Anderson comes up big in loss
It's early. Very early. And it came against Eastern Michigan.
But before Garrett Wolfe, Michael Turner and LeShon Johnson wrote their names throughout the NIU record book, they had a game when they first ran for 100 yards.
Huskies sophomore Justin Anderson had his such day Saturday in a 21-19 loss to Eastern Michigan, finishing with 168 yards on 28 carries.
Whether the Chicago Steinmetz grad goes on to enjoy a career close to those Huskie legends remains to be seen. He has three years and several thousand yards to go.
But there's no doubt Anderson delivered what the Huskies needed. He also added 6 catches for 45 yards, giving him 213 total yards.
"I'm not big on statistics," Anderson said. "I like to win. I'm a very positive person. I feel we are capable of winning games. We just have execute at every aspect."
Sharing the ball: NIU quarterback Dan Nicholson spread his 20 completions to five receivers -- and one offensive lineman.
With the Huskies driving for the potential game-winning field goal in the final minute, right guard Jason Onyebuagu caught a deflected pass on third-and-3. Onyebuagu picked up 5 yards for the first down.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, just when it looked like they were getting the breaks, two holding penalties wiped out what would have been a chip-shot field goal.
The playmaker:ŒThe Eagles burned NIU with big plays, especially from freshman DeAnthony White.
He caught a 39-yard pass to set up a Pierre Walker's 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. That trimmed NIU's lead to 13-7 after the Huskies had dominated most of the first half.
"That gave our team the opportunity to be only one play away from being back in the game," Eastern Michigan coach Jeff Genyk said.
White also was center stage in the Eagles' next big play, his 68-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter. White picked up a block 40 yards downfield from his hustling quarterback Andy Schmitt to score the go-ahead touchdown.
White finished with 167 yards of offense. He made 5 catches for 89 yards and rushed 3 times for 78 yards.
Streak in jeopardy: NIU is 0-3 for the first time since 1999, and the last time the Huskies had a losing record (5-6).
NIU has a lot of work to do to keep their string of seven straight winning seasons live. The next three games are all on the road, starting next week at Idaho.
"It's tough when you start with three at home and don't win anything," Novak said. "As I told the team, there's no pouting. We're just not quite getting it done. We've just got to keep plugging away.
"I still believe in this team."