College football preview: NIU at Kansas
By Mike McGraw
mmcgraw@dailyherald.com
Northern Illinois (1-0) at Kansas (1-0)
When: 6 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium
TV: Fox College Sports; Radio: WIND 560-AM, WLBK 1360-AM
Series: NIU leads 1-0 (37-34 in 1983)
Coaches: Dave Doeren (1-0, first year at NIU); Turner Gill (4-9, second year at Kansas; 24-39 overall).
Kansas players to watch: The majority of Kansas points were scored by true freshmen against McNeese State last week. The list includes WR JaCorey Shepherd with TD catches of 56 and 48 yards; while TB Tony Pierson from East St. Louis had a 47-yard TD run. … Sophomore James Sims rushed for 104 yards on 19 carries, while Pierson gained 73 on just 5 attempts last week. … Sophomore QB Jordan Webb completed 7-of-10 passes for 146 yards. … OLB Steven Johnson, a senior, led the defense with 15 tackles.
NIU players to watch: Fourth-year starting quarterback Chandler Harnish threw 5 touchdown passes, all to different receivers, in last week’s win over Army. Overall, Harnish completed 12-of-19 attempts for 195 yards and also ran for 94 yards. … Senior RB Jasmin Hopkins gained 138 yards on 14 carries last week, running behind the Huskies’ veteran offensive line. … On defense, senior MLB Pat Schiller (Geneva) had 9 tackles, including 2 for loss. Junior DE Alan Baxter (Buffalo Grove) recorded 7 tackles and forced a fumble.
The skinny: Northern Illinois is favored in this game, which is unusual for a MAC team playing on the road in the Big 12. The Huskies have high hopes this season and delivered 509 yards in total offense last week while building a 49-6 lead over Army by the end of the third quarter. Kansas had trouble putting away McNeese State before finally winning 42-24. The skill players on offense are young and the Jayhawks had 55 runs, compared to just 10 passes against McNeese.
Fast fact: New NIU coach Dave Doeren worked at Kansas under Mark Mangino from 2002-05 and grew up in Shawnee Mission, Kan. Doeren spent the past five years as an assistant at Wisconsin, which is Northern Illinois’ next opponent on Sept. 17 at Soldier Field. … Kansas’ offensive coordinator is Wheaton native and former NFL quarterback Chuck Long.