Let midweek MAC madness begin NIU must do better job stopping opposing RBs
DeKALB - It's that time of year again. Time for the Mid-American Conference to showcase weeknight football games on the road to Detroit.
And if the Northern Illinois Huskies win their next four games, they're MAC West champs again. That's not going to be easy, however.
It starts with a game Wednesday against Ball State (7 p.m., ESPN2) at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Indiana.
The last four games in this series have been close. Although the Cardinals (3-5, 2-2 MAC West) have struggled at times, they've won two in a row against Central Michigan and Akron.
"They could easily be 3-1 if not 4-0 in the league," said NIU coach Rod Carey. "I say this every week, but I don't believe the record because it's a MAC team. Sometimes you get into this deal where early in the year you're playing some games that maybe you lose that you shouldn't. Or maybe you lose and you might not have had a great shot at it, then you get into conference and all bets are off."
One problem for the Huskies (6-2, 3-1) at times this season has been stopping the run, such as against Central Michigan on Oct. 11 when Chippewas running back Thomas Rawls ran for 270 yards. Eastern Michigan ran for 257 yards against NIU in the Huskies' last game.
Tonight, NIU will be tested by Cardinals senior tailback Jahwan Edwards, who comes in having run for 828 yards. Edwards ran for 121 yards in last week's win over Akron.
"He's a powerful, elusive, shifty guy," Carey said. "He has good size, good feet, good hips, good vision and he runs with a great pad level."
When these two teams met at Huskie Stadium last season, Ball State led at halftime before NIU outscored the Cardinals 28-3 in the second half to earn a 48-27 victory.
In their 2012 meeting in Muncie, the Cardinals led 16-14 at the half, but NIU pulled away for a 35-23 win.
Since 2008, the two programs have competed for the Bronze Stalk Trophy. Ball State won the inaugural meeting, but the Huskies have taken every game since.
"We know that whenever we have Ball State on the schedule, it's a big game for us," NIU junior wide receiver Juwan Brescacin said. "They're not a team that we're going to take lightly, but we know they're just another team that's in our way of what we want to accomplish, and in order to get there we have to beat them.
"It's a rivalry game, it's a trophy game, but it's just really a game for us."
Here are some things to watch in today's game:
The turnover battle:
One struggle NIU's defense has had this season is forcing turnovers (just 7 all season). Meanwhile, the Cardinals have forced 10 in their last two games and have 17 on the season. Ball State is fifth in the nation in turnover margin.
The kicking game:
Ball State kicker Scott Secor is arguably the top place-kicker in the MAC. He's hit 21 of 26 field goals, while NIU kicker Tyler Wedel is 8 of 15. In a game where a big field goal could make the difference, the kicking game could be huge.
NIU's running game:
One thing that hasn't changed this season is how successful the Huskies' running game has been. NIU leads the MAC with an average of 269.4 rushing yards a game and has been able to move the ball on the ground with quarterback Drew Hare, as well as a stable of tailbacks.
While forcing turnovers has been an issue, NIU has turned the ball over only five times, which is tied for the FBS lead.
Offensive line play:
NIU's offensive line remains a strength. The Huskies' are tied for third in the country in fewest sacks allowed (5).