Coaching Career Begins at Northern Illinois

This is my first time ever doing something like this, so any feedback on how to make it look better would be greatly appreciated. I am playing on Heisman with sliders adjusted. I am strictly coaching. I don't know how to post pictures or anything like that, so that information would be helpful also. Enjoy!

Casey Rice named new Offensive Coordinator at NIU

Casey Rice will join Head Coach Dave Doeren on the sidelines to run the Northern Illinois Huskies offense this upcoming season.

“We’re excited to have Coach Rice join our staff this year.” Coach Doeren stated. “He runs an option offense that was effective at the high school level and put many points on the board. We believe he’ll be a great addition to this football program and bring us many wins and championships.”

Rice was a 2003 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where he was the quarterback of the Bearcats. After graduating, he went back to his high school in Richwood, OH, and quickly took the North Union Wildcats to the state championship running his unique offense. After 5 succesful seasons, he got his feet wet at the college level as an offensive coordinator for the Division 3 Ohio Northern Polar Bears for 3 years.

“Being contacted by NIU to assist with there offense is a great honor. I’m hoping my expertise and talents will be a positive shot in the arm the Huskies program needs,” stated Rice. “We have a lot of work to do to get these kids running an effective offense, and it starts with our first game against Army.”

NIU opens the season against the Black Knights September 3^rd at home for a noon start.

Season Schedule

1. 9/3 Army 12:00
2. 9/10 at Kansas 12:00
3. 9/17 #11 Wisconsin 8:00
4. 9/24 FCS West 7:45
5. 10/1 at Central Michigan 12:00
6. 10/8 Kent State 12:00
7. 10/15 Western Michigan 3:30
8. 10/22 at Buffalo 7:00
9. BYE
10. 11/5 at Toledo 7:00
11. 11/12 at Bowling Green 6:00
12. 11/19 Ball State 8:00
13. 11/26 Eastern Michigan 8:00
14. BYE

Bold denotes MAC Game

Army hands Northern Illinois Loss In Season Opener

NIU dropped it’s season opener to the Army Black Knights by a score of 24-10. NIU plays their second game at Kansas. Game summary and stats can be seen below:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Army	0	17	0	7	24
NIU	0	3	0	7	10

	Army	NIU
Score	24	10
First Downs	17	10
Total Offense	396	185
Rushes-Yards-TD	54-245-2	22-75-1
Comp-Att-TD	9-18-1	9-28-0
Passing Yards	151	110
3rd Down Conv	8-18 (44%)	0-9 (0%)
4th Down Conv	1-1 (100%)	0-1 (0%)
2- Point Conv	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG	5-2-1 (60%)	2-1-1 (100%)
Turnovers	1	1
Fumbles Lost	0	0
Interceptions	1	1
PR Yards	25	40
KR Yards	50	161
Total Yards	471	386
Punt-Average	5-40.4	8-38.4
Penalties-Yards	10-90	5-50
T.O.P.	17:08	14:51

Players of the Game

Army J. Hassin 26 Car, 139 Yds, TD

NIU J. Delegal 5 Tkls, ATK

MAC News of Note
-None

NCAA News of Note
-Baylor wins against #14 TCU 38-35. The win moves them to #25 in the polls, and Arizona State drops out of the top 25. TCU moves to #24 with the loss.

#4 LSU loses to #5 Oregon 38-34. The loss moves LSU to #10. The win moves Oregon to #3.

Top 25 after Week 1

Rank	LW	Team/Votes	Wins	Losses
1	1	Oklahoma (32)	1	0
2	2	Alabama (25)	1	0
3	5	Oregon (2)	1	0
4	3	Stanford (1)	1	0
5	6	Ohio State (1)	1	0
6	7	Oklahoma St	1	0
7	8	Boise State	1	0
8	9	Texas A&M	1	0
9	10	Florida St	1	0
10	4	LSU	0	1
11	11	Wisconsin	1	0
12	12	Auburn	1	0
13	13	South Carolina	1	0
14	15	Michigan St	1	0
15	16	Nebraska	1	0
16	17	Virginia Tech	1	0
17	18	Arkansas	1	0
18	19	Mississippi St	1	0
19	20	Florida	1	0
20	21	Notre Dame	1	0
21	22	Texas	1	0
22	23	Missouri	1	0
23	14	TCU	0	1
25	---	Baylor	1	0

Things You Need To Know Between Northern Illinois and Kansas

This week’s matchup pits the Northern Illinois Huskies (0-1, 0-0) at the Kansas Jayhawks (1-0, 0-0). Here’s how things are shaping out for both teams so far this early season:

Visiting Prospects – 0

Bold denotes leader in that category

Rankings	NIU	KU
Overall Rating	C+	B-
Offense Rating	C+	B-
Defense Rating	C	C+
Points Per Game	10.0 (#100)	28.0 (#70)
Total Offense	185 (#105)	441 (#45)
Rush Offense	75 (#109)	198 (#42)
Pass Offense	110 (#107)	243 (#49)
Total Defense	396 (#84)	376 (#76)
Rush Defense	245 (#113)	262 (#115)
Pass Defense	151 (#53)	114 (#30)
Turnover Diff	0 (#55)	0 (#55)

*Kansas is 1-0 with a week 1 win against FCS MW 28-21
*Northern Illinois is 0-1 following a 10-24 loss to Army

Herby’s Pick of the Week:

*Upset Alert! Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois’ Offense Sputters in Lopsided Loss to Kansas

NIU dropped to 0-2 this week after a one sided loss to Kansas.

On being asked about his offense, Coach Rice had this to say:

“We have to execute better. I know these boys are adjusting to a new offensive scheme, but the little mistakes should not be happening. Those are mistakes that are associated with any type of offense.”

The mistakes he was referring to were the 5 turnovers.

“Harnish held on to the ball a little longer than he needed to when passing. He also made a few errant pitches. I’m confident he’ll get those issues worked out and go on to have a successful senior season.”

Game summary and stats can be seen below:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
NIU	0	0	0	0	0
KU	7	14	7	3	31

	NIU	KU
Score	0	31
First Downs	12	13
Total Offense	119	260
Rushes-Yards-TD	35-(-20)-0	32-106-1
Comp-Att-TD	13-26	12-25-2
Passing Yards	139	154
3rd Down Conv	5-15 (33%)	3-12(25%)
4th Down Conv	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
2- Point Conv	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG	3-0-0 (0%)	2-2-0 (100%)
Turnovers	5	1
Fumbles Lost	1	1
Interceptions	4	0
PR Yards	20	38
KR Yards	121	0
Total Yards	260	298
Punt-Average	8- 44.8	8- 45.3
Penalties-Yards	5-36	6-60
T.O.P.	19:59	12:01

Players of the Game

NIU B. Lawson 2 Tkls, 2 TFL

KU T. Opurun 4 Tkls, 4 TFL, 2 ATK

MAC News of Note
MAC Standings

Rank	Team	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA
1	Temple	2-0	1.000	1-0	86	24
2	Ohio	2-0	1.000	0-0	93	41
3	EMU	2-0	1.000	0-0	83	41
4	WMU	2-0	1.000	0-0	73	38
5	CMU	1-1	0.500	0-0	48	45
6	Toledo	1-1	0.500	0-0	80	45
7	BGU	0-2	0.000	0-0	27	79
8	Buffalo	0-2	0.000	0-0	24	53
9	Kent St	0-2	0.000	0-0	25	55
10	NIU	0-2	0.000	0-0	10	55
11	Miami	0-1	0.000	0-0	33	36
12	Akron	0-2	0.000	0-0	17	96
13	Ball St	0-2	0.000	0-1	36	75

NCAA News of Note
-#18 Mississippi State edges #12 Auburn 29-26. The win moves them to #15 in the polls, while Auburn drops to #19.

Top 25 after Week 2

Rank	LW	Team/Votes	Wins	Losses
1	2	Alabama (32)	2	0
2	1	Oklahoma (26)	1	0
3	3	Oregon (2)	2	0
4	4	Stanford (1)	2	0
5	5	Ohio State	2	0
6	6	Oklahoma St	2	0
7	7	Boise State	1	0
8	8	Texas A&M	1	0
9	9	Florida St	2	0
10	10	LSU	1	1
11	11	Wisconsin	2	0
12	13	South Carolina	2	0
13	14	Michigan St	2	0
14	15	Nebraska	2	0
15	18	Mississippi St	2	0
16	16	Virginia Tech	2	0
17	17	Arkansas	2	0
18	19	Florida	2	0
19	12	Auburn	1	1
20	20	Notre Dame	2	0
21	21	Texas	2	0
22	22	Missouri	2	0
23	24	TCU	1	1
24	25	Baylor	2	0
25	---	West Virginia	2	0

Things You Need To Know Between Northern Illinois and Wisconsin

The Northern Illinois Huskies (0-2, 0-0) will take on the #11 Wisconsin Badgers (2-0, 0-0) in DeKalb, Ill this weekend. The Huskies look to make some improvements following a disappointing showing against Kansas last weekend. Here’s how things are shaping out for both teams so far this early season:

Visiting Prospects – 0

Bold denotes leader in that category

Rankings	WIS	NIU
Overall Rating	A	C+
Offense Rating	A	C+
Defense Rating	B+	C
Points Per Game	44.5 (#9)	5.0 (#120)
Total Offense	1025 (#17)	304 (#104)
Rush Offense	515 (#9)	55 (#119)
Pass Offense	510 (#32)	249 (#99)
Total Defense	361 (#10)	656 (#74)
Rush Defense	180 (#25)	351 (#98)
Pass Defense	181 (#10)	305 (#47)
Turnover Diff	1 (#46)	-3 (#101)

*Wisconsin is 2-0 and ranked #11 in the nation.
*Northern Illinois is 0-2 and is dead last in the nation in Points Scored Per Game.

Herby’s Pick of the Week:

Wisconsin

Northern Illinois Gives Wisconsin A Scare, But Fall Short

The scoreboard shows a large difference in score, but the Huskies give the Badgers a test.

The Badgers were able to come up with a win Saturday night in DeKalb by capitalizing on some key mistakes by the Husky offense. An interception in the red zone, and another returned for a touchdown were just a few factors that hurt the Huskies. A holding penalty on a two point conversation forced the Huskies to kick a PAT to come within 8, instead of 7.

“That was a huge momentum killer for us.” Head Coach Dave Doeren said. “After that, Wisconsin drove down the field to score and took the wind right out of our sales. I’m proud of our boys though. Our strengths are really starting to show for us, it’s just our weakenesses that are holding us back.”

The Huskies have a chance to pick up a W next week, as they host FCS W in DeKalb.

Game summary and stats can be seen below:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
UW	7	7	14	14	42
NIU	0	3	10	7	20

	UW	NIU
Score	42	20
First Downs	17	17
Total Offense	360	303
Rushes-Yards-TD	31-115-0	29-36-1
Comp-Att-TD	21-35-5	18-33-1
Passing Yards	245	267
3rd Down Conv	10-15 (66%)	5-13 (38%)
4th Down Conv	1-1 (100%)	1-2 (50%)
2- Point Conv	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG	7-4-0 (57%)	4-1-2 (75%)
Turnovers	2	5
Fumbles Lost	1	1
Interceptions	1	4
PR Yards	6	8
KR Yards	45	86
Total Yards	411	397
Punt-Average	4- 46.8	3- 45.0
Penalties-Yards	5-63	7-51
T.O.P.	13:56	18:04

Players of the Game

UW R. Wilson 21-35 245 Yds, 5 TD

NIU W. Clark 4 Rec, 106 Yds, TD

MAC News of Note
MAC Standings

Rank	Team	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA
1	CMU	2-1	0.660	1-0	76	63
2	Temple	2-1	0.660	1-0	103	80
3	Ball St	1-2	0.330	1-0	63	81
4	Ohio	3-0	1.000	0-0	121	60
5	WMU	2-1	0.660	0-1	91	66
6	EMU	2-1	0.660	0-0	97	89
7	Miami	1-1	0.500	0-0	71	53
8	Toledo	1-2	0.330	0-0	83	92
9	BGU	0-3	0.000	0-0	30	96
10	Buffalo	0-3	0.000	0-1	30	80
11	NIU	0-3	0.000	0-0	30	97
12	Akron	0-3	0.000	0-1	31	154
13	Kent St	0-3	0.000	0-0	42	83

NCAA News of Note
-Unranked Miami Hurricanes take out the #5 Ohio State Buckeyes 37-23 to drop them to #14.

-#19 Auburn drops from the polls after unranked Clemson wins 24-19. The win places Clemson at #23

Top 25 after Week 3

Rank	LW	Team/Votes	Wins	Losses
1	2	Oklahoma (39)	2	0
2	1	Alabama (21)	3	0
3	3	Oregon (1)	3	0
4	4	Stanford	3	0
5	6	Oklahoma St	3	0
6	7	Boise St	2	0
7	8	Texas A&M	2	0
8	10	LSU	2	1
9	11	Wisconsin	3	0
10	12	South Carolina	3	0
11	14	Nebraska	3	0
12	9	Florida St	2	1
13	16	Virginia Tech	3	0
14	5	Ohio State	2	1
15	17	Arkansa	3	0
16	20	Notre Dame	3	0
17	18	Florida	3	0
18	13	Michigan St	2	1
19	15	Mississippi St	2	1
20	22	Missouri	3	0
21	23	TCU	2	1
22	24	Baylor	2	0
23	---	Clemson	3	0
24	---	USC	3	0
25	---	UCF	3	0

Others Receiving Votes –

Miami (192), Northwestern (180), Auburn (177), Penn State (114),
Maryland (71), Pittsburgh (42)

Dropped Out –

Auburn (#19), Texas (#21), West Virginia (#25)

Things You Need To Know Between Northern Illinois and FCS West

The Northern Illinois Huskies (0-3, 0-0) will take on FCS West Bulldogs Saturday night in DeKalb, Ill this weekend. The are looking to improve in some areas and hopefully get the first win of the season under their belt. The Huskies are heavily favored in this matchup and will be taking some vengeance out on the Bulldogs.

Visiting Prospects – 0

Team Matchup not provided due to no stats from FCS W.

*Northern Illinois is 0-3 coming into this game.

Herby’s Pick of the Week:

Northern Illinois

QB Chandler Harnish Sets New NCAA Record In NIU’s First Win of the Season

Chandler Harnish threw a 93 yard bomb which broke an NCAA record for longest pass in a game Saturday during a rainy day at Husky Stadium. That toss opened the doors for NIU to burst through on their way to a 31-10 win against the FCS W Bulldogs.

“I saw Palmer streaking down the sidelines and just let it go.” Harnish said. That pass hit him in stride and he was able to outrun the Bulldog defense on his way to the endzone.

The Huskies had a gameplan and stuck to it. That gameplan included setting up play action passes by using the option run. It seemed like the Bulldog secondary was constantly having to stop in their tracks and turn around to get to the receiver sprinting behind them.

Holding penalties are still hobbling the offense, as they had a few positive rushing plays called back.

The Huskies (1-3, 0-0) open up MAC play next weekend as they go to Central Michigan and take on the Chippewas (2-2, 1-0).

Game summary and stats can be seen below:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
FCS W	0	3	0	7	10
NIU	7	14	7	3	31

	FCS W	NIU
Score	10	31
First Downs	11	7
Total Offense	224	397
Rushes-Yards-TD	17-42-0	33-76-1
Comp-Att-TD	14-33-1	15-20-3
Passing Yards	182	321
3rd Down Conv	3-13 (23%)	5-14 (35%)
4th Down Conv	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
2- Point Conv	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG	3-1-1 (66%)	4-1-1 (50%)
Turnovers	2	0
Fumbles Lost	2	0
Interceptions	0	0
PR Yards	8	13
KR Yards	84	43
Total Yards	316	453
Punt-Average	8- 42.8	6- 44.2
Penalties-Yards	3-20	5-60
T.O.P.	10:14	21:46

Players of the Game

FCS W None

NIU C. Harnish 15-20, 321 Yds, 3 TD

MAC News of Note
MAC Standings

Rank	Team	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA
1	Miami	2-1	0.660	1-0	113	74
2	Temple	2-2	0.500	1-0	131	143
3	CMU	2-2	0.500	1-0	89	110
4	Ball St	1-3	0.250	1-0	72	112
5	Ohio	4-0	1.000	0-0	148	70
6	WMU	2-2	0.500	0-1	98	105
7	EMU	2-2	0.500	0-0	100	141
8	Kent St	1-3	0.250	0-0	73	93
9	Toledo	1-3	0.250	0-0	96	112
10	NIU	1-3	0.250	0-0	61	107
11	BGU	0-4	0.000	0-1	51	138
12	Akron	0-4	0.000	0-1	51	182
13	Buffalo	0-4	0.000	0-1	33	104

NCAA News of Note
-#15 Arkansas upsets #2 Alabama 30-24. The win moves Arkansas to #13 and drops Alabama to #8.

-#5 Oklahoma State goes to #7 Texas A&M and gets handled by the Aggies 34-21. Oklahoma State drops to #12 while Texas A&M moves up to 4^th.

- Unranked Colorado drops #14 Ohio State 29-28 on a touchdown with 22 seconds left.

Top 25 after Week 4

Rank	LW	Team/Votes	Wins	Losses
1	1	Oklahoma (36)	3	0
2	3	Oregon (21)	4	0
3	4	Stanford (2)	3	0
4	7	Texas A&M (1)	3	0
5	6	Boise St (1)	3	0
6	8	LSU	3	1
7	9	Wisconsin	4	0
8	2	Alabama	3	1
9	10	South Carolina	4	0
10	11	Nebraska	4	0
11	12	Florida St	3	1
12	5	Oklahoma St	3	1
13	15	Arkansas	4	0
14	13	Virginia Tech	4	0
15	16	Notre Dame	4	0
16	17	Florida	4	0
17	18	Michigan St	3	1
18	19	Mississippi St	3	1
19	21	TCU	3	1
20	22	Baylor	3	0
21	24	USC	4	0
22	25	UCF	4	0
23	14	Ohio State	2	2
24	20	Missouri	3	1
25	---	Miami	2	1

Others Receiving Votes –

Northwestern (193), Clemson (128), Auburn (126), Penn State (110),
Maryland (94), Colorado (11), Georgia Tech (6)

Dropped Out –

Clemson (#23)

Things You Need To Know Between Northern Illinois and Central Michigan

The Northern Illinois Huskies (1-3, 0-0) will take on the Central Michigan Chippewas (2-2, 1-0) this weekend at CMU. The Huskies look to make it two in a row this season and open up MAC play with a win, while the Chips look to improve to 2-0. Here’s how things are shaping out for both teams so far this early season:

Visiting Prospects – 0

Bold denotes leader in that category

Rankings	NIU	CMU
Overall Rating	C+	C
Offense Rating	C+	C
Defense Rating	C	C-
Points Per Game	15.2 (#109)	22.2 (#85)
Total Offense	1004 (#98)	1330 (#55)
Rush Offense	167 (#119)	408 (#100)
Pass Offense	837 (#53)	922 (#35)
Total Defense	1240 (#58)	1533 (#102)
Rush Defense	508 (#52)	669 (#101)
Pass Defense	732 (#62)	864 (#93)
Turnover Diff	-1 (#72)	-3 (#98)

The Huskies are hoping the old adage “Defense wins games” is true this week, as their defense stacks up well against a weaker offense.

Herby’s Pick of the Week:

NIU

NIU Comes From Behind to Stun The Chippewas!

Senior Jasmin Hopkins breaks an NCAA Record with the longest run in history, an 80 yard jaunt to spark a fire in the 2^nd quarter, as the Huskies come from behind to beat the Chips.

“I knew as soon as I got around the corner on the left side, I had it.” Hopkins stated.

The game didn’t start off how the Huskies would have liked. Senior QB Chandler Harnish’s first two passes were picked off, which dug NIU into a hole. The offense rallied behind him, though, and took care of the game on the ground. Harnish was quiet most of the game, until he unloaded a bomb to Junior Martel Moore, an 80 yard toss that was taken to the house. He then followed that up with a go ahead 72 yard bomb Senior Willie Clark. The defense then held their ground, allowing a lone field goal to the Chips, and stealing a win.

The Huskies (2-3, 1-0) will host the Kent State Golden Flashes (1-4, 0-1) at noon in Dekalb, Ill.

Game summary and stats can be seen below:

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
NIU	0	14	10	15	39
CMU	6	24	0	3	33

	NIU	CMU
Score	39	33
First Downs	10	20
Total Offense	433	466
Rushes-Yards-TD	38-205-3	27-95-1
Comp-Att-TD	10-19-2	25-55-1
Passing Yards	228	371
3rd Down Conv	2-12 (16%)	6-19 (31%)
4th Down Conv	0-0 (0%)	1-2 (50%)
2- Point Conv	1-1 (100%)	0-0 (0%)
Red Zone-TD-FG	4-2-1 (75%)	6-1-4 (83%)
Turnovers	3	1
Fumbles Lost	1	1
Interceptions	2	0
PR Yards	21	34
KR Yards	104	63
Total Yards	558	563
Punt-Average	6- 43.8	5- 46.2
Penalties-Yards	10-61	6-50
T.O.P.	16:27	15:33

Players of the Game

NIU J. Hopkins 13 Car, 167 Yds, 2 TD

CMU J. Carr 5 Tkls, TFl, 3 ATK

MAC News of Note
MAC Standings

Rank	Team	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA
1	Ohio	5-0	1.000	1-0	182	83
2	Temple	3-2	0.600	2-0	150	157
3	EMU	3-2	0.600	1-0	130	161
4	Miami	2-2	0.500	1-0	130	110
5	NIU	2-3	0.400	1-0	100	140
6	Ball St	1-4	0.200	1-0	78	164
7	CMU	2-3	0.400	1-1	122	149
8	WMU	2-3	0.400	0-1	115	150
9	Kent St	1-4	0.200	0-1	86	127
10	Toledo	1-4	0.200	0-1	110	131
11	Buffalo	0-5	0.000	0-1	47	139
12	BGU	0-5	0.000	0-1	58	176
13	Akron	0-5	0.000	0-2	71	212

NCAA News of Note
-Unranked Auburn takes out #9 South Carolina 39-24 in SEC play. The upset moves Auburn to #21 and drops South Carolina to #16.

-#13 Arkansas whallops #7 Texas A&M 49-10. Arkansas moves to #8 while Texas A&M drops to #10.

Top 25 after Week 5

Rank	LW	Team/Votes	Wins	Losses
1	1	Oklahoma (37)	4	0
2	2	Oregon (22)	4	0
3	3	Stanford (1)	4	0
4	5	Boise St (1)	4	0
5	7	Wisconsin	5	0
6	6	LSU	4	1
7	8	Alabama	4	1
8	13	Arkansas	5	0
9	11	Florida St	3	1
10	4	Texas A&M	3	1
11	12	Oklahoma St	3	1
12	14	Virginia Tech	5	0
13	15	Notre Dame	5	0
14	17	Michigan St	4	1
15	10	Nebraska	4	1
16	9	South Carolina	4	1
17	18	Mississippi St	4	1
18	19	TCU	4	1
19	16	Florida	4	1
20	22	UCF	4	0
21	---	Auburn	3	2
22	24	Missouri	3	1
23	25	Miami	3	1
24	---	Illinois	5	0
25	---	Penn St	4	1

Others Receiving Votes –

Baylor (129), Maryland (107), Colorada (74), Georgia Tech (52), USC (47),
Ohio State (35), Texas (17), Clemson (16)

Dropped Out –

Baylor (#20), USC (#21), Ohio State (#23)

Things You Need To Know Between Northern Illinois and Kent State

The Northern Illinois Huskies (2-3, 1-0) look to extend their winning streak to 3 as they host the Kent State Golden Flashes (1-4, 0-1) this weekend. This looks to be a pretty even matchup. The winner of this game will be the one who shows they want it the most. A suspect KSU defense will be relying on their #49 ranked offense, while the Huskies look to hold them and use the ground game to run them over.

Visiting Prospects – 6

Name	POS	HT	WT	Specialty	Nat. Rank	Hometown	Caliber
Harvey Daniels	T	6’5”	298	Run Block	85	Brookfield, IL	3
Derrick Wagner	HB	6’0”	188	Speed	132	Plymouth, MI	2
Vernon Jones	C	6’3’	275	Balanced	33	Holland, MI	3
Tim Givens	TE	6’2”	257	Balanced	44	Lemay, MO	3
Pete Johnson	DT	6’7”	294	Pass Rush	73	Oak Forest, IL	3
Glenn Brown	DT	5’11”	357	Run Stop	33	Brookfield, WI	3

Bold denotes leader in that category

Rankings	KSU	NIU
Overall Rating	C	C+
Offense Rating	C	C+
Defense Rating	C-	C
Points Per Game	17.2 (#102)	20.0 (#94)
Total Offense	1727 (#49)	1437 (#83)
Rush Offense	887 (#33)	372 (#115)
Pass Offense	840 (#87)	1065 (#53)
Total Defense	1504 (#48)	1706 (#82)
Rush Defense	707 (#78)	603 (#48)
Pass Defense	797 (#44)	1103 (#99)
Turnover Diff	-5 (#111)	-2 (#88)

Herby’s Pick of the Week:

NIU

NIU Fails To Show Up Against Kent State

The NIU Huskies (2-4, 1-1) was embarrassed by Kent State (2-4, 1-1) Saturday afternoon, as they demolished the Huskies 50-14. Yes, it was that bad.

Coach Dave Doeren did not allow the media into the locker room after the game, but you could tell he wasn’t happy. Crashes were heard outside the locker room door, as well as undecipherable yelling, but the bottom line was, his team stunk it up on the field.

The Huskies turned the ball over 7 times, with 5 interceptions, one being in the 4 being in the red zone. Two fumbles were returned for touchdowns. Four dropped passes didn’t help their effort any either.

NIU needs to step up their game, as they have an even bigger challenge next week as they host Western Michigan (3-3, 1-1).

Game summary and stats can be seen below:

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kent	20	10	13	7	50
NIU	0	7	7	0	14

	NIU	CMU
Score	50	14
First Downs	16	15
Total Offense	384	346
Rushes - Yards - TD	36 - 150 - 1	26 - 49 - 0
Comp - ATT - TD	15 - 31 - 3	21 - 40 - 2
Passing Yards	234	297
3rd Down Conv	7 - 16 (43%)	4 - 13 (30%)
4th Down Conv	0 - 0 (0%)	0 - 0 (0%)
2 Pt. Conv	0 - 0 (0%)	0 - 0 (0%)
Red Zone - TD - FG	5 - 2 - 2 (80%)	4 - 0 - 0 (0%)
Turnovers	0	7
Fumbles	0	5
Interceptions	0	2
PR Yards	15	8
KR Yards	23	142
Total Yards	422	496
Punts - Average	4 - 43.5	6 - 42.0
Penalties - Yards	4 - 44	6 - 40
T.O.P.	13:53	18:07

Players of the Game

Kent I. Kitchen 3 Tkls, 4 TFL, 3 ATK

NIU N. Jefferson 5 Tkls, 3 TFl, ATK

MAC News of Note

MAC Standings

	Rank	Team	REC	PCT	Conf	PF	PA
:Ohio:	1	Ohio	6-0	1.000	2-0	216	93
:Temple:	2	Temple	4-2	0.660	3-0	181	181
:Miami_OH:	3	Miami	3-2	0.600	1-0	147	124
:Toledo:	4	Toledo	2-4	0.330	1-1	141	148
:Kent_State:	5	Kent St	2-4	0.330	1-1	136	141
:Northern_Illinois:	6	NIU	2-4	0.330	1-1	114	190
:Central_Michigan:	7	CMU	2-4	0.330	1-1	170	205
:Western_Michigan:	8	WMU	3-3	0.500	1-1	149	153
:Eastern_Michigan:	9	EMU	3-3	0.500	1-1	147	192
:Ball_State:	10	Ball St	1-5	0.160	1-1	102	195
:Akron:	11	Akron	1-5	0.160	0-2	91	222
:Buffalo:	12	Buffalo	0-6	0.000	0-2	57	173
:Bowling_Green:	13	BGU	0-6	0.000	0-2	61	210

NCAA News of Note

-#8 Arkansas falls to #14 following a loss to #21 Auburn, who moves to #18

-#12 Virginia Tech drops to #20 losing 38-28 to #23 Miami, who moves behind Va. Tech to #21

Top 25 after Week 5

Rank	LW	Team/Votes	Wins	Losses
1	2	Oregon (37)	5
2	1	Oklahoma (22)	5
3	3	Stanford (1)	5
4	5	Wisconsin (1)	5
5	4	Boise St	5
6	6	LSU	5	1
7	7	Alabama	5	1
8	13	Notre Dame	6
9	9	Florida St	4	1
10	10	Texas A&M	4	1
11	11	Oklahoma St	4	1
12	14	Michigan St	4	1
13	15	Nebraska	5	1
14	8	Arkansas	5	1
15	16	South Carolina	5	1
16	17	Mississippi St	5	1
17	18	TCU	5	1
18	21	Auburn	4	2
19	24	Illinois	6
20	12	Virginia Tech	5	1
21	23	Miami	4	1
22	22	Missouri	4	1
23	---	Georgia Tech	6
24	19	Florida	4	2
25	---	USC	4	1

Others Receiving Votes –

Iowa (104), Colorado (84), Utah (47), Penn State (23),
Clemson (22), Pittsburgh (10), Maryland (3)

Dropped Out –

UCF (#20), Penn State (#23)

:Western_Michigan: ^{(3-3, 1-1)} @ :Northern_Illinois:^{(2-4, 1-1)}

The Northern Illinois Huskies (2-4, 1-1) look to get back into the win column as they play host to Western Michigan Broncos (3-3, 1-1) this weekend. This looks to be a fairly even matchup.

Northern Illinois was unable to secure any recruits last weekend in their devastating loss to Kent State. Their experiences were as follows:

Name	POS	Caliber	Grade
Harvey Daniels	T (#85)	:3star:	C+
Derrick Wagner	HB (#132)	:2star:	C
Vernon Jones	C (#33)	:3star:	C
Tim Givens	TE (#44)	:3star:	C-
Pete Johnson	DT (#73)	:3star:	C
Michael Garner	DT (#76)	:3star:	C
Glenn Brown	DT (#33)	:3star:	C

For this week's matchup:

Rankings	WMU	NIU
Overall Rating	:check: C+	C+
Offense Rating	:check: C+	C+
Defense Rating	:check: C+	C
Points Per Game	:check: 24.8 (#76)	19.0 (#97)
Total Offense	:check: 2038 (#44)	1783 (#72)
Rush Offense	:check: 742 (#83)	421 (#116)
Pass Offense	1296 (#39)	:check: 1362 (#32)
Total Defense	2219 (#101)	:check: 2090 (#93)
Rush Defense	856 (#85)	:check: 753 (#53)
Pass Defense	1363 (#106)	:check:1337 (#103)
Turnover Diff	:check: 1 (#50)	-9 (#116)

HERBY'S PICK

:Western_Michigan:

NIU has 3 recruits on campus this weekend:

Name	Position	Specialty	Caliber
Reggie Jones	QB (#64)	Scrambler	:2star:
Jared Thomas	T (#116)	Balanced	:2star:
Cameron Cox	DT (#85)	Pass Rusher	:3star:

Just joined this site today, and noticed that nobody had responded to this very interesting thread. Great work lildude39! Do you plan on continuing the thread? I hope so. I wanted to offer a little constructive criticism. The most interesting parts are the stats for your team and the "stories" by the reporters. I think you are making way too much work for yourself putting in weekly rankings, little notes about other happenings, etc. The detail is impressive, but the best parts of your thread are getting buried a bit. Also, by keeping the entries to strictly "sportswriter" accounts (which were great btw) and the stats you'll minimize the labor in producing your entries and I'm sure that will increase your enthusiasm for making them. Once again, great job so far.

Thanks Tobus.

I am currently on season 2, but there seemed to be little interest on this, so I quit posting. Also, I've been on travel with little time at home, so I just played and didn't bother updating. Once I get home, I'll pick up again on where I'm at currently.

Thanks for the advice. When i pick this back up, I will go that route.

Thanks again!

Just joined the site today, and Iv'e seen dynasty stories before and this has to be the most impressive. Too bad you wont post anymore

Actually have all day to play, so going to fire this thing back up. I am beginning my third season, and have decided to follow the guidelines that were established in Smooth Pancakes CC. The recruiting rules were established by another person, apologies for not remembering who to give credit to. They are as follows:

Years Two and Three

• May only move on to higher rated OC/DC jobs after full completion of first contract.
  
  --- Next OC/DC job must be at another mid-major program, no more than three stars prestige.

Years Six and Seven

• May only make jump to Head Coach after 6-7 years if going to a mid-major program.
  
  --- Mid-major program must be three stars prestige or less.
  
  ------- May move onto four stars prestige or less mid-major programs after completion of first Head Coach contract.
  _____________
  
  --- OC/DC positions at major/AQ conference programs are now available, up to four stars.
  
  ------- May accept OC/DC at all programs up to five stars after three or more years as OC/DC at a major/AQ conference program.
  
  ---------- May accept OC/DC at all programs, including six star prestige, after five or more years at five stars prestige or less major/AQ conference programs.

Years Twelve and beyond

• May only make jump to Head Coach of major programs after 5 years HC experience at mid-major.
  
  --- May accept HC jobs at five star prestige programs or less.
  
  ------- May accept HC jobs at any programs, including six star prestige, after five or more years at five stars prestige or less major/AQ conference programs.

Contract Rules

• Must honor contract years in full, except:
  
  --- May leave via opt-out clause if offered a coaching contract from Cincinnati (alma mater).
  
  ------- Includes all versions of contracts (OC, DC, and Head Coach).

Recruiting Rules

• As Offensive Coordinator, can only recruit pipeline states. As Head Coach, can recruit anywhere.

Scheduling Rules

• Must fill out schedule like in real life with "contracts".
  
  When coordinator or head coach of a non-BCS/mid-major team
• If scheduling a BCS/major team, must agree to either a 2 for 1 contract or a one and done contract.
• If scheduling a non-BCS/mid-major team, contracts will automatically be home and home.
• Games can be spread out, but must be played within 5 years of each other.
  
  When coordinator or head coach of a BCS/major team
• If scheduling a BCS/major team, contracts will automatically be home and home.
• If scheduling a non-BCS/mid-major team, contracts are allowed to be one and done, home and home, or 2 for 1.
• Games can be spread out, but must be played within 5 years of each other.

I will be entering the 3rd year of my 3 year contract. My progress so far:

Goal	Progress	Fail Impact	Pass Impact
2400+ total offensive yards each season	4557	:6redarrow:	:6greenarrow:
7+ rushing TD in each season	Complete		:5greenarrow:
55% pass completions over the entire contract	50%	:5redarrow:	:4greenarrow:
Win 8 games in one season	6		:3greenarrow:
2800+ total offensive yards in each season	4557		:3greenarrow:
14+ points per game in each season	24	:2redarrow:	:2greenarrow:

0 Goals Failed
2 Goals Passed (Win 4 games in one season, 2400+ total offensive yards in one season.)

Current Pipeline States:

Illinois
Missouri
Wisconsin
Florida
Indiana

Current Scheduling Contracts:

Army (2 for 1)
Idaho (Home and Home)

Coach Rice Stays True To His Word

Despite offerings from Indiana University and San Jose State, Coach Casey Rice stated he is staying loyal to the NIU Huskies.

"I signed a 3 year contract, and unlike a lot of coaches that jump the ship at the best possible opportunity, I am staying a Husky until my job is finished." stated Rice.

Coach Rice's contract is up at the end of this season. He is well on his way to completing a majority of the stipulations of the contract. He does, however, have the opt out clause in his contract, that if his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, makes an offer, he can be let out with no repercussions.

"Ever since I wrapped my playing career up at UC, it has been a goal of mine to wind up back there at one day in another role on the sidelines. I made that clear with NIU, and they respected my wish. Since they pretty much said 'We're loyal to you if they come calling', then I will be loyal to them."

Coach Rice's option offense has gained some criticism with the Dekalb crowd. Slow starts and turnovers have been the achilles heel of the offense, and have generated 2 straight losing seasons for the Huskies.

"I realize the fans are upset with the option, but they have to realize this is a very difficult system to learn. The kids that were here under the previous system were recruited for that system. I believe they've done a great job at adapting. Now that we are getting some kids in here that are familiar with they way we play, it will bring more positive results."

Dekalb and NIU hope so, or else they may be looking for a new offensive coordinator at the end of the year.

The schedules are being generated, offseason recruiting is getting into full swing, and the next season of NIU football is right around the corner! Stay tuned, folks!

Offseason Happenings at Northern Illinois University

Jordan Luallen becomes a Husky

(This occurred last year)

Jordan Luallen has decided to transfer from the University of Cincinnati after being upset with Coach Butch Jones. The scrambling 6'3" 218 lb. former Bearcat should fit in to the option very well, and is looking forward to wrapping his career up at NIU

Dekalb Welcomes The New Huskies

The NIU Huskies sport the #86 ranked class in the nation with the following signed recruits:

Player	POS	Ht.	Wt.	Caliber
J. Gray	DE	6'4"	264	:4star:
J. Patrick	ATH	6'1"	196	:3star:
C. Bowling	WR	6'2"	166	:3star:
R. Sullivan	HB	6'1"	217	:3star:
R. Bradley	DE	6'1"	220	:3star:
J. Smith	OLB	6'4"	224	:3star:
C. McKinney	WR	6'2"	209	:2star:
J. Rodgers	DT	6'4"	304	:2star:
J. Walton	FS	6'5"	183	:2star:
J. Billings	HB	5'9"	203	:2star:
B. Williams	CB	6'0"	185	:2star:
B. Busch	ATH	5'10"	183	:2star:
D. Foster	T	6'4"	303	:2star:
J. Lake	MLB	6'5"	225	:2star:
C. Jones	SS	6'0"	212	:2star:
A. Harris	DT	6'4"	285	:2star:
W. Connor	G	6'3"	302	:2star:
M. Scott	C	6'3"	291	:1star:
T. Colbert	CB	6'0"	183	:1star: