NIU's confidence fragile
The sick bay? Full.
The win column? Empty.
The potential Notre Dame transfer? Irrelevant to the serious issue at hand.
As Northern Illinois embarks on a rare trip west to face intriguing Idaho in a nonconference clash inside a weird 16,000-seat dome, coach Joe Novak frets that his team's confidence gauge matches its win total.
If that's the case, then the Huskies could be in danger of their first four-game losing streak since the start of the 1999 season.
You know, before they became perennial winners.
"Certainly our attitudes, I worry about that," Novak said. "I'm worried about their confidence. I'm worried how we'll react when things don't go well. I do worry about their psyche."
While Idaho might look like the ideal cure for any and all disorders -- the Vandals averaged 2.5 wins over the last six years -- that's not the case.
Led by several recruits brought in by former NFL boss Dennis Erickson during his 10-month stint, Idaho didn't win its early-season road games at No. 1 Southern California (38-10) and Washington State (45-28), but it did gain some confidence that NIU could use.
"They competed very well with Southern Cal," Novak said. "They were very competitive as far as watching their line play."
Novak coached with Idaho offensive coordinator Steve Axman at Illinois in 1979, so he knows how good the Vandals' schemes will be.
Redshirt freshman Deonte Jackson, a 5-foot-8, 181-pound brute, owns 426 rushing yards in his first three games. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Enderle hit 17 of 35 last week at Washington State for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Alas, Enderle also fired 4 interceptions against Wazoo, which means NIU's defense should have chances to make plays. The Huskies have forced just 1 turnover in their first three games.
"We have to make plays," said defensive end Larry English, "and I think that has been our biggest problem the last two weeks."
A close second would be the Huskies' 7 interceptions and 2 fumbles this year, which ranks them next-to-last nationally in turnover margin.
"We do awful good things for 68 plays," Novak said. "Then we have two awful ones. We're close, but we're not getting it done."
Northern Illinois (0-3) at Idaho (1-2)
When: 4 p.m. at Kibbie Dome
TV: ESPN GamePlan (live), Comcast SportsNet Chicago (at 1:30 a.m. Sunday). Radio: WSCR 670-AM. Series: Tied 2-2.
Coaches: Joe Novak (61-69, 12th year at NIU); Robb Akey (1-2, first year at Idaho).
Players to watch: Amid the ruins of last week's home loss to Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois discovered its next star running back. Sophomore Justin Anderson, who was a quarterback at Steinmetz High, piled up 168 rushing yards just one week after catching 8 passes against SIU. Defensive end Larry English, who had a school-record-tying 12 sacks last year, has 1 sack to date. … Idaho's offense is powered by a pair of redshirt freshmen: RB Deonte Jackson and QB Nathan Enderle. Jackson ranks seventh nationally in rushing (80 carries, 426 yards, 1 TD) while Enderle has made gains each week (40 of 91, 461 yards, 4 TD, 4 INT). Senior cornerback Stanley Franks has 10 career picks.
The skinny: If the Huskies are going to salvage their season, then it will happen at this 16,000-seat dome. NIU has lost five of its top six defensive tackles to injury. If the Huskies can slow down Jackson while allowing QB Dan Nicholson (67 of 97, 597 yards, 3 TD, 7 INT) to build some confidence, they could hand the Vandals their eighth loss in their last nine games.
-- Lindsey Willhite