A Midwestern Legacy (NCAA 14) - Coaching Legacy

[K0ZZ]

Tyler Stefanski - Head Coach of the Northern Illinois Huskies
(6-5) - 0 Conference Titles - 0 National Titles

0 All -Americans
0 All-Conference
0 Award Winners

Played on PS3 - College Football Revamped

[K0ZZ]

Placeholder

[K0ZZ]

Sean Frazier announces new head coach for Northern Illinois

(Dekalb, IL) - It was a shock when the Huskies announced that they have parted ways with Head Coach Thomas Hammock after just 1 season and a 5-7 record, many more will be far more shocked when they meet the replacement to the head coach. In a press conference today, Athletic Director Sean Frazier had announced that the school had agreed with Tyler Stefanski to a three year contract.

If your first question was to ask who Tyler Stefanski was, you wouldn't be the first to ask. Stefanski, 28, is a Northern Illinois Alumni who joined the program as a graduate assistant and offensive specialist in 2014, having been with the program for 5 years in an increasing capacity including being involved in recruiting calls, the Huskies who were pleased with his interview and his vision for the future of the team.

Stefanski is stated to be playing a spread attack that will fit nicely into a conference that has taken on the title of having "MACTION", known for it's high scoring offensive contests, his offense will seek to emulate that with getting playmakers out in open space. On the defensive end, speed is the name of the game again. Running a 3-4 defense, the defense's goal will to be swarm the ball and make defensive plays.

The Huskies have been a program on the decline in recent years. Under Rod Carey the head coach had a better than .600 win percentage which was great but his post season performances left a lot to be desired. The coach was winless in bowl games, that and also two conference titles to his name saw a team that in 2012 ascended to the Orange Bowl with a Heisman contender in Jordan Lynch. Since then the team hasn't been quite as nationally regarded, beyond some faint embers of potential movement into the Big 12 when the conference was considering expansion and as a bit of a grab after the B1G took Nebraska.

[K0ZZ]

Northern Illinois 2020 Preview

After a mediocre sub. 500 finish last year, the Huskies find themselves with a new head coach for the third time in as many years. There is some reason for excitement but at the same time this team has a lot of holes from a lack of recruiting successes that has left the cupboard bare after several successful teams in the early 2010's. That isn't to say there aren't some talented players and on the offensive end, Tyrice Richie is a huge talent at the wide out position.

Richie is poised to be a big weapon for quarterback Ross Bowers. Richie is a good primary receiver, at 6'0 he is average height and has good speed coupled with having a good knowledge of route running, the strength in this team will lie in the aerial attack. Helmed by Richie, Tight End Daniel Crawford and flanking Junior receiver Cole Tucker. For the Huskies the good news is there is a good amount of speed for this team, which should help feed into Stefanski's gameplan.

Once considered renowned for it's halfback performance, generating halfbacks like Michael Turner and Garrett Wolfe, the half back room for the Huskies is a noted weakness. Tre Harbinson had 1000 yards last season and then proceeded to transfer to Charlotte, turning a position that didn't anticipate needing much help into a weakness. Also announced this season, projected starter Jordan Nettles has opted to sit the season out due to personal matters, which means Erin Collins will start. He will be flanked by two freshman halfbacks in Jeyvon Ducker and Harrison Waylee. Collins was a junior college recruit and had 7 touchdowns last season for Hutchinson Community College.

The defense is also a mixed bag, to look at the defensive line Weston Kramer is a strength, he'll fit in nicely leading the team up the middle as the nose tackle. A big tackle that can clog up the center nicely. He's a smart player that can plug holes well. On the ends, it's more of a weakness, with Michael Kennedy and Cortez Hogans. Both are better at containing the edge which fits into the goals for the defense under Stefanski, but there's a good amount of inexperience.

The linebacking core is the biggest strength mostly for it's consistency. The best player is outside linebacker Kyle Pugh (SR), a speedy linebacker that likes to float out and defend against the pass. He's a talented player and the defensive captain. Up the center will be Vinny Labus (JR) and Nick Rattin (SO). On the opposite end is Rayshawn Gay, who also favors coverage. The linebacking corp fits the bill for what Stefanski wants. Speedy and opportunistic linebackers that look to create opportunities.

Inexperience is the name of the game in the secondary. Jordan Gandy is a talent that could potentially be a low tier NFL talent, but beyond that this unit has almost no experience together. The oldest player is Junior Dillon Thomas, who sits near the bottom of the depth chart. Going back to Gandy, Gandy is a smart player. He isn't afraid to make a tackle in open space and is good at separating opposing players from the ball. He's great at making cuts and keeping with wideouts. True freshman Myles McGee will be taking the start at the opposite cornerback spot, McGee is an average freshman talent and his starting is more of a sign of lack of recruiting in place under previous administrations. Additionally two true safeties are starting at the safety slots. Devin Lafayette will be the free safety while CJ Brown will start at the strong safety slot.

The Huskies will open the season at Soldier Field to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes at a neutral site game. The Hawkeyes are far and away the better team but the national spotlight is a good opportunity for the Huskies to try and get their brand some recognition. When it's all said and done, the Huskies are projected to finish the season 3-9, only favored to beat Bowling Green, Akron, and Eastern Michigan. Their out of conference slate includes #24 Iowa, @ #23 Iowa State and @ #20 Cincinnati.

Northern Illinois Huskies 2020 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 7	at #24 Iowa Hawkeyes
Sep 14	at #23 Iowa State Cyclones
Sep 21	vs Bowling Green Falcons
Sep 28	at #20 Cincinnati Bearcats
Oct 5	at Kent State Golden Flashes
Oct 12	at Akron Zips
Oct 19	at Central Michigan Chippewas
Oct 26	vs Eastern Michigan Eagles
Nov 2	vs Buffalo Bulls
Nov 16	vs Ball State Cardinals
Nov 23	at Toledo Rockets
Nov 30	vs Western Michigan Broncos

Northern Illinois Huskies Depth Chart - 2020
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Tyrice Richie (SR) 86	Dennis Robinson (JR) 73	Leon Payne (SO) 70
TE	Daniel Crawford (SR) 84	Corey Lersch (SR) 74	Liam Soraghan (JR) 70
LT	Kobe Rios (SO) 73	Marques Cox (SO) 69	Cole Webster (JR) 69
LG	Benn Olson (SR) 72	Leif Engstrand (SO) 68
C	Cole Webster (JR) 68	Evan Buss (FR) 65
RG	Brayden Patton (SR) 82	Marques Cox (SO) 67
RT	Nolan Potter (SO) 72	J.J. Lippe (FR) 67
WR	Cole Tucker (JR) 77	Fabian McCray (FR) 71	Jyran Mitchell (SO) 68
QB	Ross Bowers (SR) 80	Conor Neville (JR) 75	Andrew Haidet (SR) 68
FB	Brett Bostad (SO) 69
HB	Erin Collins (JR) 71	Jevyon Ducker (FR) 69	Harrison Wayle (FR) 64
Base 3-4 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Michael Kennedy (JR) 72	Rashein Thomas (FR) 67
NT	Weston Kramer (SR) 84	Jeffrey Griffin Jr. (SO) 74	James Ester (FR) 70
RDE	Cortez Hogans (SO) 70	Rashein Thomas (FR) 67
LOLB	Rayshawn Gay (JR) 74	Kewan Parker (JR) 69
LILB	Vinny Labus (JR) 77	Nick Rattin (SO) 71
RILB	Lance Deveaux Jr (SR) 77	Trsten Tewes (FR) 69
ROLB	Kyle Pugh (SR) 82	Woodly Appolon (JR) 75
CB	Jordan Gandy (SO) 83	J.D. Harris (SO) 68	Ronald Anderson (FR) 68
SS	C.J Brown (FR) 66	Woodly Appolon (JR) 66
FS	Devin Lafayette (FR) 67	Ronald Anderson (FR) 67
CB	Myles McGee (FR) 69	Mark Aitken (SO) 68
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	John Richardson (SO) 75
P	Matt Ference (SR) 80

[Careless Whisper]

Have a feeling we'll be seeing a few more of these pop up with the Revamped upgrades now out there! Looking forward to seeing how you fare with NIU!

[K0ZZ]

That's true, Revamped is great. I'm looking forward to it as they finish out the remainder of the teams.

[K0ZZ]

Hawkeyes pull away in the final frame to rout the Huskies

On a sunny Saturday morning to kick off the college football season at historic Soldier Field, the Northern Illinois Huskies battled the Hawkeyes and for three quarters hung tight with a team that was expected to run away from the start. Ultimately turnovers and sloppy play by a tired team in the final frame spelled the end of the upset bid for the Huskies, but the positives were evident for this team, even in the face of a 22 point defeat at the hands of their ranked Big Ten foes.

For the first three quarters, the Hawkeyes were placed on upset alert as an opportunistic Huskies squad managed to keep the score tighter than expected. The game started as a back and forth. The Huskies winning the coin toss they deferred to the second half. The Hawkeyes would start to push the ball downfield thanks to a strong rushing attack led by Tyler Goodson. Though the drive would sputter out after two short completions by quarterback Spencer Petras. The Huskies drive would be a quick three and out and the Hawkeyes would get their next drive at the 37 yard line. The big plays of their drive came on the ground. The Hawkeyes offensive line showed the difference in ability as they manhandled the Huskies defensive line as they effortlessly churned the ball downfield. When the Huskies started to swarm to the ball, their tactics changed and they went with a play action pass that went to Monte Pottebaum who would charge into the end zone for the games first score and the first of three touchdown passes from Spencer Petras.

The Huskies seemed driven to respond on offense. The offensive line seemed to get a good push off the ball and started to open some lanes for Erin Collins who churned out yards slowly, mixed in with some designed quarterback runs from Ross Bowers. Their 16 play drive that leaked into the second quarter ended with a punch into the end zone on third and goal with Erin Collins from the one knotting the game at 7-7. Not only did they tie the game up, but twice they went for it on fourth down. On consecutive sets of downs in Hawkeyes territory.

"Upsets don't happen by being conservative. We were on their end of the field and on the fringe of John's [Richardson] range. We had some momentum and we got some good looks. If there's an advantage to it, I won't take it off the table." Spoke Tyler Stefanski when questioned about his aggression on forth down in the first half, specifically on that drive.

The Hawkeyes would try to respond, getting back into Huskies territory late into the half. Yet the drive would stall out and Keith Duncan would kick the ball wide keeping the game tied. With a little over two minutes remaining in the half, the Huskies looked to try and score before the end of the half. To take a lead into the half and get the ball to open the second half would've been a huge momentum gain for a team playing with a chip on it's shoulder. The aggression wouldn't pay off, a deep pass to Tyrice Richie would be picked off by Kaevon Merriweather giving the Hawkeyes one last shot before the half. The Hawkeyes would capitalize on the mistake with Spencer Petras leading them storming downfield against a secondary that looked lost. They would pull ahead before the half on a touchdown pass to Brandon Smith and a big momentum swing going into the third.

The third would be a back and forth affair between both teams, the Hawkeyes would be looking to drive and got into Huskies territory when Lance Deveaux Jr broke through the line of scrimmage on a blitz and sacked Spencer Petras for the lone sack of the game on third down killing a potential drive. Keith Duncan would come out for a 56 yard field goal attempt that would land well short.

For the Huskies the sack seemed to be the spark to reignite their fire. The team would go downfield with a big pass completion to Dennis Robinson on a 33 yard gain that got the team downfield. Ross Bowers capped off the drive with a rush to the outside. He'd take a hit near the four but would twist and use his momentum to get into the endzone. Unfortunately John Richardson's extra point attempt would be hooked and the score would be 14-13 in favor of the Hawkeyes. From then on the Hawkeyes never really looked back. Their next drive would turn into points, Tyler Goodson helping the Hawkeyes back downfield before punching the ball in himself on third and goal to take a 21-13 lead into the final frame.

Ross Bowers would throw three more interceptions in the final quarter on consecutive drives. Including an attempt tie the game, the Huskies would on their next offensive drive push the ball into the red zone but a pass intended for junior wide out Cole Tucker would be picked off by Julius Brents. From there the Hawkeyes capitalized. On a first down play, Tyrone Tracey Jr. would get a short slant and cut up field. The wide out would break two tackles early on and an attempt on the Huskies 15 to bring him down he would manage to wiggle free and go the rest of the way for the score on a huge touchdown pass that broke the game open and the Huskies offense looked to be falling apart now down by two scores.

The offense was able to stay in the game with quick hits and getting out into space on the outside. When the game plan had to change to attempt to score fast that meant taking strikes downfield and between the pass rush causing hurried throws and mistakes in decision making, the first half offense disappeared allowing the Hawkeyes to run off. Adding another late touchdown and ultimately leaving Soldier Field with a 35-13 victory.

The Hawkeyes capitalized on turnovers, scoring 28 of their 35 points off of turnovers. Additionally they were boosted by tremendous games from their quarterback and halfback duo. Spencer Petras tossed for an 80% completion rate on the Huskies for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns and Tyler Goodson racked up nearly 200 yards on the ground in a game that started much closer than anticipated but the Hawkeyes depth and overall stronger talent base won out in the end. The Huskies had their moments but against a superior opponent the mistakes were too much to be overcome. The Huskies fall to 0-1 on the season and will now travel to Ames next week to take on the ranked Iowa State Cyclones.

Iowa Hawkeyes at Northern Illinois Huskies
Sep 4, 2020	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#24 Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0)	7	7	7	14	35
Northern Illinois Huskies (0-1)	0	7	6	0	13

Team Stats Comparison
	IOWA	NIU
Total Offense	499	286
Rushing Yards	183	124
Passing Yards	316	162
First Downs	18	14
Punt Return Yards	5	0
Kick Return Yards	54	74
Total Yards	558	360
Turnovers	0	4
3rd Down Conversion	1-6	4-13
4th Down Conversion	0-0	5-5
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4/0/5	2/0/6
Penalties	2-10	3-30
Possession Time	15:12	16:37

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		IOWA	NIU
3:33	(IOWA) M.Pottebaum, 9 yd pass from S.Petras	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		IOWA	NIU
7:04	(NIU) E.Collins, 1 yd run	7	7
0:10	(IOWA) B.Smith, 11 yd pass from S.Petras	14	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		IOWA	NIU
2:33	(NIU) R.Bowers, 14 yd run (missed XP	14	13
0:55	(IOWA) T.Goodson, 2 yd run	21	13
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		IOWA	NIU
5:26	(IOWA) T.Tracy Jr., 88 yd pass from S.Petras	28	13
1:35	(IOWA) M.Pottebaum, 3 yd run	35	13

Iowa Hawkeyes PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Spencer Petras 20/25 316 3 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Tyler Goodson 22 195 8.8 1 Monte Pottebaum 1 3 3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tyler Goodson 6 61 10.1 0 Brandon Smith 4 62 15.5 1 Sam Laporta 4 73 18.2 0 Tyrone Tracy Jr. 2 101 50.5 1 Ihmir Smith-Marsette 2 7 3.5 0 Nico Ragaini 1 3 3 0 Monte Pottebaum 1 9 9 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jack Koerner 6 0 0 0 Kaevon Merriweather 4 0 2 0 Dane Belton 4 0 0 0 Seth Benson 4 0 0 0 Nick Niemann 4 0 0 0 Riley Moss 4 0 1 0 Daviyon Nixon 4 0 0 0 Jack Heflin 3 0 0 0 Zach Vanvalkenburg 2 0 0 0 Julius Brents 2 0 1 0 Chauncey Golston 2 0 0 0 Matt Hankins 2 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Keith Duncan 0/2 5/5 5 0

Northern Illinois Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ross Bowers 18/35 162 0 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Erin Collins 17 46 2.7 1 Ross Bowers 8 60 7.5 1 Cole Tucker 1 18 18 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Dennis Robinson 6 64 10.6 0 Tyrice Richie 4 47 11.7 0 Fabian McCray 3 15 5 0 Erin Collins 2 1 0.5 0 Leon Payne 1 19 19 0 Daniel Crawford 1 4 4 0 Cole Tucker 1 12 12 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kyle Pugh 9 0 0 0 Lance Deveaux Jr 8 1 0 0 Jordan Gandy 5 0 0 0 Devin Lafayette 5 0 0 0 Myles McGee 3 0 0 0 Rayshawn Gay 3 0 0 0 J.D. Harris 3 0 0 0 Cortez Hogans 3 0 0 0 CJ Brown 2 0 0 0 Weston Kramer 2 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG John Richardson 0/1 1/2 1 0

[K0ZZ]

NCAA Week 2 News

Headlines

- #2 Ohio State stunned by unranked Ohio Bobcats. Justin Fields knocked out of the game in the game, takes a nasty hit when he went to throw leading to an interception. Started the game 2-4 for passing. Fields had 2 touchdown passes. CJ Stroud would only complete 3 passes out of 16 attempts the rest of the game. Rourke for the Bobcats piled up 2 touchdowns through the air and one more through the air. Fields was held out for concerns with pain in his throwing shoulder but is not expected to miss additional games.
- In the game of the week, Texas A&M falls short against the Oregon Ducks, losing 28-35 in overtime. The Aggies rallied from a 14 point fourth quarter deficit after starter Kellen Mond had to leave the game in the third quarter due to injury. Tyler Shough threw for 294 passing yards and 3 touchdowns to lead his Ducks to victory.
- Penn State opens up their Oregon schedule with a tough upset loss to the Oregon State Beavers dropping them 12 spots in the current polls. Their 24-27 defeat looked a lot closer, but a score in the final 20 seconds brought the score within 3. The Beavers had a 24-13 lead going into the final frame. Two lost fumbles spelled doom for the Nittany Lions.
- Miami (OH) stuns the Wolverines with a 24 point second half, including 17 unanswered from the third into the fourth quarter that propelled them to victory.

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Sep 5, 2020
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Clemson (35)	1	0
2	3	Alabama (25)	1	0
3	4	Georgia (1)	1	0
4	5	Oklahoma	1	0
5	6	LSU	1	0
6	9	Oregon	1	0
7	8	Florida	1	0
8	10	Notre Dame	1	0
9	11	Auburn	1	0
10	12	Wisconsin	1	0
11	14	Texas	1	0
12	15	Oklahoma State	1	0
13	2	Ohio State	0	1
14	17	USC	1	0
15	19	Minnesota	1	0
16	13	Texas A&M	0	1
17	20	Cincinnati	1	0
18	21	UCF	1	0
19	7	Penn State	0	1
20	22	Utah	1	0
21	23	Iowa State	0	0
22	24	Iowa	1	0
23	25	Tennessee	1	0
24	NR	Memphis	1	0
25	NR	Ohio	1	0

MAC Week 2

Results

#22 Iowa 35 vs Northern Illinois 13

Akron 10 @ Missouri 42

Eastern Michigan 14 @ UTEP 21

Ball State 3 @ Baylor 30

Kent State 59 @ Bowling Green 21

Toledo 13 @ Texas Tech 45

Boise State 7 @ Buffalo 34

Western Michigan 14 @ #1 Clemson 55

#25 Ohio 34 @ #13 Ohio State 14

Miami (OH) 31 @ Michigan 28

Central Michigan 3 @ Colorado 24