NIU offense falls flat on program's biggest day

It was the showcase event Northern Illinois had dreamed about for decades.

A sellout at Soldier Field, the surrounding grounds teeming with tailgaters, a postcard-like afternoon with barely a hint of breeze, a national TV audience on ESPNU, a sizable media presence, past heroes like Garrett Wolfe in attendance.

Saturday, NIU had all of it and more.

This was a victory for NIU before Chris Nendick's foot struck the ball for the opening kickoff. It seemed like the perfect setting to take some risks, to challenge the big team from the big league.

Evidently, it wasn't.

A stay-at-home offensive game plan that hurt NIU last season resurfaced again in a 16-3 loss to Iowa before 61,500 at Soldier Field -- the largest crowd ever for an NIU home game. There were variations in the Huskies offense -- twice as many passes (42) as runs (21) being the most notable -- but not enough pizzazz to knock off Iowa.

"We didn't make any big plays offensively," coach Joe Novak said.

Iowa (1-0) had a lot to do with it. The Hawkeyes relied on their veteran defensive line to supply pressure, allowing their linebackers and defensive backs to crowd passing lanes.

The approach worked as Iowa collected 3 sacks, held NIU to 21 net rushing yards and intercepted quarterback Dan Nicholson three times.

"They don't blitz a lot, played a lot of Cover 2 against us," Novak said. "They give us the shallow underneath stuff. They take away the deep stuff. They're difficult to hit the big play on.

"They're very conservative."

Did the same tag apply to NIU's offense?

"We would like to have (taken more risks)," Novak said. "We tried a couple."

Much like last year's game in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes gave NIU (0-1) plenty of chances.

Iowa had 10 penalties for 173 yards. Sophomore quarterback Jake Christensen completed just 12 of 29 passes, a ratio affected by numerous drops. The Hawkeyes also missed a field goal and an extra point.

But time and again, NIU couldn't convert. Despite dominating the field position early and holding Iowa to 30 first-quarter yards, NIU went scoreless after starting its first drive in Hawkeyes territory and its second at midfield.

"If your defense can get you out of trouble, it sure helps," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.

NIU's largest lost opportunity came on the first possession of the third quarter. Trailing 13-3, NIU reached the Iowa 3-yard line thanks to a rare gamble, a 40-yard flea-flicker from Nicholson to Greg Turner.

But a false start on tight end Reed Cunningham immediately pushed the ball back.

"We only had 10 guys on the field," Novak said. "We were trying to call timeout. We had a substitution grouping, and one kid was supposed to go in. That's the coaches' responsibility."

After a run went nowhere, Nicholson's pass to Turner was tipped and intercepted by Charles Godfrey.

"We tried to get our tight end in the back of the end zone," said Nicholson, who completed 26 of 42 passes. "I kind of had to move a little bit, so I lost sight of him. I came down to Greg. I just wish I could have thrown a better ball."

NIU's defense met the challenge, holding Iowa to 2 of 14 third-down conversions. Linebacker John Tranchitella led the way with 10 tackles, though Iowa running backs Albert Young and Damian Sims combined for 254 rushing yards.

The capacity crowd looked to be at least two-thirds Iowa fans, but Novak had no complaints with the atmosphere.

"What a great day for our program," Novak said. "I wish we would have won."