Huskie tales, NIU: October 2008 Archives

Two out of three isn't bad. Northern Illinois senior defensive end Craig Rusch and junior kicker Mike Salerno were honored by the Mid-American Conference Monday by being selected as West Division Players of the Week on defense and special teams for their roles in Saturday's 16-13 win over Bowling Green.

Both were worthy.

Rusch had only three tackles but one was a key sack on the Falcons' last possession that led to the change of possession punt that preceded the game-winning drive. More importantly, the honor helps recognize the strong team defense being played by the Huskies, who have allowed no more than one TD in each of the last six games.

Salerno kicked three field goals, including the game-winner with 11.9 seconds left. Another was from 52 yards, which was his career long and tied a school record.

NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish, who rushed for 113 yards, was nominated for the offensive honor but Ball State quarterback Nate Davis received the honor for his role in the Cardinals' win over Eastern Michigan.

They brought out the Thunder Stix last week for homecoming at Huskie Stadium and coach Jerry Kill is a big fan. Earlier in the week he remembered how tough it made it on his SIU team when it played in DeKalb in 2004.

"(Today's 3 p.m.) game (vs. Bowling Green) is very, very important for the Huskies," said Kill. "We need to keep that enthusiasm going. The noise really bothered Toledo and led to some (illegal procedure) penalties. Home field is great.

"It's been loud. It's been exciting. It's been great to see.

"We've got to bring 'em out again. I'll buy the Thunder stix."

Earlier this year Bowling Green signed no recruits from the Land of Lincoln, but there are six players from Illinois on the roster and five of them play key roles for coach Gregg Brandon's Falcons.

Junior wide receiver Freddie Barnes (Homewood-Flossmoor) starts at the X receiver and is second on the team with 27 receptions for 218 yards.

Senior Nick Iovinelli (Lisle High School/Harper College) is the team's punter and averages 41.1 yards-per-kick. Ten of his 34 kicks have been downed inside the opponent's 20-yard-line.

Sophomore Tyler Donahue (Naperville Central) is a 6-6, 281-pound right tackle who backs up starter Jeff Fink. Donahue has seen action in every game.

Sophomore Neal Dahlman (Providence New Lenox) is the team's long snapper on special teams.

Sophomore Nick Torresso (Schaumburg) is a defensive lineman who is not listed on the two-deep this week but he's played in every game and started last week against Miami.

Sophomore tight end Nick Rieke (Crystal Lake South) has seen action in just one game this season.

Next up for Northern Illinois is Bowling Green (Saturday, 3 p.m.).

BG coach Gregg Brandon's background is on offense and he's well aware of Northern defensive end standout Larry English.

"I think we have to know where he is, where he lines up and then we have to be creative in ways to control him and block him," said Brandon. "In every game they've played, he's been disruptive to the offense. We've got to minimize those.

"But he's not the only guy. They've got a number of guys that are quick and active and that's why they're soo good on defense."

Brandon was the former assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for Urban Meyer the two years the current Florida coach was in Bowling Green. But Brandon doesn't have an offensive coordinator himself. He does have a running game coordinator (Matt Campbell) and passing game coordinator (Troy Rothebuhler), but the play-calling, no doubt, falls on the head coach's shoulders.

As we speculated in a column several weeks ago, Northern Illinois and Wisconsin have agreed to play a future game at Soldier Field. But it won't be until 2011.
After Northern played at Wisconsin last year, the Badgers were scheduled to play in DeKalb in 2009. I think everyone figured that would never happen, given the success of Northern's 2007 opener against Iowa at sold-out Soldier Field.
By playing to a full or near full house in Chicago, Northern can pay a Big Ten team a hefty guarantee and still make good money for its own athletic department.
Playing a Big Ten team in DeKalb, given the payout guarantee that would be necessary, probably makes it a losing proposition overall (financially) even if Huskie Stadium is filled.
In the new arrangement, the Northern also agreed to open the 2009 season at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. The Badgers don't come to Chicago until Sept. 17, 2011.
Initial reaction?
A good financial move but one that does next year's team no favors having to go on the road for another opener.
Here's hoping new athletic director Jeff Compher does a better job with the rest of the schedule and doesn't come up with one that sucks like this year's schedule. You'll recall the Huskies played only one home game out of their first five, covering the first six weeks of the season.
They handled it well and did well to come out of it 2-3 with all three losses by four points or less. Problem is, it still cost the team in terms of fan interest and ambivalence is something a mid-major program can ill afford.

Northern Illinois will go back to square one for Saturday's 3 p.m. homecoming date with Toledo and start redshirt freshman Chandler Harnish at quarterback.

Harnish, who won the starting job in preseason and started the first two games for the 3-3 Huskies, missed three games with a foot sprain but returned last week in the second quarter when DeMarcus Grady went down with an ankle injury.

""DeMarcus is still limping around," coach Jerry Kill said at his weekly press conference. "Chandler will start at quarterback."

Senior Dan Nicholson, who started three games but suffered a left shoulder injury at Tennessee in the fifth game, is expected to return to practice this week.

"Nicholson can practice, he just can't take a hit right now," said Kill.

Fourth-string quarterback, junior Ryan Morris, also took a few snaps at Tennessee.

"Our timing, offensively, because of our situation at quarterback, is not where it needs to be," said Kill. "But if you had told me at the end of six weeks we'd be where we are at now, I'd have told you I'm shocked. I think we've come a long way.

"For six games I think they've given us everything they can give us. The question now is, can we sustain it?"

I think we all saw this coming, didn't we?

Two University of Toledo football players who were arrested early Sunday morning outside a bar are going to play Saturday at Northern Illinois.

Imagine that.

Toledo wide receiver and team co-captain Nick Moore had reason to celebrate after catching 20 passes for 162 yards in the Rockets big 13-10 upset at Michigan. So did defensive end Albertson Alexandre, who had five tackles, including one for a 2-yard loss.

And, apparently, celebrate they did.

They were arrested outside of Ryno's Bar & Grill in Toledo after Moore apparently was involved in a fistfight in the establishment's parking light. He was charged with disorderly conduct intoxication, a minor misdemeanor, the Toledo Blade reported.

Alexandre was charged with obstructing official business, a second degree misdemeanor, the report said.

This afternoon, the paper reported on its website that neither player will start but both will play on Saturday.

Said Toledo coach Tom Amstutz: "As head coach, it is my judgment that Nick and Albertson violated team rules, and as a result will face team penalities. Both players will be held out of the starting lineup this Saturday against Northern Illinois. In addition, they both will face internal team discipline."

In other words, there's likely a lot of post-practice running in their immediate futures.