College football preview: NIU at Bowling Green

By Mike McGraw

mmcgraw@dailyherald.com

Northern Illinois (6-3, 4-1) at Bowling Green (4-5, 2-3)

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Doyt Perry Stadium

TV: ESPN2

Radio: WSCR 670-AM, WLBK 1360-AM.

Series: Bowling Green leads 10-6; NIU won 16-13 last season.

Coaches: Dave Doeren (6-3, first year at NIU); Dave Clawson (13-21, third year at Bowling Green).

Players to watch: Bowling Green DE Chris Jones leads the MAC with 7 sacks. WR Kamar Jordan moved into 10th place last week on the school’s list of career receptions with 155. RB Anthony Samuel is third in the country among freshman rushers with 100.6 yards per game. ... Northern Illinois QB Chandler Harnish ran for 133 yards against Toledo, while throwing for 265 yards and 6 touchdowns. Freshman Tommylee Lewis returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

The skinny: The Huskies have to guard against a letdown after last week’s ridiculous 63-60 win at Toledo. They took control of the MAC West division race, but could lose that edge by dropping a game here. Bowling Green is still a contender for the MAC East title and owns quality wins over Temple and Miami. But the Falcons also lost to 1-6 Kent State last week. BGSU does have a fairly potent passing offense behind sophomore QB Matt Shilz, and NIU’s defense has struggled to keep the score down against quality opponents.

Fast fact: The last time NIU played at Bowling Green on Oct. 23, 2003, the Huskies were ranked No. 12, BGSU was No. 23 and the ESPN GameDay crew was on hand for the game. The Falcons won 34-18.