College football preview: NIU vs. Ohio
By Mike McGraw
mmcgraw@dailyherald.com
When: 6 p.m. Friday at Ford Field, Detroit
TV: ESPN2
Radio: WSCR 670-AM, WLBK 1360-AM.
Series: Tied 9-9; Ohio won last meeting 38-31 in 2009.
Coaches: Dave Doeren (9-3, first year at NIU); Frank Solich (49-39, seventh year at Ohio).
Ohio players to watch: Sophomore QB Tyler Tettleton, whose father Mickey was a major-league catcher, set single-season school records for passing yards and total offense. WR LaVon Brazill is 86 yards shy of being the first 1,000-yard receiver in school history. Top rusher Donte Harden also leads the MAC in kick returns.
NIU players to watch: Senior QB Chandler Harnish is the third-leading rusher in the league with 112.6 yards per game. The Huskies’ other first-team all-conference players are tackle Trevor Olson, center Scott Wedige and kicker Mathew Sims. Defensive end Sean Progar, a second-team selection, recorded a safety and a sack in last week’s 18-12 win over Eastern Michigan.
The skinny: Northern Illinois is trying to win its first MAC title since 1983 (though it didn’t play in the MAC from 1986-96). Both of its previous appearances in the conference championship game resulted in crushing losses, to Miami last year and Akron in 2005. The Redhawks converted a fourth-and-20 on their way to scoring the winning touchdown with 33 seconds left. The Huskies, averaging just under 40 points per game, have won seven straight after opening the conference season with a loss at Central Michigan. Four of those victories were by 6 points or less. ... Ohio can match NIU’s high-powered offense. The Bobcats set school records for points and total yards, while also ranking second in the MAC in scoring defense (22.0 points). Ohio is in the title game for the third time in six years, but has never won.
Quoting Doeren: “Schematically, they’re a lot like us. If you’re going to compare them, you’d compare them to us. They run a lot of the same plays on offense. We have similar quarterbacks. We have similar skill. We have an offensive line, both of us, that’s physical and big. Defensively, we’re both 4-3 teams.”
Fast fact: QB Chandler Harnish won the Vern Smith Award, given to the MAC’s most valuable player. An NIU player has now won the award in five of the last six years. Garrett Wolfe, Larry English (twice) and Chad Spann were the other winners.