MLB Corey Crane 11tack 3ast
OLB Jonathan Thiele 7tack 1ast
DT Roman Lovelace 6tack 5ast .5sack

Recap
We hung onto this game for dear. This was probably the biggest win of my tenure. We were thoroughly dominated by this team on both sides of the ball, yet we came away with the victory.

Offensively, we struggled mightily. We could not run (86 yards and 1.6YPC) and we struggled with the pass 50% completion percentage and 5.5 YPA). We did not turn the ball over and we did not allow a sack against a very talented Florida State front 7. My Offensive line was wonderful. Our Special Teams is what won us this game. K Billy Owens kick 3 FG's. HB Steven Rasmussen ran back a kickoff for 50 yards, which put us in excellent field position.

Defensively, we bent but did not break. We gave up 184 yards on the ground and 223 yards in the air. Though we were not able to get much pressure (only 1 sack), we stopped the Seminole offense when we needed too. Our secondary came up with a huge play early in the 1st Quarter when CB Barry Peterson intercepted a pass and returned it 88 yards for a TD.

Injuries
None

Recruiting

Visits
K Mack Swift (5'11" 175lbs) - Highland, IN - Overall 22, position 1

Commits
None

Would like this kid kicking for us. He is very accurate with a stonr leg.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 23 Florida State 20
Miami(OH) 28 Central Michigan 3
#7 Oklahoma 31 Ball State 14
#16 Toledo 28 Bowling Green 24
Ohio 28 Eastern Michigan 12

Close game between Toledo and Bowling Green. Ball State has now lost 10 games in a row counting last season. They need a win in a hurry.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 2 0 0 1.000 63 48 1 0 0 1.000 28 24 Won 2
Western Michigan 1 1 0 .500 40 44 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Northern Illinois 1 1 0 .500 37 68 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Ball State 0 2 0 .000 31 58 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 10
Bowling Green 1 2 0 .333 86 65 0 1 0 .000 24 28 Lost 2
Eastern Michigan 1 2 0 .333 64 79 0 1 0 .000 12 28 Lost 2
Central Michigan 1 2 0 .333 68 79 0 1 0 .000 3 28 Lost 1

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Kent State
#16 Toledo at Akron (TV4)
Central Michigan at Buffalo
Ball State at Marshall
Western Michigan at Miami(OH) (TV4)
Central Florida at Eastern Michigan

MAC play begins this week. We travel to 1-2 Kent State this week. Kent State runs a wishbone attack that has been pretty successful early in the season. On defense, they run a 34 defense, but dont really have the right players to run it. We hope to exploit this.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 5

Northern Illinois 17 Kent State 10
Record Overall 2-1 MAC South 1-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 20/31 231yds 1 TD 2INT

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 24att 122yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 4att 11yds

Receiving
WR Grady Kemp 6cat 92yds
HB Steven Rasmussen 4cat 13yds
WR Grant Kaplan 3cat 45yds

Defense
MLB Corey Crane 12tack 2ast
FS Conrad JohnSy 6tack 1ast
DE Aaron Small 5tack 2ast 1sack

Recap
Good win. This team is proving we are road warriors. With our early schedule, I am surprised at how well we are playing.

Offensively, we are starting to get things together. We were able to run the ball effectively, and Livesay played a good game despite 2 interceptions. HB Rasmussen had his best game of the year and showed why he was a highly touted recruit last year. The offensive line played poorly, giving up 5 sacks.

Defensively, we played outstandingly. We only gave up 223 total yards and got 2 timely turnovers. CB Barry Peterson got another interception that closed out the ball game late in the 4th quarter. We also got good pressure on the QB (3 sacks).

Injuries
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Ankle - 1 week

Recruiting

Visits
TE Wlliam Coltharp (6'4" 235lbs) - Salem, IL - Overall 534, position 11
DE Walter Batista (6'3" 243lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 161, position 20
DT Walt Fujimoto (6'1" 258lbs) - Roselle, IL - Overall 144, position 10
OLB Terrance Blades (6'1" 212lbs) - Mattoon, IL - Overall 175, position 11
OLB Percy Spencer (6'2" 225lbs) - Colcester, IL - Overall 83, position 7
CB Kris Bennett (6'0" 180lbs) - Midlothian, IL - Overall 116, position 8

Commits
K Mack Swift (5'11" 175lbs) - Highland, IN - Overall 22, position 1

Getting the number 1 kicker in the nation will help us greatly. Also, we have a very strong number of visitors coming to see us this week as well. We have a good shot as getting a couple of these kids as well.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 17 Kent State 10
Akron 17 #16 Toledo 13
Buffalo 48 Central Michigan 3
Marshall 38 Ball State 11
Western Michigan 20 Miami(OH) 7
Eastern Michigan 34 Central Florida 17

Western Michigan is strong this year. Ball State losses its 11th game in a row going back to last season.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Western Michigan 2 1 0 .666 60 51 1 0 0 1.000 20 7 Won 1
Northern Illinois 2 1 0 .666 54 78 1 0 0 1.000 17 10 Won 2
Toledo 2 1 0 .666 76 65 1 1 0 .500 41 41 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 2 2 0 .500 98 96 1 1 0 .500 46 45 Won 1
Bowling Green 1 2 0 .333 86 65 0 1 0 .000 24 28 Lost 2
Ball State 0 3 0 .000 42 96 0 1 0 .000 11 38 Lost 11
Central Michigan 1 3 0 .250 71 126 0 2 0 .000 6 75 Lost 2
Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Goldsboro
Toledo at Louisiana-Lafayette
Bowling Green at Central Michigan
Ball State at Charlotte
Notre Dame at Western Michigan
Asheville at Eastern Michigan

Good slate of games this week. We travel to Goldsboro, NC to take on the 3-1 Goldsboro Pig Pickers. Goldsboro features a run and shoot based attack that has been fairly successful this year. Defensively, they run a 34 defense and have had good success shutting down teams passing games with their pass rush. They can be run on though, so we will attempt to use this weakness to our advantage.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 6

Northern Illinois 42 Goldsboro 16
Record Overall 3-1 MAC South 1-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 20/31 307yds 3TD 1INT

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 23att 142yds 2TD
HB Hugh Horn 8att 27yds 1TD

Receiving
WR Grady Kemp 5cat 69yds
WR Grant Kaplan 4cat 82yds 2TD
HB Steven Rasmussen 3cat 52yds

Defense
OLB Dave Walters 6tack 1sack
SS Maurice Shaffer 4tack 4ast
DT Roman Lovelace 3tack 2.5sack

Recap
To end up 3-1 after this 4 game grind on the road is amazing. We played our best game of the year at Goldsboro.

Offensively, we did well in all phases. QB Livesay played his best game of the year. His 21 completions went to 10 different receivers. HB Rasmussen played strong and was able to dominate between the tackles. The WR duo of Kaplan and Kemp played very well and is going to be tough to deal with going forward. Our Offensive Line was dominant and only allowed 1 sack.

Defensively, We shut the Goldsboro team down. We only gave up 207 total yards and our pass rush was terling (6 sacks). Our run defense totally shut down the Goldsboro running game (21 yards). I am very encouraged about how our defense has played the last 3 games.

Injuries
QB Mo Livesay - Strained Hamstring - Prob Unknown

This bears watching.

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
DE Walter Batista (6'3" 243lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 161, position 20
OLB Terrance Blades (6'1" 212lbs) - Mattoon, IL - Overall 175, position 11
G Gino Cambell (6'3" 283lbs) - Argenta, IL - Overall 7, position 1

We now add the number 1 Guard in the country to our team. This may turn out to be our top recruiting class in my tenure here. We have some very strong players interested in our program at NIU.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 42 Goldsboro 16
Toledo 35 Louisiana-Lafayette 7
Bowling Green 38 Central Michigan 35
Charlotte 41 Ball State 14
Notre Dame 14 Western Michigan 7
Eastern Michigan 30 Asheville 16

Glad to see Western Michigan play tough against Notre Dame. Ball State's losing streak is now at 12 games and counting.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 3 1 0 .750 96 94 1 0 0 1.000 17 10 Won 3
Western Michigan 2 2 0 .500 63 65 1 0 0 1.000 20 7 Lost 1
Toledo 3 1 0 .750 111 72 1 1 0 .500 41 41 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 3 2 0 .600 128 112 1 1 0 .500 46 45 Won 2
Bowling Green 2 2 0 .500 124 100 1 1 0 .500 62 63 Won 1
Ball State 0 4 0 .000 56 137 0 1 0 .000 11 38 Lost 12
Central Michigan 1 4 0 .200 106 164 0 3 0 .000 41 113 Lost 3
Next weeks Schedule
Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois
Toledo at Central Michigan
Marshall at Bowling Green
Western Michigan at Ball State

We finally get our first home game of the year. The 3-2 Eastern Michigan travel to DeKalb to play in our Homecoming game. The Eastern Michigan runs a balanced offense and have had some success running and passing the ball. They will turn the ball over though. Defensively, they are not really strong in stopping the run or the pass.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 7

Northern Illinois 40 Eastern Michigan 7
Record Overall 4-1 MAC South 2-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 20/25 304yds 3TD

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 23att 92yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 6att 33yds

Receiving
FB Les Mattes 4cat 50yds
TE Blaine Williamson 4cat 38yds
WR Grady Kemp 3cat 73yds 1TD

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 6tack 1ast 1int 1TD
OLB Dave Walters 5tack
FS Conrad JohnSy 4tack 2ast 1int

Recap
After this victory, we just may move into the Top 25. Dare I say we may challenge for the division title?

Offensively, we killed the Eastern Michigan team. QB Livesay was spectacular. He is really becoming a difference maker. Our running game was strong for the most part (133 yards) and our Offensive Line held strong (2 sacks).

Defensively, we are in a groove. We only gave up 239 total yards and our secondary played beautifully with 4 interceptions.

Injuries
TE Dean Getson - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 22 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Strained Hamstring - Prob Unknown
QB Mo Livesay - Strained Hamstring - Prob Unknown

Losing Getson hurts, but TE Blaine Williamson is a very capable backup and should hold down the fort.

Recruiting

Visits
QB Ricardo Logan (6'0" 192lbs) - Norwalk, IA - Overall 3, position 2
G Donovan Hodges (6'4" 277lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 33, position 7
HB Vincent Cochrane (5'10" 203lbs) - Flossmoor, IL - Overall 37, position 4
WR Myron 'Diz' Pardo (5'10" 170lbs) - Peoria, IL - Overall 238, position 25
C Zack Johnson (6'3" 256lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 394, position 17
DE Kent Zuccato (6'1" 225lbs) - Muskegon, MI - Overall 440, position 47
FS J.T. Levine (6'0" 179lbs) - Menomonie, WI - Overall 574, position 29
FB Jay Duffy (5'11" 210lbs) - Lansing, IL - Overall 659, position 21

Commits
OLB Percy Spencer (6'2" 225lbs) - Colcester, IL - Overall 83, position 7
CB Kris Bennett (6'0" 180lbs) - Midlothian, IL - Overall 116, position 8

Getting some of these recruits will set us up nicely in the future.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 40 Eastern Michigan 7
Toledo 21 Central Michigan 3
Bowling Green 30 Marshall 17
Western Michigan 36 Ball State 17

Big upset my Bowling Green. Ball State's losing streak is now at a unlucky 13 games and counting.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 4 1 0 .800 136 101 2 0 0 1.000 57 17 Won 4
Western Michigan 3 2 0 .600 99 82 2 0 0 1.000 56 24 Won 1
Toledo 4 1 0 .800 132 75 2 1 0 .666 62 44 Won 2
Bowling Green 3 2 0 .600 154 117 2 1 0 .666 92 80 Won 2
Eastern Michigan 3 3 0 .500 135 152 1 2 0 .333 53 85 Lost 1
Ball State 0 5 0 .000 73 173 0 2 0 .000 28 74 Lost 13
Central Michigan 1 5 0 .166 109 185 0 4 0 .000 44 134 Lost 4 

Next weeks Schedule
#28 Northern Illinois at Central Florida (TV5)
Buffalo at Ball State
Kent State at Western Michigan
Ohio at #18 Toledo
Bowling Green at South Florida

We go on the road again to Orlando, FL to take on the 3-3 Central Florida Knights. Central Florida strength is their running game (145 yards per game). Their passing game is not good and their QB has thrown 11 interceptions so far this year. Defensively, Central Florida's strength is their pass defense. I like our secondary against their turnover-prone QB.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 8

Northern Illinois 38 Central Florida 15
Record Overall 5-1 MAC South 3-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 17/27 181yds 2TD 1INT

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 32att 152yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 6att 115yds 2TD

Receiving
WR Grady Kemp 5cat 73yds 1TD
WR Grady Kemp 4cat 62yds 2TD
FB Les Mattes 3cat 11yds

Defense
DE Aaron Small 6tack 1sack
OLB Jonathan Thiele 6tack 1sack
ILB Corey Crane 4tack 3ast 1sack 1int

Recap
This team is making me proud. Out of our first 7 games, 6 of them were on the road. We have won 4 of them with another road game next week. If you had told me at the start of the year, we would accomplish this, I would have said you were crazy.

Offensively, our running game and our Offensive line asserted themselves this game. We ran for 278 yards on the ground. We owned the line of scrimmage all game long. Our Offensive line gave up 3 sacks, but was overwhelming in opening holes in the running game. QB Livesay was basically a bystander in this game, using the play action pass to move the chains.

Defensively, we are creating turnovers. We got 4 interception and 2 funble recoveries this game. We sacked the QB 3 times and were oppotunistic in taking away the ball.

Injuries
TE Dean Getson - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 22 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Strained Hamstring - Prob Unknown

Recruiting

Visits
WR Tood Garcia (5'11 185lbs) - Springfield, IL - Overall 312, position 32

Commits
G Donovan Hodges (6'4" 277lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 33, position 7
HB Vincent Cochrane (5'10" 203lbs) - Flossmoor, IL - Overall 37, position 4
DT Walt Fujimoto (6'1" 258lbs) - Roselle, IL - Overall 144, position 10
TE Wlliam Coltharp (6'4" 235lbs) - Salem, IL - Overall 534, position 11

MAC South Scoreboard
#28 Northern Illinois 38 Central Florida 15
Buffalo 31 Ball State 10
Western Michigan 38 Kent State 35
#18 Toledo 52 Ohio 17
South Florida 44 Bowling Green 25

14 games and counting for Ball State.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 5 1 0 .833 174 116 3 0 0 1.000 95 32 Won 5
Western Michigan 4 2 0 .666 137 117 3 0 0 1.000 94 59 Won 2
Toledo 5 1 0 .833 184 92 3 1 0 .750 114 61 Won 3
Bowling Green 3 3 0 .500 179 161 2 1 0 .666 92 80 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 3 3 0 .500 135 152 1 2 0 .333 53 85 Lost 1
Ball State 0 6 0 .000 83 204 0 3 0 .000 38 105 Lost 14
Central Michigan 1 5 0 .166 109 185 0 4 0 .000 44 134 Lost 4

Next weeks Schedule
#25 Northern Illinois at Central Michigan
Ball State at #18 Toledo
Bowling Green at Eastern Michigan

We are now in the Top 25! We go on the road again to take on the 1-5 Central Michigan Chippewas. The have lost 5 games in a row and are really struggling. They feature a decent passing game offensively and a hard hitting secondary on defense. This is a trap game, so we have to be diligent in limiting our mistakes.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 9

Northern Illinois 27 Central Michigan 7
Record Overall 6-1 MAC South 4-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 14/16 176yds 1TD
QB Issac Grant 2/3 27yds

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 26att 159yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 6att 19yds

Receiving
FB Les Mattes 5cat 42yds 1TD
WR Kemp 4cat 55yds
WR Grant Kaplan 3cat 63yds

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 9tack 1sack
OLB Dave Walters 6tack 1ast 1sack
DT Ross Porter 5tack 1ast

Recap
Out of the 6 road games we have played, we won 5 of them. Amazing. We are on a roll and I hope we can keep it going.

Offensively, our running game and our Offensive line again controlled this game. We passed the ball efficiently and made no mistakes. Our Offensive line gave up 3 sacks (something we are going to have to solve), did just fine in the running game. Game ball goes to HB Rasmussen for his sterling performance.

Defensively, we are doing most everything well. We got three more interceptions and totally shut down the Central Michigan run game. We got 4 sacks as well.

Injuries
TE Dean Getson - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 22 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Strained Hamstring - Prob Unknown
DT Roman Lovelace - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 5 weeks

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
DE Kent Zuccato (6'1" 225lbs) - Muskegon, MI - Overall 440, position 47
FS J.T. Levine (6'0" 179lbs) - Menomonie, WI - Overall 574, position 29
WR Myron 'Diz' Pardo (5'10" 170lbs) - Peoria, IL - Overall 238, position 25
T Randall Stevenson (6'7" 303lbs) - Bunker Hill, IN - Overall 881, position 80

Very impressive class. Missed out on the Number 3 rated QB. Scrambling now to replace him.

MAC South Scoreboard
#25 Northern Illinois 27 Central Michigan 7
#18 Toledo 37 Ball State 7
Eastern Michigan 16 Bowling Green 13

It will probably be NIU and Toledo battling it out for the division title. 15 games and counting for Ball State.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 6 1 0 .857 201 123 4 0 0 1.000 122 39 Won 6
Western Michigan 4 2 0 .666 137 117 3 0 0 1.000 94 59 Won 2
Toledo 6 1 0 .857 221 99 4 1 0 .800 151 68 Won 4
Eastern Michigan 4 3 0 .571 151 165 2 2 0 .500 69 98 Won 1
Bowling Green 3 4 0 .428 192 177 2 2 0 .500 105 96 Lost 2
Ball State 0 7 0 .000 90 241 0 4 0 .000 45 142 Lost 15
Central Michigan 1 6 0 .142 116 212 0 5 0 .000 51 161 Lost 5

Next weeks Schedule
Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan
Ball State at Bowling Green
Western Michigan at #13 Toledo (TV5)

Looking at how the games are shaking out, the Western Michigan and Toledo game is critical for my division title hopes. Would love to see Toledo lose.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 10

BYE
Record Overall 6-1 MAC South 4-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
TE Dean Getson - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 19 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Strained Hamstring - Prob Unknown
DT Roman Lovelace - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 4 weeks

Recruiting

Visits
QB Glenn Kinney (6'3" 197lbs) - Peterburg, IL - Overall 598, position 58

Commits
N/A

Hopefully we can get this guy to round out our recruiting class. Illinois is our main competition.

MAC South Scoreboard
Eastern Michigan 35 Central Michigan 14
Bowling Green 23 Ball State 14
#13 Toledo 34 Western Michigan 18

Our last game of the season is at Toledo. Should decide who plays for the MAC title.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 6 1 0 .857 201 123 4 0 0 1.000 122 39 Won 6
Toledo 7 1 0 .875 255 117 5 1 0 .833 185 86 Won 5
Western Michigan 4 3 0 .571 155 151 3 1 0 .750 112 93 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 5 3 0 .625 186 179 3 2 0 .600 104 112 Won 2
Bowling Green 4 4 0 .500 215 191 3 2 0 .600 128 110 Won 1
Ball State 0 8 0 .000 104 264 0 5 0 .000 59 165 Lost 16
Central Michigan 1 7 0 .125 130 247 0 6 0 .000 65 196 Lost 6

Next weeks Schedule
Western Michigan at #23 Northern Illinois (TV4)
San Diego State at #12 Toledo
Akron at Bowling Green (TV5)
Eastern Michigan at Ball State

Very interesting game with SDSU taking on Toledo. Should be a close game. We have the western Michigan Broncos coming to DeKalb for the 1st of a 3 game homestand. We are finally at home for an extended period. The Broncos strength is their brick wall type run defense. They are 8th in the Nation in run defense. Offensively, they run the ball well, but their pass game gives up too many interceptions. Look for us to exploit that.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 11

Northern Illinois 38 Western Michigan 7
Record Overall 7-1 MAC South 5-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 17/27 266yds 2TD 1INT

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 30att 107yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 2att 0yds

Receiving
WR Brant Kaplan 5cat 83yds 1TD
HB Steven Rasmussen 5cat 38yds
WR Grady Kemp 2cat 70yds 1TD

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 8tack 1ast 1sack
SS Maurice Shaffer 6tack 1ast
DT Ross Porter 5tack 1ast

Recap
Amazing effort, especially by our defense. We shut Western Michigan down (151 total yards). We returned two Interceptions for TD's (CB Barry Peterson and FS Conrad JohnSy). Offensively, we played our kind of game with hard running and play action passes. Negatives were, we gave up four sacks and had 9 penalties. This team is amazing me every week.

Injuries
TE Dean Getson - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 19 weeks
Doug Euell - Broken Clavicle - 12 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Strained Hamstring - Prob Unknown
DT Roman Lovelace - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 4 weeks

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
N/A

Illinois got that QB...trying to entice a couple of walk ons right now to round out my class.

MAC South Scoreboard
#23 Northern Illinois 38 Western Michigan 7
San Diego State 23 #12 Toledo 20
Bowling Green 24 Akron 14
Ball State 28 Eastern Michigan 21

Shocking upset of Toledo. Was not expecting that. Good to see Ball State end their 16 game losing streak. I am sure they are stoked.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 7 1 0 .875 239 130 5 0 0 1.000 160 46 Won 7
Toledo 7 2 0 .777 275 140 5 1 0 .833 185 86 Lost 1
Bowling Green 5 4 0 .555 239 205 4 2 0 .666 152 124 Won 2
Western Michigan 4 4 0 .500 162 189 3 2 0 .600 119 131 Lost 2
Eastern Michigan 5 4 0 .555 207 207 3 3 0 .500 125 140 Lost 1
Ball State 1 8 0 .111 132 285 1 5 0 .166 87 186 Won 1
Central Michigan 1 7 0 .125 130 247 0 6 0 .000 65 196 Lost 6

Next weeks Schedule
Ball State at #21 Northern Illinois
#19 Toledo at Eastern Michigan
Central Michigan at Western Michigan

Ball State has struggled all year. Their QB has thrown 20 interceptions this year, their running game is non-existant and their defense is horrible (113 against the run, 108 against the pass). As long as we don't turn the ball over, we should win this game handily.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 12

Northern Illinois 27 Ball State 3
Record Overall 8-1 MAC South 6-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 21/38 235yds 1TD 2INT

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 27att 138yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 1att 6yds

Receiving
WR Brant Kaplan 7cat 70yds
FB Les Mattes 5cat 47yds
WR Grady Kemp 4cat 71yds 1TD

Defense
DT Ross Porter 6tack 2sack
DE Aaron Small 4tack 2sack
ILB Corey Crane 4tack 1ast 1sack 1Int 1TD

Recap
Our defense is amazing this year. In the last 7 games, we have only given up 65 points. We had 7 sacks this game and 3 interceptions. Our pass defense is ranked 14th in the nation! As long as our offense continues controlling the ball like they are, our defense can now be counted on to shut teams down. We only gave up 192 total yards to the Ball State offense and held their QB to 7/30 80yds 3int.

Injuries
TE Dean Getson - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 18 weeks
Doug Euell - Broken Clavicle - 11 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Strained Hamstring - Prob Unknown
DT Roman Lovelace - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 3 weeks

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
N/A

MAC South Scoreboard
#21 Northern Illinois 27 Ball State 3
#19 Toledo 24 Eastern Michigan 13
Western Michigan 28 Central Michigan 3

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 8 1 0 .888 266 133 6 0 0 1.000 187 49 Won 8
Toledo 8 2 0 .800 299 153 6 1 0 .857 209 99 Won 1
Bowling Green 5 4 0 .555 239 205 4 2 0 .666 152 124 Won 2
Western Michigan 5 4 0 .555 190 192 4 2 0 .666 147 134 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 5 5 0 .500 220 231 3 4 0 .428 138 164 Lost 2
Ball State 1 9 0 .100 135 312 1 6 0 .142 90 213 Lost 1
Central Michigan 1 8 0 .111 133 275 0 7 0 .000 68 224 Lost 7  

Next weeks Schedule
Bowling Green at #20 Northern Illinois (TV4)
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan
Central Michigan at Ball State

This game against Bowling Green is a trap game. Next week we play Toledo in Toledo to decide who plays for the MAC title. I have to ensure my coaches are focusing the kids on this game. Bowling Green really has a nice team. They feature a punishing running attack (ranked 25th in the nation) and an above average defense. Our 21st ranked run defense will be tested this game.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 13

Northern Illinois 38 Bowling Green 3
Record Overall 9-1 MAC South 7-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 21/28 278yds 2TD

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 23att 90yds 3TD
HB Hugh Horn 10att 72yds

Receiving
WR Grady Kemp 3cat 62yds 1TD
HB Steven Rasmussen 3cat 28yds 1TD
WR Melvin Ponzo 2cat 29yds 1TD

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 8tack 6ast
SS Maurice Shaffer 5tack 1sack
DE Aaron Small 2tack 1.5sack


Recap
Our offense was the strength of this game. Even though the defense held Bowling Green to 191 total yards, our offense was potent. QB Mo Livesay threw completions to 10 different receivers. Rasmussen scored 3 TD. And the Offensive line did not allow a sack.

Injuries
TE Dean Getson - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 18 weeks
Doug Euell - Broken Clavicle - 10 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Strained Hamstring - Prob Unknown
DT Roman Lovelace - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 2 weeks

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
N/A

MAC South Scoreboard
#20 Northern Illinois 38 Bowling Green 3
Western Michigan 27 Eastern Michigan 13
Central Michigan 17 Ball State 14

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 9 1 0 .900 304 136 7 0 0 1.000 225 52 Won 9
Toledo 8 2 0 .800 299 153 6 1 0 .857 209 99 Won 1
Western Michigan 6 4 0 .600 217 205 5 2 0 .714 174 147 Won 2
Bowling Green 5 5 0 .500 242 243 4 3 0 .571 155 162 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 5 6 0 .454 233 258 3 5 0 .375 151 191 Lost 3
Central Michigan 2 8 0 .200 150 289 1 7 0 .125 85 238 Won 1
Ball State 1 10 0 .090 149 329 1 7 0 .125 104 230 Lost 2   

Next weeks Schedule
#16 Northern Illinois at #13 Toledo (TV1)
Bowling Green at Western Michigan
Central Michigan at Louisian-Monroe

Well this game decides who goes on to play Miami (OH) for the MAC title. This game will be a watershed moment in my tenure here at Northern Illinois. Toledo is a very strong team. They are 8th in the nation on 3rd down conversions (46%). They are 1st in the nation on forcing opponents to 4th down (21.7%). They are 2nd in the nation in pass defense. Our omly saving graces are they will turn the ball over and we should be able to grind some yardage out in the running game. This will be one hell of a fight. We should get to a bowl this year, but I want a division title and a chance to win the MAC.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 14

Northern Illinois 34 Toledo 13
Record Overall 10-1 MAC South 8-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 20/34 239yds 2TD

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 23att 109yds 1TD
HB Rufus Baxter 5att 63yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 5cat 86yds 1TD rushing
WR Grady Kemp 4cat 34yds 1TD
HB Steven Rasmussen 3cat 23yds

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 11tack 1ast
FS Conrad JohnSy 7tack 1int
DT Ross Porter 4tack 3ast

Recap
We win the MAC South title! Thing were not looking good early as Toledo went into halftime with a 13-0 lead. In the locker room I lit into my team something fierce. I could not believe how flat my team came out. They obviously responded by scoring 34 unanswered points. Heck of a game by our defense. They shut down a potent Toledo offense. And our offense was spectacular. CB Barry Peterson got his 7th interception for the year returning it for his 3rd TD this year. Below is the game summary:

Team Statistics NILL TOLE

First Downs 21 20

Total Rushes 36 28
Net Rushing Yards 172 42
Yards Per Carry 4.7 1.5
Rushing Yards 189 69
Tckld Loss/Yards 5-6 10-21
Sacked/Yards Lost 2-11 1-6

Pass Attempts 34 39
Completions 20 17
Passing Yards 239 236
Yards Per Attempt 7.0 6.0
Interceptions 0 3
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 0/0

Total Plays 70 67
Total Yards 411 278
Yards Per Play 5.8 4.1

3rd Down Plays 9/17 2/13

Penalties 10 7
Penalty Yards 84 48

Avg. Drive Start OWN 28 OWN 30
Time Of Possession 30:58 29:02

Injuries
TE Dean Getson - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 17 weeks
HB Hugh Horn - Broken Tibia - Out 16 weeks
OLB Jonathan Thiele - Torn Wrist Tendon - Out
CB Doug Euell - Broken Clavicle - Out 9 weeks
DE Sammt Tuttle - Dislocated Knee - Out
QB Mo Livesay - Severe Hamstring Pull - Prob Unknown
DT Roman Lovelace - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 1 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Bruised Shoulder

OUCH!!!!! We got destroyed by injuries. And we play Miami(OH) for the MAC title. This is not good. And our starting QB has a severe pull vice a strain now.

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
N/A

MAC South Scoreboard
#16 Northern Illinois 34 #13 Toledo 13
Western Michigan 31 Bowling Green 21
Louisiana-Monroe 24 Central Michigan 8

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 10 1 0 .909 338 149 8 0 0 1.000 259 65 Won 10
Toledo 8 3 0 .727 312 187 6 2 0 .750 222 133 Lost 1
Western Michigan 7 4 0 .636 248 226 6 2 0 .750 205 168 Won 3
Bowling Green 5 6 0 .454 263 274 4 4 0 .500 176 193 Lost 2
Eastern Michigan 5 6 0 .454 233 258 3 5 0 .375 151 191 Lost 3
Central Michigan 2 9 0 .181 158 313 1 7 0 .125 85 238 Lost 1
Ball State 1 10 0 .090 149 329 1 7 0 .125 104 230 Lost 2

Next weeks Schedule
#15 Northern Illinois vs #17 Miami(OH) (TV3)

Well this is for all of the marbles. We are playing for our first MAC title. The kids have been focused all week and I expect a heck of a game. The 10-1 Miami(OH) team are very strong everywhere except in pass defense. The can run on you, pass on you and rush the passer with very good success. We will have to play a flawless game to win and go on to play in the Amber Frey Bowl.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 14

Northern Illinois 24 Miami(OH) 21
Record Overall 11-1 MAC South 9-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 11/22 110yds 1INT

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 28att 70yds 2TD
HB Rufus Baxter 1att 1yds

Receiving
HB Steven Rasmussen 4cat 20yds
WR Grady Kemp 3cat 35yds
WR Grant Kaplan 2cat 22yds

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 7tack 1ast 2sack
OLB Tommy Washington 7tack 1ast 2sack
SS Maurice Shaffer 7tack 4ast 1 sack 1int 1TD

Recap
We win the MAC title! Very improbable win. We were outgained 328yds to 160yds, yet we manage to win this game. Our defense it what won it for us. We got 8 sacks and 4 turnovers. We ran back an interception for a TD. Even though we have a ton of injuries, players like Freshman OLB Washington stepped up and played a monster of a game. I am proud of what our kids accomplished and where our program is going forward. We have a ton of talent with more coming in. We should compete for the MAC title every year going forward.

Injuries
TE Dean Getson - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 17 weeks
HB Hugh Horn - Broken Tibia - Out 16 weeks
OLB Jonathan Thiele - Torn Wrist Tendon - Out
CB Doug Euell - Broken Clavicle - Out 9 weeks
DE Sammt Tuttle - Dislocated Knee - Out 7 weeks
DT Ross Porter - Hip Pointer - Doub 9 weeks
DT Roman Lovelace - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 1 weeks

Now we lose our best DT. Sucks.

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
ILB Artie Simmons (6'0" 207lbs) - Midlothian, IL - Overall UR, position UR
QB Dwight Hodges (6'3" 191lbs) - Noble, IL - Overall UR, position UR

MAC South Scoreboard
#15 Northern Illinois 24 #17 Miami(OH) 21

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 11 1 0 .916 362 170 8 0 0 1.000 259 65 Won 11
Toledo 8 3 0 .727 312 187 6 2 0 .750 222 133 Lost 1
Western Michigan 7 4 0 .636 248 226 6 2 0 .750 205 168 Won 3
Bowling Green 5 6 0 .454 263 274 4 4 0 .500 176 193 Lost 2
Eastern Michigan 5 6 0 .454 233 258 3 5 0 .375 151 191 Lost 3
Central Michigan 2 9 0 .181 158 313 1 7 0 .125 85 238 Lost 1
Ball State 1 10 0 .090 149 329 1 7 0 .125 104 230 Lost 2  

Next weeks Schedule
#13 Northern Illinois vs Nebraska (TV1)

We now get to reap the rewards of our successful season by traveling to San Jose, CA to play the 6-5 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Amber Frey Bowl. The MAC has not won this game since I joined this team, so we will look to win this one and put the MAC on the map. Nebraska's strength is their powerful running game and stifling run defense (4th in the nation). They are not a good passing team at all and their secondary is very suspect. With QB Mo Livesay healthy again, we should be able to pass on these guys and win this game. If we win this game, dare I say we may finish in the top ten in the rankings? Finishing 12-1 should do it.

[Dolemite73]

Here are the bowl matchups (MAC teams playing are bolded) and other stuff:

Game Matchup
Solecismic Bowl California-Los Angeles (11-0) vs Georgia (12-0)
Angelica Bowl Colorado (12-0) vs Miami of Florida (11-0)
Sinclair Lewis Bowl Michigan (10-1) vs Ohio State (9-2)
Dore Schary Bowl Air Force (10-1) vs Texas Christian (10-1)
Edible Fruit Bowl Penn State (8-3) vs Virginia Tech (9-2)
Neverending Hype Bowl Oklahoma (9-3) vs Washington State (9-2)
Medicine Bowl North Carolina State (8-3) vs Texas (8-3)
Belle of the Bowl West Virginia (10-1) vs Arkansas (9-3)
Anachronism Bowl Michigan State (8-3) vs Utah (7-4)
Fair And Balanced Bowl Virginia (8-3) vs Stanford (6-5)
Bennifer Bowl Wisconsin (7-4) vs Tennessee (9-2)
Corporate Entity Bowl Georgia Tech (7-4) vs Southern Mississippi (8-3)
Smoking Cessation Bowl Kansas State (6-5) vs Miami of Ohio (10-2)
Forged Document Bowl San Diego State (7-4) vs Notre Dame (7-4)
Butterfly Ballot Bowl Florida (8-3) vs Toledo (8-3)
Generation Why Bowl South Carolina (7-4) vs Boise State (9-2)
Argyle Socks Bowl Oregon State (6-5) vs Brigham Young (6-5)
Amber Frey Bowl Nebraska (6-5) vs Northern Illinois (11-1)
Swift Boat Bowl Louisiana State (7-4) vs Rice (8-3)
Noreaster Bowl Pittsburgh (7-4) vs South Florida (6-5)
Unrequited Love Bowl Syracuse (6-5) vs Auburn (7-4)
Used Car Bowl Akron (7-4) vs Navy (6-5)
Happy Fun Bowl Utah State (8-3) vs Hickory (7-4)


Here is our incoming recruiting class:

Player Pos HT WT ST NRank Visiting
Campbell, Gino G 6-3 283 IL 7 Northern Illinois (committe
Swift, Mack K 5-11 175 IN 22 Northern Illinois (committe
Hodges, Donovan G 6-4 277 IL 33 Northern Illinois (committe
Cochrane, Vincent RB 5-10 203 IL 37 Northern Illinois (committe
Spencer, Percy OLB 6-2 225 IL 83 Northern Illinois (committe
Bennett, Kris CB 6-0 180 IL 116 Northern Illinois (committe
Fujimoto, Walt DT 6-1 258 IL 144 Northern Illinois (committe
Batista, Walter DE 6-3 243 IL 161 Northern Illinois (committe
Blades, Terrance OLB 6-1 212 IL 175 Northern Illinois (committe
Diz Pardo, Myron WR 5-10 170 IL 238 Northern Illinois (committe
Zuccato, Kent DE 6-1 215 MI 440 Northern Illinois (committe
Coltharp, William TE 6-4 235 IL 534 Northern Illinois (committe
Levine, J.T. S 6-0 179 WI 574 Northern Illinois (committe
Stevenson, Randall T 6-7 303 IN 881 Northern Illinois (committe
Simmons, Artie ILB 6-0 207 IL --- Northern Illinois (committe
Hodges, Dwight QB 6-3 191 IL --- Northern Illinois (committe

Probably my strongest class, especially at the top.

[Dolemite73]

Ugly, ugly game. We went into halftime leading 17-14. Nebraska's depth wore us down at the end. The particulars are below:

The College Years
Box Score: Nebraska vs Northern Illinois
San Jose, CA.

Amber Frey Bowl, 2007

Attendance: 36,700 (60,500).


Weather: 48 degrees, fair.

1Q: 11:02 NILL - Bobby Owens 38 field goal.
2Q: 06:38 NEBR - Edward Jeffries 28 pass from Shawn Griffin.
2Q: 06:38 NEBR - Stanley Herndon extra point.
2Q: 05:47 NILL - Steven Rasmussen 82 run.
2Q: 05:47 NILL - Bobby Owens extra point.
2Q: 01:28 NILL - Barry Peterson 76 interception return.
2Q: 01:28 NILL - Bobby Owens extra point.
2Q: 00:27 NEBR - Ted Ciurciu 17 run.
2Q: 00:27 NEBR - Stanley Herndon extra point.
4Q: 13:25 NEBR - Craig Lynch 20 run.
4Q: 13:25 NEBR - Stanley Herndon extra point.
4Q: 02:15 NEBR - Craig Lynch 6 pass from Shawn Griffin.
4Q: 02:15 NEBR - Stanley Herndon extra point.
4Q: 00:13 NEBR - Stanley Herndon 22 field goal.

Game MVP: NEBR 40 Craig Lynch

Nebraska 0 14 0 17 - 31
Northern Illinois 3 14 0 0 - 17


Out of CB Peterson's 8 interceptions, he ran back 5 for TD's, a college football record!

Stats

Team Statistics NEBR NILL

First Downs 29 8

Total Rushes 56 24
Net Rushing Yards 334 128
Yards Per Carry 5.9 5.3
Rushing Yards 360 156
Tckld Loss/Yards 5-8 4-12
Sacked/Yards Lost 3-18 2-16

Pass Attempts 30 21
Completions 14 10
Passing Yards 198 92
Yards Per Attempt 6.6 4.3
Interceptions 1 0
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 2/1

Total Plays 86 45
Total Yards 532 220
Yards Per Play 6.1 4.8

3rd Down Plays 7/16 1/11

Penalties 8 3
Penalty Yards 47 32

Avg. Drive Start OWN 32 OWN 31
Time Of Possession 39:34 20:26



Two things stand out. Only 8 first downs and they almost doubled our time of possession. They ran all over us too.

[Dolemite73]

Here is how the bowls turned out:

Game Matchup
Solecismic Bowl Georgia (13-0) 19, California-Los Angeles (11-1) 14
Angelica Bowl Miami of Florida (12-0) 31, Colorado (12-1) 17
Sinclair Lewis Bowl Michigan (11-1) 17, Ohio State (9-3) 14
Dore Schary Bowl Texas Christian (11-1) 50, Air Force (10-2) 16
Edible Fruit Bowl Virginia Tech (10-2) 41, Penn State (8-4) 38
Neverending Hype Bowl Washington State (10-2) 24, Oklahoma (9-4) 20
Medicine Bowl Texas (9-3) 28, North Carolina State (8-4) 23
Belle of the Bowl Arkansas (10-3) 49, West Virginia (10-2) 41
Anachronism Bowl Michigan State (9-3) 48, Utah (7-5) 0
Fair And Balanced Bowl Stanford (7-5) 20, Virginia (8-4) 14
Bennifer Bowl Tennessee (10-2) 56, Wisconsin (7-5) 28
Corporate Entity Bowl Georgia Tech (8-4) 25, Southern Mississippi (8-4) 19
Smoking Cessation Bowl Kansas State (7-5) 24, Miami of Ohio (10-3) 16
Forged Document Bowl Notre Dame (8-4) 41, San Diego State (7-5) 10
Butterfly Ballot Bowl Florida (9-3) 55, Toledo (8-4) 7
Generation Why Bowl South Carolina (8-4) 27, Boise State (9-3) 3
Argyle Socks Bowl Oregon State (7-5) 27, Brigham Young (6-6) 20
Amber Frey Bowl Nebraska (7-5) 31, Northern Illinois (11-2) 17
Swift Boat Bowl Louisiana State (8-4) 42, Rice (8-4) 14
Noreaster Bowl South Florida (7-5) 28, Pittsburgh (7-5) 14
Unrequited Love Bowl Auburn (8-4) 24, Syracuse (6-6) 17
Used Car Bowl Akron (8-4) 30, Navy (6-6) 27
Happy Fun Bowl Utah State (9-3) 38, Hickory (7-5) 20
As you can see the MAC has a little more work to do in order to compete against the stronger conferences.


2007 Final Team Stats
2007 Summary for Northern Illinois

Record: 11-2
Rank: 15 (Heck of a year. I will take Top 15 every year!)

Northern Illinois Team Rank
Rushes 442 33 (T)
Rushing Yards 1682 33
Yards Per Carry 3.80 44 (T)
Pass Attempts 358 41
Completions 221 25
Passing Yards 2767 33
Yards Per Attempt 7.72 34 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 39.6 31
Points Per Game 29.1 34
Turnovers 13 12 (T)
Turnover Margin +18 7

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 454 118
Rushing Yards 1334 52
Yards Per Carry 2.93 28 (T)
Pass Attempts 362 91 (T)
Completions 183 61
Passing Yards 2434 67 (T)
Yards Per Attempt 6.72 43
3rd Down Conversions 32.7 45
Points Per Game 15.4 9
Turnovers 31 10 (T)

Primary Formation: Pro Formation

Week Team Versus Oppnt
2 14 at TXCH (7) 48
4 23 at FLST (51) 20
5 17 at KENT (75) 10
6 42 at GOLD (87) 16
7 40 EMIC (83) 7
8 38 at CFLA (90) 15
9 27 at CMIC (111) 7
11 38 WMIC (40) 7
12 27 BALL (123) 3
13 38 BOWG (63) 3
14 34 at TOLE (29) 13
15 24 vs MIAO (26) 21
16 17 vs NEBR (22) 31

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
12 Livesay QB 354 219 2740 7.74 18 10
Team --- 358 221 2767 7.72 18 10

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Stff YdLst
26 Rasmussen RB 315 1399 4.44 17 79 108
32 Horn RB 57 338 5.92 3 15 5
12 Livesay QB 48 -172 -3.58 0 39 209
Team --- 442 1682 3.80 21 139 327

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
3 Kaplan WR 88 49 730 14.8 259 5
1 Kemp WR 72 45 733 16.2 254 6
26 Rasmussen RB 60 37 291 7.8 178 1
35 Mattes FB 39 27 253 9.3 172 1
92 Williamson TE 30 16 179 11.1 45 0
82 Ponzo WR 18 12 174 14.5 85 3
Team --- 358 221 2767 12.5 1166 18

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack TFL Ints Defn
56 Crane ILB 94 27 8.0 18 3 11
33 JohnSy S 63 24 0.0 13 5 6
23 Shaffer S 60 30 1.0 8 3 8
55 Walters OLB 55 23 4.0 11 1 0
76 Small DE 53 17 9.5 18 0 1
96 Porter DT 45 20 3.0 15 0 0
48 Peterson CB 36 15 0.0 4 9 8
52 Thiele OLB 31 11 3.0 6 0 2
70 Lovelace DT 28 12 7.0 11 0 0
29 Cunningham CB 27 10 0.0 3 1 3
27 Grey CB 21 9 0.0 0 1 2
95 Tuttle DE 14 5 4.0 5 0 0
40 Washington OLB 14 5 2.0 4 0 1
73 Lynn DT 13 6 0.0 3 0 0
Team --- 718 248 50.0 130 26 48
And our award winners:

College Football All American 2nd Team
CB Barry Peterson

College Football All Academic Team
P Geoff Davison

MAC First Team
HB Steven Rasmussen
OT Timothy Billingsley
P Geoff Davison
DE Aaron Small
DT Roman Lovelace
CB Barry Peterson

MAC Second Team
QB Mo Livesay
WR Grant Kaplan
OG Corwin McCarthy
DT Ross Porter

MAC Academic Team
WR Grant Kaplan
TE Blaine Williamson
OG Corwin McCarthy
P Geoff Davison
K Bobby Owens I think ILB Corey Crane got hosed. He had a heck of a year.

[Dolemite73]

Here are our draft eligible seniors:

Player # Pos Elig Current Estimate Future Estimate
Barrett, Ike 7 P Sr 26 53
Bensen, Will 94 DE Sr 16 25
Darusmont, Will 97 ILB Sr 11 42
Dickens, Alex 98 OLB* Sr 13 38
Getson, Dean 88 TE Sr 44 57
Hoffman, Toby 50 C Sr 28 48
Jamison, Morris 91 DE Sr 16 19
Kafka, J.B. 54 OLB Sr 9 29
Porter, Ross 96 DT Sr 32 66
Scott, Walter 8 QB Sr 26 38
Sotelo, Winston 28 S Sr 9 18
Tate, J.R. 90 DT Sr 19 19
Zulkowski, Todd 81 TE Sr 21 21
Haber, Warren 64 T Sr 22 50
Hanson, Mel 67 T* Sr 16 47
Mansour, Edgar 30 CB* Sr 14 18
Mattes, Les 35 FB Sr 24 30
Walton, Brandon 60 G Sr 23 23

DT Porter may have a chance, but I don't see any of these kids making it. Will see what happens in FOF.

[Dolemite73]

TCY Today ranks my recruiting class 4th in the nation. Illinois is ranked 55th and Northwestern is ranked 81st. My in-state recruiting dominance continues.

[Dolemite73]

We have our first Northern Illinois Huskies in the NFL. DT Ross Porter, who had a very nice career with us, was drafted in the 7th round by the Cincinnati Bengals. He signed a 3yr/1.74 million dollar contract. Will follow his career at the end of every season.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Northern Illinois Huskies

Last year was my most successful season so far. We finished 11-2, won the MAC title and had one heck of an incoming Freshman class. Now it is time to set my sights bigger. We want to dominate our division, win the MAC and hopefully, challenge for a National title. Improbable? Of course. But we need something higher for our kids to aim for.

The only staff member I lose is my Mid-West Scout. Since I won 11 games last year, I can now recruit up to 450 miles away from campus. This scout will now be critical. A self imposed restriction on my recruiting zone is I can only go after kids that are in the Rivals Top 100 outside of 250 miles.

[Dolemite73]

Livesay, Mo 12 QB Sr* 60 60
Grant, Isaac 6 QB Jr* 24 60
Galloway, Jeffrey 5 QB* Sr 11 13
Bohme, Earnest 15 QB* Sr 11 16
Goetz, Isaac 10 QB* So* 10 36


None of my recruited QB's have developed. Need to find Livesay's ultimate replacement, so this will be the priority in recruiting this year.

Baxter, Rufus 36 RB Sr 37 46
Horn, Hugh 32 RB Sr* 41 64
Salter, Ray 46 RB Sr 12 24
Rasmussen, Steven 26 RB Jr* 70 88
Cochrane, Vincent 34 RB Fr 42 100
Quick, Bennie 39 RB* Sr* 9 17


We are deep here. And Cochrane has potential out of the world. He may even be better than Rasmussen come next year.

Weber, Curtis 31 FB So 18 43
Nestor, Kendrick 20 FB* Jr 4 22
Lissvall, Jose 86 FB* So 11 11


Nothing special here.

Hartings, Preston 87 TE Sr* 27 44
Williamson, Blaine 92 TE Jr* 47 47
Coltharp, William 91 TE Fr 29 64


We are set up nicely for the future here.

Kaplan, Grant 3 WR Sr 72 75
Kemp, Grady 1 WR Jr 49 49
Barnes, Corey 84 WR So 18 38
Ponzo, Melvin 82 WR So 24 71
Diz Pardo, Myron 2 WR Fr 34 76
Finley, Archie 85 WR* Sr 3 3
Polifka, Gerald 9 WR* Sr 3 27


This is Kaplan's last year, so getting one of the youngsters to develop here is critical. Will keep this a priority for recruiting.

Campbell, Stanley 58 C Sr* 65 96
Smith, Jake 59 C Jr* 14 14
Fisk, Clarence 77 C So* 27 84
Boehner, Dwight 71 G Sr 46 54
McCarthy, Corwin 74 G Sr* 63 63
Morris, Gilbert 72 G Jr* 25 74
Campbell, Gino 64 G Fr 11 62
Hodges, Donovan 63 G Fr 37 96
Harper, Kendall 69 T Sr* 61 64
Billingsley, Timothy 66 T Sr 59 65
Hemond, Harvey 65 T Jr* 33 83
Clinton, Jumbo 68 T So* 17 75
Stevenson, Randall 62 T Fr 14 58
Hanson, Mel 67 T* Sr 17 47


I need some development to happen here. Got a lot of potential, but no one is ready to step in for the departing seniors. Will keep trying to find talent here. I want my lines strong.

[Dolemite73]

Small, Aaron 76 DE Sr* 62 62
Tuttle, Sammy 95 DE Jr* 52 77
Levine, Christian 79 DE Jr* 44 80
Harris, Adam 93 DE So* 26 41
Gay, Kris 78 DE* So 20 42
Zuccato, Kent 97 DE Fr 20 81
Batista, Walter 90 DE Fr 15 82

Extremely pleased with this unit, with 2 super redshirts waiting in the wings.

Lovelace, Roman 70 DT Sr* 79 79
Lynn, Rondell 73 DT Jr* 25 74
Walters, Tommie 75 DT So 20 85
Fujimoto, Walt 98 DT Fr 22 73
Hall, Leslie 99 DT* Jr* 11 11

Lovelace is a beast. Lynn steps in to try to replace Ross Porter from last year. There will be a drop off in play here. Kids need to develop. A recruiting priority.

Crane, Corey 56 ILB Jr* 58 85
Witherspoon, Mario 41 ILB Jr* 21 21
Wheeler, Jim 53 ILB So 24 61
Stewart, Marlon 44 ILB* Jr 8 18
Simmons, Artie 96 ILB* Fr 5 20

Crane was excellent for us last year. We look for his replacement next year though.

Berry, Adam 47 OLB Sr* 45 61
Walters, Dave 55 OLB Sr 35 76
Garrison, Rico 45 OLB Jr* 26 50
Thiele, Jonathan 52 OLB So 61 61
Washington, Tommy 40 OLB So 29 47
Blades, Terrance 94 OLB Fr 25 78
Spencer, Percy 54 OLB Fr 19 91

We are young and deep here. Thiele had huge development (going from 28/60 to 60/60). I expect big things from him this year after a quiet season last year.

Cunningham, Gilbert 29 CB Sr* 46 46
Peterson, Barry 48 CB Sr* 58 58
Grey, Quinn 27 CB So 28 53
Bennett, Kris 25 CB Fr 22 66
Kozhin, Bernie 22 CB* Sr 17 21
Euell, Doug 21 CB* Sr 5 5
Need to get a little more depth here. Will be a recruiting priority.

JohnSy, Conrad 33 S Sr* 70 75
Demps, Russell 42 S Jr 21 42
Shaffer, Maurice 23 S Jr* 51 96
Price, Jeff 24 S So 42 82
Levine, J.T. 30 S Fr 30 69
Campbell, Dale 49 S* Sr 7 17
Zimmerman, Gilbert 43 S* Sr 3 11

Need a little more depth here. Shaffer has been on academic notice in the past so we may lose him if he does not get his act together.

[Dolemite73]

Owens, Bobby 11 K So 22 75
Swift, Mack 18 K Fr 44 81
Kelley, Howie 16 K* Sr* 13 13

Going with the Freshman.

Davison, Geoff 4 P Sr 62 62
Wilcox, Kenneth 17 P Jr* 58 73
Hodges, Dwight 7 P* Fr 0 6

Actually got a player from Troy wanting to transfer to my school. First time I have seen that. Too bad he does not help me at his position (Center), plus he is a subpar student. My recruiting focus will be on QB, WR, DT, CB and S. If I find players in my region from the other positions, great.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Preseason Top 25 and MAC Preview:

School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Georgia 0-0 SEC 1.00 1.00 0.00 2.08 4.08 1
Michigan 0-0 B10 2.00 2.00 0.00 0.52 4.52 2
Ohio State 0-0 B10 4.00 3.50 0.00 0.68 8.18 3
California-Los Angeles 0-0 P10 5.00 5.50 0.00 1.92 12.42 4
Tennessee 0-0 SEC 3.00 7.50 0.00 2.20 12.70 5
Florida 0-0 SEC 6.00 5.00 0.00 2.04 13.04 6
Florida State 0-0 ACC 8.00 6.50 0.00 0.12 14.62 7
Nebraska 0-0 B12 7.00 7.50 0.00 1.04 15.54 8
Colorado 0-0 B12 9.00 12.50 0.00 0.84 22.34 9
Miami of Florida 0-0 ACC 11.00 12.00 0.00 1.36 24.36 10
Kansas State 0-0 B12 10.00 15.00 0.00 0.96 25.96 11
Texas 0-0 B12 12.00 13.00 0.00 1.20 26.20 12
Penn State 0-0 B10 16.00 11.50 0.00 0.72 28.22 13
Louisiana State 0-0 SEC 15.00 12.00 0.00 2.40 29.40 14
Virginia Tech 0-0 ACC 14.00 15.50 0.00 1.56 31.06 15
Oklahoma 0-0 B12 13.00 17.00 0.00 1.12 31.12 16
Texas Christian 0-0 USA 18.00 14.50 0.00 3.16 35.66 17
Utah 0-0 MOW 19.00 14.50 0.00 2.76 36.26 18
Washington State 0-0 P10 17.00 17.50 0.00 2.00 36.50 19
West Virginia 0-0 BEA 20.00 17.50 0.00 1.60 39.10 20
North Carolina State 0-0 ACC 22.00 22.00 0.00 0.28 44.28 21
Michigan State 0-0 B10 21.00 24.00 0.00 0.56 45.56 22
Virginia 0-0 ACC 23.00 26.00 0.00 0.32 49.32 23
Arkansas 0-0 SEC 24.00 25.00 0.00 2.32 51.32 24
Georgia Tech 0-0 ACC 28.00 23.50 0.00 0.16 51.66 25

We finished 15th last year, only loss two starters out of my starting 22 but we are not in the preseason top 25? Hmmmm.

MAC North
School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Miami of Ohio 0-0 MAC 44.00 47.00 0.00 3.84 94.84 45
Marshall 0-0 MAC 48.00 48.00 0.00 3.80 99.80 50
Buffalo 0-0 MAC 52.00 48.00 0.00 3.72 103.72 51
Akron 0-0 MAC 60.00 56.50 0.00 3.64 120.14 58
Kent State 0-0 MAC 74.00 68.00 0.00 3.76 145.76 73
Central Florida 0-0 MAC 92.00 89.50 0.00 4.44 185.94 92
Ohio 0-0 MAC 125.00125.000.00 3.88 253.88 125

MAC South
School Record Conf Comp Poll Loss Sched Total Rank
Toledo 0-0 MAC 32.00 35.00 0.00 4.08 71.08 34
Northern Illinois 0-0 MAC 41.00 46.00 0.00 4.04 91.04 43
Western Michigan 0-0 MAC 45.00 50.50 0.00 4.12 99.62 49
Bowling Green 0-0 MAC 61.00 51.50 0.00 3.68 116.18 55
Eastern Michigan 0-0 MAC 91.00 81.50 0.00 4.00 176.50 85
Ball State 0-0 MAC 122.00115.000.00 3.92 240.92 121
Central Michigan 0-0 MAC 121.00121.000.00 3.96 245.96 123

[Dolemite73]

2008 Northern Illinois Huskies Schedule

Week Opponent Result Attendance Weather Television
2 at (17) Washington State
3 LOUISIANA TECH
4 EASTERN MICHIGAN
5 at (48) Marshall
6 at Goldsboro
8 at Ohio
9 at Central Michigan
11 (45) WESTERN MICHIGAN
12 BALL STATE
13 at (32) Toledo
14 BOWLING GREEN
Much better schedule than the nightmare schedule last year (6 out of first 7 games on the road). Have a tough stretch of 4 straight road games here, but 3 of them are against bad teams. 9-2 is very doable.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Preseason

Recruiting

Visits
None

Commits
None

Lots of good players in state this year. The LB's are especially talented. Will have to go out of state to find a good CB though.

MAC South Scoreboard
N/A

MAC South Standings
N/A


Next weeks Schedule
Eastern Michigan at #12 Texas
Bowling Green at Colorado State

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 1

BYE
Record Overall 0-0 MAC South 0-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
N/A

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
N/A

MAC South Scoreboard
#12 Texas 49 Eastern Michigan 24
Colorado State 21 Bowling Green 18

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Western Michigan 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 3
Ball State 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Northern Illinois 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Central Michigan 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Toledo 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Bowling Green 0 1 0 .000 18 21 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3
Eastern Michigan 0 1 0 .000 24 49 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 4

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at Washington State (TV5)
Toledo at San Diego State
Ball State at Tulane
Central Michigan at Ashville
Idaho at Eastern Michigan

We travel to Pullman, WA to take on the Washington State Cougars this week. We matchup very well with them. Their strength is their all-world QB (Christian Derricott 78/89). Last year, he threw for close to 3,400 yards, threw 32 TD and 9 INT. We have to stop him. Their offensive line is fairly weak, especially at the Guard position, so I expect DT Roman Lovelace to have a huge game. On defense, they are fairly balance with their secondary their weakest spot. This should be a good game.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 2

Washington State 47 Northern Illinois 20
Record Overall 0-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 16/32 213yds 2TD 3INT

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 22att 110yds
HB Hugh Horn 5att 11yds

Receiving
WR Melvin Ponzo 4cat 78yds
WR Grant Kaplan 4cat 56yds
WR Grady Kemp 3cat 71yds

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 14tack 2ast 1sack
DT Roman Lovelace 7tack 1.5sack
DE Sammy Tuttle 5tack 1ast 1sack

Recap
Turnovers did us in this game. We had 4 turnovers. Washington State scored TD's on every one of them. Offensively, we struggled. QB Livesay was not very accurate and could not keep his offense on the field to wear down the Cougar defense. Our Offensive line gave up 3 sacks and allowed their QB to be hurried 5 times. Tough to win with that effort.
Defensively, we could not stop the Washington State passing game. Cougar QB Christian Derricott was unstoppable (17/26 341yds 4TD). We did shut down the Washington State running game (65yds) and also got good consistant pressure on the QB (5 sacks).

Injuries
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Back - Out 7 weeks

Huge injury. He is our best playmaker in the passing game. Though WR Melvin Ponzo has a lot of ability, he is no Kaplan. He will have to step up.

Recruiting

Visits
OLB Clarence McLain (6'1" 210lbs) - Chester, IL - Overall 31, position 2

Commits
N/A

This kid is the best player in Illinois. A 2-way star (TE and OLB), he is having a monster year (6 games, 67tack 5.5sack 2int and 14cat 243yds 2TD). Would love to get this kid and add him to my deep LB section.

MAC South Scoreboard
Washington State 47 Northern Illinois 20
San Diego State 45 Toledo 17
Tulane 56 Ball State 35
Asheville 27 Central Michigan 23
Eastern Michigan 20 Idaho 12

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Eastern Michigan 1 1 0 .500 44 61 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Western Michigan 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 3
Bowling Green 0 1 0 .000 18 21 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3
Northern Illinois 0 1 0 .000 20 47 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Central Michigan 0 1 0 .000 23 27 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Ball State 0 1 0 .000 35 56 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3
Toledo 0 1 0 .000 17 45 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3

Next weeks Schedule
Lousiana Tech at Northern Illinois (-9)
Ball State at Duke (-3)
Western Michigan at #2 Michigan (-5)
Bowling Green at Auburn (-3)

Potential for some really good games this week. And Michigan only being favored by 5 points over Western Michigan is very interesting. We play the 1-1 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs travel to DeKalb to face us. The Bulldogs features a pretty tough Flexbone running attack. On the defensive side of the ball, they are pretty weak and have real trouble stopping the run. We will try to take advantage of that.

[Dolemite73]

2007 Week 3

Northern Illinois 21 Louisiana Tech 14
Record Overall 1-1 MAC South 0-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 18/30 251yds 2TD

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 35att 218yds
HB Hugh Horn 3att 5yds

Receiving
WR Corey Barnes 4cat 56yds 1TD
HB Steven Rasmussen 4cat 38yds
WR Grady Kemp 3cat 55yds

Defense
FS Conrad JohnSy 6tack 1ast
DT Roman Lovelace 5tack 2ast .5sack
ILB Corey Crane 5tack 3ast

Recap
We grinded this game out. This was a tough, gritty game.

Offensively, we played well. QB Livesay had a very good game and played off of our punishing running game very well with the play-action pass. HB Steven Rasmussen was unstoppable. And our Offensive line dominated the Louisiana Tech defensive front.

Defensively, atoned for our dismal performance from last week. We held the Bulldog offense to 111 passing yard (though they did game 143 yards on the ground). We got a timely interception at the end of the game to seal the victory and got 2 sacks on their QB.

Injuries
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Back - Out 6 weeks
WR Grady Kemp - Sprained Knee - Ques 2 weeks

May have to start focusing more on the run due to the injuries to my starting WR's.

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
N/A

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 21 Lousiana Tech 14
Ball State 45 Duke 24
#2 Michigan 28 Western Michigan 27
Auburn 45 Bowling Green 42

Some really good games this week. Western Michigan maybe a team to reckon with going forward. Going into Ann Arbor and playing the Wolverines so tight is a concern for our team.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Eastern Michigan 1 1 0 .500 44 61 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Ball State 1 1 0 .500 80 80 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Northern Illinois 1 1 0 .500 41 61 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Western Michigan 0 1 0 .000 27 28 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 1
Central Michigan 0 1 0 .000 23 27 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Toledo 0 1 0 .000 17 45 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3
Bowling Green 0 2 0 .000 60 66 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 4

Next weeks Schedule
Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois (-15) (TV5)
Toledo at Alabama (-5)
Western Michigan at Washington (-3)
Bowling Green at #25 South Florida (-4)
Central Michigan (-3) at Goldsboro

Eastern Michigan comes to DeKalb this week. They feature a a decent offense and a below average defense. They are extremely bad at stopping the run (118th in the nation), so we will definitely use our advantage there.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 4

Northern Illinois 24 Eastern Michigan 21
Record Overall 2-1 MAC South 1-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 18/28 265yds 2TD 3INT

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 32att 126yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 4att 4yds

Receiving
WR Melvin Ponzo 7cat 122yds 1TD
HB Steven Rasmussen 5cat 32yds
WR Grady Kemp 4cat 74yds 1TD

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 8tack 1ast 1sack
FS Conrad JohnSy 8tack 2ast
DT Roman Lovelace 4tack 2ast 2sack

Recap
Nice way to begin MAC play. Was a struggle, but in the end, our talented defense held strong.

Offensively, it was a mixed bag. Though our offense played well in spurts, we have yet to put an entire good game together. The 3 interceptions hurt us and made this game a lot closer than it should have been. WR Ponzo has been a revelation. He has stepped up big time for the injured WR Kaplan. The Offensive line struggle opening holes all game (2.8 YPC).

Defensively, we played very well. Eastern Michigan only gained 191 total yards on the day. We held the the Eastern Michigan running attack to 1.0 YPC and only gave up 157 yards in the air. The only reason why this game was close was because of the short fields those interceptions caused.

Injuries
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Back - Out 5 weeks
DE Sammy Tuttle - Arthroscopic Knee Surgery - Out 5 weeks
WR Grady Kemp - Sprained Knee - Prob 1 week

Recruiting

Visits
ILB Randal Hodges (5'10" 206lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 20, position 2
DE Morris Gauthier (6'1" 235lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 40, position 4
QB Donnell Rickles (6'1" 203lbs) - Blue Island, IL - Overall 79, position 14
S Ike Morley (6'1" 186lbs) - Hillside, IL - Overall 86, position 5
OLB Donny Jacobs (5'10" 202lbs) - Hinsdale, IL - Overall 160, position 14
DT Jeff Horton (6'4" 266lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 255, position 11
C Emmanuel McKnight (6'4" 281lbs) - North Chicago, IL - Overall 292, position 14
T Al Arnold (6'3" 267lbs) - Dixon, IL - Overall 308, position 22
DT Mitchell Shelton (5'11" 242lbs) - Romeoville, IL - Overall 329, position 17


Commits
N/A

A lot of talent here. I love the LB's I am pursuing.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 24 Eastern Michigan 21
Toledo 27 Alabama 24
Washington 17 Western Michigan 11
South Florida 41 Bowling Green 9
Goldsboro 35 Central Michigan 21

I am noticing that the MAC is really starting to be able to compete with teams from the stronger conferences.

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 2 1 0 .666 65 82 1 0 0 1.000 24 21 Won 2
Ball State 1 1 0 .500 80 80 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Toledo 1 1 0 .500 44 69 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Won 1
Western Michigan 0 2 0 .000 38 45 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 2
Central Michigan 0 2 0 .000 44 62 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 3
Bowling Green 0 3 0 .000 69 107 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 5
Eastern Michigan 1 2 0 .333 65 85 0 1 0 .000 21 24 Lost 1   

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois at #21 Marshall (-4) (TV3)
Ball State at #19 Miami(OH) (-15)
Kent State (-4) at Toledo
Ohio (-11) at Central Michigan
Western Michigan (-7) at Central Florida

We travel to Huntington, WV to take on the 2-0 Marshall Thundering Herd. Marshall has a very balanced offense, with the ability to beat with the run and the pass. Defensively, they are very tough to throw on and cause a lot of turnovers. We have to establish our running game and play-action off of that.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 5

Northern Illinois 19 Marshall 14
Record Overall 3-1 MAC South 2-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 17/28 206yds 2TD

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 27att 112yds
HB Hugh Horn 6att 32yds

Receiving
HB Steven Rasmussen 5cat 27yds
WR Melvin Ponzo 4cat 39yds 1TD
WR Grady Kemp 2cat 57yds 1TD

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 7tack 1ast
OLB Adam Berry 6tack 1sack
DT Roman Lovelace 5tack 1ast 2sack

Recap
This win should propel us to a compete for the MAC title.

Offensively, we were balanced. We established the run and our play-action passing game was very effective, HB Rasmussen is proving to be one of the top runners in the country. And Livesay is starting to take better care of the ball.

Defensively, we are playing very well, especially against the run. Marshall only rushed for 41 yards. They were able to pass effectively against us (22/36 225 yds) but we stopped them when we needed too. Dt Lovelace is having a dominant year so far.

Injuries
DE Aaron Small - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 11 weeks
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Back - Out 4 weeks
DE Sammy Tuttle - Arthroscopic Knee Surgery - Out 4 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Pulled Groin - Doub 3 weeks
TE Blaine Williamson - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 1 week

This is not good at all. Both of my starting DE's are hurt (my best one for the year) and my starting QB is hurting.

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
S Ike Morley (6'1" 186lbs) - Hillside, IL - Overall 86, position 5

Got a good safety. He may be a start down the road.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 19 #21 Marshall 14
#19 Miami(OH) 32 Ball State 7
Toledo 31 Kent State 10
Central Michigan 34 Ohio 0
Western Michigan 41 Central Florida 3

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 3 1 0 .750 84 96 2 0 0 1.000 43 35 Won 3
Toledo 2 1 0 .666 75 79 1 0 0 1.000 31 10 Won 2
Western Michigan 1 2 0 .333 79 48 1 0 0 1.000 41 3 Won 1
Central Michigan 1 2 0 .333 78 62 1 0 0 1.000 34 0 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 2 2 0 .500 89 88 1 1 0 .500 45 27 Won 1
Bowling Green 0 3 0 .000 69 107 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Lost 5
Ball State 1 2 0 .333 87 112 0 1 0 .000 7 32 Lost 1

Next weeks Schedule
Northern Illinois (-21) at Goldsboro
Ball State at Charlotte (-24)
Eastern Michigan at Asheville (-3)
Loisiana-Lafayette at Toledo (-15)
#22 Notre Dame at Western Michigan (-2)

Western Michigan has a good chance of taking down Notre Dame. We travel to Goldsboro, NC to play our annual game with the 1-3 Goldsboro Pig Pickers. Goldsboro runs a Run and Shoot offense, but does not run it well. And defensively, they do not do a good job at anything run or pass.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 6

Northern Illinois 31 Goldsboro 14
Record Overall 4-1 MAC South 2-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 16/30 191yds 2TD 1int

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 32att 134yds
HB Hugh Horn 4att 37yds

Receiving
HB Steven Rasmussen 8cat 95yds 1TD
TE Blaine Williamson 3cat 33yds
WR Grady Kemp 3cat 39yds 1TD

Defense
SS Maurice Shaffer 5tack 2ast
ILB Corey Crane 4tack 1ast .5sack 1int 1TD
CB Gilbert Cunningham 4tack 2ast

Recap
Good solid win.

We controlled the line of scrimmage. HB Rasmussen was dominant and helped the Huskies control the clock to the tune of 36 minutes. QB Livesay was effective in the play-action game and helped moved the chains. Our Offesive line struggled a bit in pass protection (3 sacks).

Defensively, our pass defense carried the day. We intercepted the ball 3 times and held the Goldsboro passing game to 35% completions. Our run defense was a little shaky as times and needs to be tightened up.

Injuries
CB Gilbert Cunningham - Shoulder Surgery - Out 20 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 10 weeks
OLB Jonathan Thiele - Broken Ankle - 6 weeks
DE Sammy Tuttle - Arthroscopic Knee Surgery - Out 3 weeks
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Back - Ques 3 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Pulled Groin - Ques 2 weeks
TE Blaine Williamson - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 3 week

Ouch. Our defense is being decimated by injuries. Hopefully our depth is there to keep things going. This upcoming bye week is badly needed.

Recruiting

Visits
OLB Clarence McLain (6'1" 210lbs) - Chester, IL - Overall 31, position 2

Commits
N/A

Getting McLain would be huge for our defense.

MAC South Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 31 Goldsboro 14
Charlotte 31 Ball State 21
Eastern Michigan 38 Asheville 35
Toledo 23 Loisiana-Lafayette 17
#22 Notre Dame 24 Western Michigan 20

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 4 1 0 .800 115 110 2 0 0 1.000 43 35 Won 4
Toledo 3 1 0 .750 98 96 1 0 0 1.000 31 10 Won 3
Western Michigan 1 3 0 .250 99 72 1 0 0 1.000 41 3 Lost 1
Bowling Green 1 3 0 .250 117 120 1 0 0 1.000 48 13 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 3 2 0 .600 127 123 1 1 0 .500 45 27 Won 2
Central Michigan 1 3 0 .250 91 110 1 1 0 .500 47 48 Lost 1
Ball State 1 3 0 .250 108 143 0 1 0 .000 7 32 Lost 2 

Next weeks Schedule
Western Michigan (-13) at Ball State
Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green (-4)
Toledo (-9) at Central Michigan

Nothing really exciting here. Will basically be hoping that Toledo can be taken down until we play them later on in the year.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 7

BYE
Record Overall 4-1 MAC South 2-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
CB Gilbert Cunningham - Shoulder Surgery - Out 19 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 9 weeks
OLB Jonathan Thiele - Broken Ankle - 5 weeks
DE Sammy Tuttle - Arthroscopic Knee Surgery - Out 2 weeks
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Back - Ques 2 weeks
QB Mo Livesay - Pulled Groin - Prob 1 week
TE Blaine Williamson - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 2 week

Recruiting

Visits
CB Justin Leonhardt (6'0" 159lbs) - Omaha, NE - Overall 37, position 3
ILB Gene Theriault (6'1" 206lbs) - Boonville, IN - Overall 73, position 6
S Stephen Hartman (5'10" 189lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 97, position 6
T Buddy Russell (6'6" 285lbs) - Rockford, IL - Overall 163, position 8
TE Richie Stone (6'2" 232lbs) - Detroit, MI - Overall 198, position 5
CB Ted Bowker (5'11" 157lbs) - Waukesha, WI - Overall 331, position 27
G Alvin Fraser (6'3" 266lbs) - Evanston, IL - Overall 335, position 35
FB Jeffrey Wright (5'10" 190lbs) - Elk Rapids, MI - Overall 399, position 10
WR Derek Mason (6'1" 176lbs) - Winnebago, IL - Overall 456, position 44
C Troy Mogolov (6'4" 259lbs) - Augusta, IL - Overall 485, position 29
K Max Gosselin (5'11" 168lbs) - Berwyn, IL - Overall 933, position 30
TE Christian Wilcox (6'3" 213lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall UR, position 67


Commits
OLB Donny Jacobs (5'10" 202lbs) - Hinsdale, IL - Overall 160, position 14

Lots of visitors this week. Adding Jacobs to our defense is a good thing. We are building a very powerful LB corps.

MAC South Scoreboard
Western Michigan 36 Ball State 7
Bowling Green 19 Eastern Michigan 7
Toledo 31 Central Michigan 23

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Toledo 4 1 0 .800 129 119 2 0 0 1.000 62 33 Won 4
Northern Illinois 4 1 0 .800 115 110 2 0 0 1.000 43 35 Won 4
Western Michigan 2 3 0 .400 135 79 2 0 0 1.000 77 10 Won 1
Bowling Green 2 3 0 .400 136 127 2 0 0 1.000 67 20 Won 2
Eastern Michigan 3 3 0 .500 134 142 1 2 0 .333 52 46 Lost 1
Central Michigan 1 4 0 .200 114 141 1 2 0 .333 70 79 Lost 2
Ball State 1 4 0 .200 115 179 0 2 0 .000 14 68 Lost 3 

Next weeks Schedule
#26 Northern Illinois (-19) at Ohio
Bowling Green (-12) at Akron
Toledo (-1) at Buffalo
Marshall at Western Michigan (-6)
Miami(OH) (-9) at Eastern Michigan
Central Florida (-11)at Ball State

We travel to Athens, OH to take on the 1-5 Ohio Bobcats. They are prennially bad and really stuggle against good teams. They have a good running game and a decent secondary, so we will need to dominate the line of scrimmage. Our injury situation may make this game a lot closer than the 19 point line dictates.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 8

Northern Illinois 48 Ohio 7
Record Overall 5-1 MAC South 3-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 22/32 252yds 1TD 1int

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 27att 220yds 5TD
HB Hugh Horn 8att 32yds 1TD

Receiving
TE Blaine Williamson 6cat 93yds
WR Grady Kemp 6cat 84yds 1TD
FB Curtis Weber 5cat 37yds

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 6tack 2ast 1sack
OLB Dave Walters 6tack 1ast 1sack
FS Conrad JohnSy 5tack 1ast

Recap
Before a crowd of 3,100 people in Athens, OH (the stadium holds 24,000), we absolutely destroy the Ohio Bobcats.

HB Rasmussen was a monster. He had a career day. I hope we can stop this kid from entering into the NFL draft early. He is the engine of our offense. I also like the way TE Williamson is starting to step up and play well.

Defensively, we held the Bobcats to 155 total yards. We got 5 sacks and 2 turnovers (1 int, 1 fum). Our defense is our strength and despite the injuries, we continue to excel.

Injuries
CB Gilbert Cunningham - Shoulder Surgery - Out 18 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 8 weeks
OLB Jonathan Thiele - Broken Ankle - 4 weeks
OLB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Elbow - 4 weeks
DE Sammy Tuttle - Arthroscopic Knee Surgery - Ques 1 week
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Back - Prob 1 week
TE Blaine Williamson - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 1 week

Luckily, we are starting to get some of our players healthy. Having our 2 starting OLB's down is not very helpful.

Recruiting

Visits
P William Sherman (5'11" 172lbs) - Antioch, IL - Overall 647, position 11

Commits
OLB Clarence McLain (6'1" 210lbs) - Chester, IL - Overall 31, position 2
CB Justin Leonhardt (6'0" 159lbs) - Omaha, NE - Overall 37, position 3
DE Terrence McDaniel (6'3" 236lbs) - Schaumburg, IL - Overall 137, position 16
DT Jeff Horton (6'4" 266lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 255, position 11
C Troy Mogolov (6'4" 259lbs) - Augusta, IL - Overall 485, position 29

Look at these blue chip players we have commit on defense. In 3 years, we are going to have one hell of a defense.

MAC South Scoreboard
#26 Northern Illinois 48 Ohio 7
Akron 44 Bowling Green 38
Toledo 48 Buffalo 24
Western Michigan 21 Marshall 10
Miami(OH) 31 Eastern Michigan 21
Ball State 28 Central Florida 21

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 5 1 0 .833 163 117 3 0 0 1.000 91 42 Won 5
Toledo 5 1 0 .833 177 143 3 0 0 1.000 110 57 Won 5
Western Michigan 3 3 0 .500 156 89 3 0 0 1.000 98 20 Won 2
Bowling Green 2 4 0 .333 174 171 2 1 0 .666 105 64 Lost 1
Central Michigan 2 4 0 .333 149 169 2 2 0 .500 105 107 Won 1
Ball State 2 4 0 .333 143 200 1 2 0 .333 42 89 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 3 4 0 .428 155 173 1 3 0 .250 73 77 Lost 2 

Next weeks Schedule
#23 Northern Illinois (-18) at Central Michigan (TV5)
Ball State at #21 Toledo (-6)
Western Michigan (-12) at Bowling Green

We travel to Mt. Pleasant, MI to play the 2-4 Central Michigan Chippewas. Central Michigan is struggling this year, but have been a bit unlucky. They feature a strong secondary, but the worse run defense in the nation. Offen sively, it is a mixed bag. They can be successful at times on offense, but usually give the ball away at the most inopportune times. HB Rasmussen should have a huge day.

[Dolemite73]

We have our first Northern Illinois Huskies in the NFL. DT Ross Porter, who had a very nice career with us, was drafted in the 7th round by the Cincinnati Bengals. He signed a 3yr/1.74 million dollar contract. Will follow his career at the end of every season.
When we last left DT Ross Porter, the first Northern Illinois Husky player to be drafted in the NFL, he was basking in the moment of his accomplishment of making it to the big dance. Well a quick check of his current plight shows he was cut before the first game of the season. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Will check in at the end of the season to see if he is picked up by another team.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 9

Northern Illinois 38 Central Michigan 8
Record Overall 6-1 MAC South 4-0

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 20/34 228yds 2TD 2int
QB Issac Grant 1/2 8yds 1TD 1int

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 27att 131yds 1TD
HB Hugh Horn 3att 7yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 7cat 93yds
WR Grady Kemp 4cat 71yds 1TD
WR Melvin Ponzo 2cat 25yds 1TD

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 9tack 2ast .5sack
FS Conrad JohnSy 8tack 3ast 1int
DT Roman Lovelace 4tack 2ast 2.5sack

Recap
Things keep rolling along in our quest for our second division and conference title.

Our offense was fortunate this game. Even though we scored a ton of points, we gave their team too many chances to catch up. We threw 3 interceptions, but worse yet, we fumbled the ball 6 times (luckily we got 5 of those fumbles back). Our Offensive line was steady and only allowed 2 sacks. And it was good to get our top WR back and he had a strong game. QB Livesay needs to step it up. He is throwing too many interceptions.

Defensively, we gave up too many yards on the ground (152 yards). We dominated their pass protection with 6 sacks 5 turnovers (4 int, 1 fum). The back end of our defense has played very well for much of the season.

Injuries
CB Gilbert Cunningham - Shoulder Surgery - Out 17 weeks
FB Curtis Weber - Broken Ankle - Out 12 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 7 weeks
DE Christian Levine - Severe Wrist Sprain - Out 5 weeks
OLB Jonathan Thiele - Broken Ankle - 3 weeks
OLB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Elbow - Doub 3 weeks
WR Grant Kaplan - Sprained Back - Prob 1 week
TE Blaine Williamson - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 2 week

DE Sammy Tuttle comes back, but DE Levine goes down.

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
ILB Randal Hodges (5'10" 206lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 20, position 2
QB Donnell Rickles (6'1" 203lbs) - Blue Island, IL - Overall 79, position 14
DT Mitchell Shelton (5'11" 242lbs) - Romeoville, IL - Overall 329, position 17
WR Derek Mason (6'1" 176lbs) - Winnebago, IL - Overall 456, position 44
CB Ted Bowker (5'11" 157lbs) - Waukesha, WI - Overall 331, position 27
TE Christian Wilcox (6'3" 213lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall UR, position 67

Another stud LB. We may be the new LB University. Room for 3 more recruits.

MAC South Scoreboard
#23 Northern Illinois 38 Central Michigan 8
#21 Toledo 22 Ball State 17
Bowling Green 45 Western Michigan 17

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 6 1 0 .857 201 125 4 0 0 1.000 129 50 Won 6
Toledo 6 1 0 .857 199 160 4 0 0 1.000 132 74 Won 6
Bowling Green 3 4 0 .428 219 188 3 1 0 .750 150 81 Won 1
Western Michigan 3 4 0 .428 173 134 3 1 0 .750 115 65 Lost 1
Central Michigan 2 5 0 .285 157 207 2 3 0 .400 113 145 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 3 4 0 .428 155 173 1 3 0 .250 73 77 Lost 2
Ball State 2 5 0 .285 160 222 1 3 0 .250 59 111 Lost 1 
Next weeks Schedule
#19 Toledo at Western Michigan
Buffalo at Bowling Green
Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan

We have another Bye week. This will help us get healthier for the home stretch of games, 3 out of 4 will be at home. Hoping Western Michigan takes down Toledo.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 10

BYE
Record Overall 6-1 MAC South 4-0

Passing
N/A

Rushing
N/A

Receiving
N/A

Defense
N/A

Recap
N/A

Injuries
CB Gilbert Cunningham - Shoulder Surgery - Out 16 weeks
FB Curtis Weber - Broken Ankle - Out 11 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 6 weeks
DE Christian Levine - Severe Wrist Sprain - Doub 4 weeks
OLB Jonathan Thiele - Broken Ankle - Ques 2 weeks
OLB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Elbow - Ques 2 weeks
TE Blaine Williamson - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 1 week

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
S Stephen Hartman (5'10" 189lbs) - Chicago, IL - Overall 97, position 6
C Emmanuel McKnight (6'4" 281lbs) - North Chicago, IL - Overall 292, position 14
P William Sherman (5'11" 172lbs) - Antioch, IL - Overall 647, position 11

Very upset I did not get any Guards or Tackles this time. Will most likely move McKnight to Tackle.

MAC South Scoreboard
Western Michigan 34 #19 Toledo 16
Bowling Green 31 Buffalo 3
Eastern Michigan 41 Central Michigan 3

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Northern Illinois 6 1 0 .857 201 125 4 0 0 1.000 129 50 Won 6
Toledo 6 2 0 .750 215 194 4 1 0 .800 148 108 Lost 1
Bowling Green 4 4 0 .500 250 191 4 1 0 .800 181 84 Won 2
Western Michigan 4 4 0 .500 207 150 4 1 0 .800 149 81 Won 1
Eastern Michigan 4 4 0 .500 196 176 2 3 0 .400 114 80 Won 1
Central Michigan 2 6 0 .250 160 248 2 4 0 .333 116 186 Lost 2
Ball State 2 5 0 .285 160 222 1 3 0 .250 59 111 Lost 1 
Next weeks Schedule
Western Michigan at #20 Northern Illinois (-5) (TV4)
Bowling Green (-2) at Toledo
Eastern Michigan(-3) at Ball State
Central Michigan (-2) at Louisiana-Monroe

It was nice seeing Western Michigan take down Toledo. Now I have to deal with a very dangerous Western Michigan Bronco team. The Broncos have an average offense that features a pretty decent running game. Their passing game is fairly poor and they turn the ball over a lot (13 int, 12 fum). Defensively, they feature one of the top run defenses in college football (5th) and their starting DE's have 17.5 sacks combined. This will not be an easy game.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 11

Western Michigan 49 Northern Illinois 13
Record Overall 6-2 MAC South 4-1

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 14/39 205yds 1TD 2int

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 19att 40yds
HB Hugh Horn 5att 15yds

Receiving
WR Grant Kaplan 4cat 64yds
HB Steven Rasmussen 3 cat 41yds
WR Grady Kemp 2cat 37yds 1TD

Defense
ILB Corey Crane 9tack 4ast
DE Sammy Tuttle 8tack 1ast
FS Conrad JohnSy 6tack 1ast 1int

Recap
This was a very huge loss. We are now in third place in the MAC North with 2 games to play. This may have cost us the division title.

Offensively, we could get nothing done. QB Livesay was harrassed by the Western Michigan pass rush all game (4 sacks) and we could not get our running game going.

Defensively, we played our worse game all season (giving up 425 total yards). We could not stop Western Michigan's running game and their play action passing game killed us (19/27 203yds 4TD).

Injuries
CB Gilbert Cunningham - Shoulder Surgery - Out 15 weeks
OLB Jonathan Thiele - Broken Ankle - Out 10 weeks
FB Curtis Weber - Broken Ankle - Out 10 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 5 weeks
DE Christian Levine - Severe Wrist Sprain - Ques 3 weeks
OLB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Elbow - Prob 1 week
TE Blaine Williamson - Bruised Ribcage - Prob 1 week

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
N/A

MAC South Scoreboard
Toledo 34 Bowling Green 28
Eastern Michigan 20 Ball State 17
Louisiana-Monroe 16 Central Michigan 13

MAC South Standings
School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Western Michigan 5 4 0 .555 256 163 5 1 0 .833 198 94 Won 2
Toledo 7 2 0 .777 249 222 5 1 0 .833 182 136 Won 1
Northern Illinois 6 2 0 .750 214 174 4 1 0 .800 142 99 Lost 1
Bowling Green 4 5 0 .444 278 225 4 2 0 .666 209 118 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 5 4 0 .555 216 193 3 3 0 .500 134 97 Won 2
Central Michigan 2 7 0 .222 173 264 2 4 0 .333 116 186 Lost 3
Ball State 2 6 0 .250 177 242 1 4 0 .200 76 131 Lost 2 
Next weeks Schedule
Ball State at Northern Illinois (-18)
Central Michigan at Western Michigan (-31)
#22 Toledo (-2) at Eastern Michigan

I really need for Western Michigan and Toledo to lose. This is the only way I really have a chance to win the division. Ball State struggles mightily on offense (112th in the nation) , but does feature a decent defense (56th against the run, 58th against the pass). After our showing last week, I am sure we will be a pretty motivated bunch.

[Dolemite73]

2008 Week 11

Northern Illinois 41 Ball State 13
Record Overall 7-2 MAC South 5-1

Passing
QB Mo Livesay 6/9 116yds 3TD
QB Isaac Goetz 7/17 88yds 3int
QB Isaac Grant 1/1 10yds

Rushing
HB Steven Rasmussen 14att 93yds
HB Hugh Horn 14att 32yds

Receiving
WR Grady Kemp 8cat 126yds 3TD
WR Grant Kaplan 2cat 35yds
TE William Coltharp 2cat 14yds

Defense
FS Conrad JohnSy 9tack 1ast
ILB Corey Crane 6tack 2ast
DT Roman Lovelace 4tack 2ast 1sack

Recap

Our team came out fired up from the opening kickoff. And by halftime, we were up 41-3. We had some big plays as well. We had a blocked punt for a TD as well as an interception returned for a TD as well.

On offense, we did what had to be done. WR Kemp may have surpassed WR Kaplan as our top playmaker. He was unstoppable today. QB Livesay was having an amazing game before he went down with a strained neck. He will be day to day as of now. Our back QB Goetz needs a lot of work. We just cannot allow so many interceptions.

Defensively, we flew all over the field today. We forced 6 turnovers (4int and 2 fum). The only negative was allowing Ball State to gain 174yds on the ground. We must tighten that up prior to our final game of the season against Toledo.

Injuries

CB Gilbert Cunningham - Shoulder Surgery - Out 14 weeks
OLB Jonathan Thiele - Broken Ankle - Out 9 weeks
FB Curtis Weber - Broken Ankle - Out 9 weeks
DE Aaron Small - Torn Knee Ligament - Out 5 weeks
DE Christian Levine - Severe Wrist Sprain - Prob 2 weeks
OLB Adam Berry - Hyperextended Elbow - Prob 1 week
QB Mo Livesay – Sparained Neck - Prob 5 week

Recruiting

Visits
N/A

Commits
N/A

MAC South Scoreboard

Northern Illinois 41 Ball State 13
Western Michigan 37 Central Michigan 0
Eastern Michigan 37 #22 Toledo 17

MAC South Standings

School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak
Western Michigan 6 4 0 .600 293 163 6 1 0 .857 235 94 Won 3
Northern Illinois 7 2 0 .777 255 187 5 1 0 .833 183 112 Won 1
Toledo 7 3 0 .700 266 259 5 2 0 .714 199 173 Lost 1
Bowling Green 4 5 0 .444 278 225 4 2 0 .666 209 118 Lost 1
Eastern Michigan 6 4 0 .600 253 210 4 3 0 .571 171 114 Won 3
Central Michigan 2 8 0 .200 173 301 2 5 0 .285 116 223 Lost 4
Ball State 2 7 0 .222 190 283 1 5 0 .166 89 172 Lost 3

Next weeks Schedule

Ball State at Bowling Green (-16)
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan (-13)
#23 Northern Illinois (-11) at Toledo TV4

With a Western Michigan loss and a win by us, we would win the division and travel on to face Miami(OH) for the MAC title. First we are going to have to defeat a very tough Toledo team in their house. Toledo was destroyed last weekend by Eastern Michigan, so I suspect they are going to be very tough to beat this weekend. They have a very nice, balance attack with the ability to beat on the ground or in the air. On defense, they are extremely tough to pass against (25th in the nation pass defense). It will be up to our running game and offensive line to control the line of scrimmage and allow our play action game to get established. Also, having QB Livesay hurt is not a positive.