2015 CFB Preview – Northern Illinois


Northern Illinois
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Is it really possible for NIU to rise up and move into a higher-rent district?

By Pete Fiutak | @PeteFiutak

Remember, the expansion world of college athletics revolves mostly around the idea of TV markets and potential eyeballs on the screen. It’s why the Big Ten went after Rutgers and Maryland, and it’s why Missouri – because of the St. Louis and Kansas City tie-ins – made so much sense for the SEC.

Is Northern Illinois really that close to being on the Big 12 radar?

It would be a massive jump up in weight class all the way around – bypassing Conference USA and the American Athletic Conference and going straight into the Power 5 world – but that was some of the buzz surrounding NIU after it unveiled the plan to expand the stadium. With a massive alumni base in the Chicago area, the Big 12 looking at NIU isn’t so insane, and the on-field product hasn’t hurt the cause, either.

The superpower of the MAC, NIU has won 11 games or more in five straight seasons with five conference title appearances and two championships, this has been one of the nation’s most productive programs. With a win over Northwestern last year, victories over Iowa and Purdue on the road in 2013, and a win over Kansas in 2012, the Huskies have looked the part in several games against big conference teams. One more really big year might be enough to make NIU even more attractive.

With eight starters back on a defense that had to rebuild in several ways last year, there’s reason to expect even more. The offense showed that there’s life after Jordan Lynch, and it proved it could fill in the holes where needed and keep on rolling. There’s depth at NIU now, and more and more, players are looking at the program as a viable option as a big-time place to play.

DeKalb is only 300 miles away from Iowa State and Big 12 country – this really might be an audition season.

At least that’s the hope.

What You Need To Know About The Offense: The offense handled the loss of Jordan Lynch just fine – the program is a machine at this point that can replace anyone. The Huskies are going to run the ball again and keep running it after finishing 16th in the nation in rushing. Expect the passing game to be efficient, too, with QB Drew Hare back along with dangerous target Tommylee Lewis after missing all of last year. Only two starters are back up front, but it’s Northern Illinois – the linemen are always there and they always produce. Hare will be one of the team’s most dangerous runners, but Joel Bouagnon will handle most of the workload.

What You Need To Know About The Defense: Eight starters return from a defense that was terrific for the most part, but had a few meltdowns in shootouts. It couldn’t handle the power of Arkansas or the offensive juggernaut of Marshall, but in MAC play it was tremendous at getting off the field. Boomer Mays leads a good linebacking corps, but the strength is up front with Perez Ford on the end to go along with the tackle pair of William Lee and Corey Thomas. The D’s goal is to merely hold serve and let the offense control games – this experience group should do more than that.

What to watch for on offense: The offensive line has to rebuild a bit. The quarterback situation is fine, the skill players are there, and there’s depth at most spots, but the O line is the one area that needs the most work and has to develop the backups and rotation, too. NIU’s success started years ago with one of the consistently best offensive fronts in the MAC, but with three starters lost and a few of the key backups, the cohesion has to be there as soon as possible over the first two games against UNLV and Murray State before dealing with the Ohio State and Boston College road games. It’s NIU, the O line will be fine, but it has to be fantastic.

What to watch for on defense: Where were the third down stops? The pass rush was sensational all season long, but the defense still had a hard time getting off the field allowing teams to convert on 50% or more of their third down chances in six games including the losses to Arkansas and Marshall. The last time NIU gave up more than 40% of its chances on the year was 2009, and last year it allowed teams to convert 43.5% of the time. Leading pass rusher Jason Meehan is gone, but everyone else is back and there should be even more pressure. The secondary that had to revamp last year now has to come up with the plays to get on the sidelines.

The team will be far better if … the NIU rushing attack is the NIU rushing attack throughout the year. It’s not that hard for the Huskies – when the ground game is working, the offense is rolling and the team wins. Three of the four worst running games last season resulted in losses, getting held down by Arkansas, Central Michigan and Marshall, and struggling in the one win against Ohio when the ground attack didn’t. The passing game tried to pick up the slack in the three losses, and it actually worked against Marshall, but the system breaks down when the running game doesn’t dominate.

The schedule: The Huskies should be able to get off to a nice start against UNLV and Murray State, but then it’s time to pack the bags. There can’t be any home game slips over the course of the season considering the early road stretch.
– At the very least, the Huskies have nothing to lose going to Ohio State. However, dealing with a road trip to Boston College right after won’t be easy, and the MAC opener at CMU to follow will be a fight. They play three road games in a row and are on the road for four games in five weeks.
– So it must get a lot easier late, huh? At least NIU gets a week off to prepare for Toledo, but it’s on the road.
– The Western Michigan game is at home, but other than that, NIU doesn’t get much in the way of home breaks in the schedule.
– WATCH OUT FOR … at Buffalo. If NIU is in the hunt for the MAC title, it not only needs the road win at Toledo in early November, but it also needs to beat Western Michigan. In between is the date with Buffalo.

Best offensive player: Senior C Andrew Ness. QB Drew Hare is turning into a very, very nice player, even if he isn’t Jordan Lynch, and the hope will be for other offensive linemen to rock, especially at tackle, but Ness is the quarterback up front and the leader who makes the ground game go. Next to Aidan Conlon inside, Ness will be the anchor for a rebuilding front five that should be fine, but needs its All-MAC star to be even better.

Best defensive player: Senior CB Paris Logan. There are several excellent defenders who’ll be in the mix for All-MAC honors, but it’s Logan who should be the biggest star with good hitting ability, shutdown talent against the pass, and supreme quickness as a return man. While he’s not all that big, he’s a great hitter who isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty, but now he should do even more for the pass defense.

Key player to a successful season: Junior OT Levon Myers. Is he ready to become the next star NIU left tackle? Tyler Loos is done on one side, and Ryan Brown is gone on the other, and now it’s up to Myers to turn into another top all-around blocker on the outside. A big and quick 6-5, 311-pounder, he has the look and the ability to play either tackle spot, and if he can turn into a consistent pass protector, all of a sudden the concerns up front go away.

The season will be a success if … Northern Illinois wins the MAC title. That’s the bar and that’s the expectation, and nothing else will matter. Getting double-digit wins would be great, but that could be tough with road games at Ohio State and Boston College likely losses, but those don’t really matter. With road games at Central Michigan and Toledo, getting to the Detroit for a sixth straight season and coming away with a second straight trophy would be terrific, even if it’s expected.

Key game: Nov. 3 at Toledo. NIU and Toledo should be the two best teams in the MAC, and this could be the conference championship game if both play as well as expected. Why has NIU gone to five MAC title games in a row? Part of the reason is a five-game winning streak over the Rockets, and it probably has to be six in a row to get back to the championship. Fortunately, the Huskies get a week off to prepare.

2014 Fun Stats:
– Sacks: Northern Illinois 32 for 227 yards – Opponents 14 for 82 yards
– Penalties; Northern Illinois 82 for 794 yards – Opponents 63 for 528 yards
– Interceptions Thrown: Opponents 14 – Northern Illinois 3

Players You Need To Know

1. C Andrew Ness, Sr.
He was a longtime veteran and key part of the line going into last year, and this season he might be the best offensive lineman in the MAC. The First Team All-MAC anchor of the great line isn’t huge at 6-3 and 298 pounds, but he’s the quarterback up front with the skill and talent to play anywhere on the front five. Quick, tough, and a terrific technician who’s both great in a phone booth and on the move.

2. CB Paris Logan, Sr.
A First Team All-MAC performer, the 5-9, 184-pounder turned in a big year for a secondary that desperately needed a boost after losing several key parts. He was a nine-game starters in 2013, making 42 tackles and breaking up eight passes, but his real worth was as a kickoff returner. Last year he turned into more of a shutdown cover-corner while also finishing fourth on the team with 77 tackles, doing a great job in the open field with 51 stops. Extremely quick, and with the proven experience, he’ll be the type of playmaker teams will have to stay away from.

3. LB Boomer Mays, Sr.
The main man in the middle for the last few years, the Second Team All-MAC performer is a great-sized 6-0, 243-pound tackler who followed up an 82-tackle season with 75 stops and nine tackles for loss, coming up with ten tackles against Ohio. Good in the open field, he’s at his best when things are funneled his way – he doesn’t miss a stop. While he has enough speed to work on the outside, he’s at his best in the middle with his physical style – he’s a big hitter for the run D.

4. QB Drew Hare, Jr.
There was a quarterback question mark going into last year – who was going to replace Jordan Lynch? The 6-1, 215-pound Hare didn’t end up running like Lynch did, but he ran for 900 yards and eight touchdowns – more of an effective runner than a gamebreaker – while completing 60% of his throws for 2,322 yards with 18 touchdowns. Most impressively, he only gave away two interceptions, doing a fantastic job at keeping the mistakes to a bare minimum. Most importantly, he led the way to a MAC title win. While he’s not a big bomber, he has a good enough arm to get by, and he showed he could come up with huge rushing performances from time to time with 180 yards against Miami and 166 against Eastern Michigan. Now he knows what he’s doing.

5. WR Tommylee Lewis, Sr.
The team’s best all-around offensive playmaker in 2013 not named Lynch, he led the team with 86 catches for 715 yards and three scores, finished third on the team with 356 rushing yards and a score, and averaged 28.4 yards per kick return with a score. At 5-7 and 155 pounds, he’s not big, but he can really, really move with lightning quickness and gamebreaking ability. He didn’t bust off too many big plays for the passing game, but he did enough to earn All-MAC honors. Expected to do even more last year, he was lost right away to what was described as a lower body injury. Now he’s healthy and ready to roll.

6. DE Perez Ford, Sr.
The defensive front needed Ford to become more of a pass rusher, and he came through big with five sacks and nine tackles for loss, along with 54 tackles, on the way to Second Team All-MAC honors. At 6-0 and 228 pounds, he’s build like an outside linebacker, and he’s more of a hybrid than a true end, but he was a steady, consistent disruptive force throughout the season. The former high school running back can move – the former Illinois state champion-level sprinter has tremendous speed for his size.

7. LB Rasheen Lemon, Sr.
Built like a safety, the 6-0, 206-pound outside linebacker is fast and athletic on the outside, and he holds up well making 86 tackles on the year and looking like a physical presence in the open field. Really, really fast, he was an Illinois high school track star, but he’s tough and isn’t afraid to make the big hit. He could stand to be used a bit more as a pass rusher, but he had his moments with 2.5 sacks and plenty of pressures. With 11 tackles against Ohio and ten against Eastern Michigan, he can put up big numbers in chunks.

8. SS Marlon Moore, Sr.
The team’s top tackler, the former cornerback did a great job moving over to strong safety, holding up well making 939 tackles with a pick and three broken up passes. He proved he could be a top-shelf pass defender when he was at corner, but last year he was tremendous against the run making 14 tackles against Arkansas and 12 against Central Michigan. While he’s not huge at 5-9 and 192 pounds, he brings a nice pop to go along with his quickness.

9. RB Joel Bouagnon, Jr.
Third on the team in rushing, he’ll be more of a factor this year with leading-rusher Cameron Stingily gone. At 6-2 and 222 pounds he has great size and uses it well to thump a bit, rushing for 655 yards and five scores, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, while catching 13 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. He did most of his work in the opener against Presbyterian, rushing for 97 yards and four scores, but he was good for several carries a game as part of a rotation. This year he’ll be a bit more of a workhorse.

10. WR Juwan Brescacin, Sr.
With Da’Ron Brown gone, the 6-4, 224-pound Canada native has to be more of a factor after catching 31 passes for 445 yards and six scores. Very big and very athletic, he’s a mismatch problem with the ability to stretch the field, catching three passes for 116 yards against Kent State, and following it up with six catches for 76 yards and two scores against Central Michigan. However, he disappeared at times over the second half of the season before coming up with a touchdown in both the MAC title game and in the bowl loss to Marshall. He might not be a No. 1 target, but he’ll get the chance.

11. LB Sean Folliard, Jr.
The 6-2, 227-pound Folliard might not have received the attention or done as much as his linebacker running mates, but he came up with a good year making 58 tackles with 1.5 sacks and six tackles for loss. He comes up with big hits and is always around the ball as a consistent tackler who can get behind the line from time to time. He has the speed and quickness to start being even more disruptive.

Head Coach: Rod Carey
3rd year: 11-3
Schedule
Sept. 5 UNLV
Sept. 12 Murray State
Sept. 19 at Ohio State
Sept. 26 at Boston Coll
Oct. 3 at Central Mich
Oct. 10 Ball State
Oct. 17 at Miami Univ.
Oct. 24 Eastern Michigan
Oct. 31 OPEN DATE
Nov. 3 at Toledo
Nov. 11 at Buffalo
Nov. 18 Western Mich
Nov. 24 Ohio
Ten Best NIU Players
1. C Andrew Ness, Sr.
2. CB Paris Logan, Sr.
3. LB Boomer Mays, Sr.
4. QB Drew Hare, Jr.
5. WR Tommylee Lewis, Sr.
6. DE Perez Ford, Sr.
7. LB Rasheen Lemon, Sr.
8. SS Marlon Moore, Sr.
9. RB Joel Bouagnon, Jr.
10. WR Juwan Brescacin, Sr.