NIU football not taking Eastern Michigan matchup lightly
DeKALB - It's been more than a decade since Eastern Michigan defeated Northern Illinois.
The last two games went into overtime and the Eagles having improved from last year, and coach Rod Carey and the Huskies said they're taking nothing for granted when the teams meet at 5 p.m. Saturday at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
"Anybody who has any preconceived notions of what Eastern Michigan is, or if you're just not familiar and going off the past decade, this is not them," Carey said. "They are a very good football team. They have some very dynamic players on both sides of the football. It's a team that won't beat themselves and they're going to be in every game."
The Eagles (2-2, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) are coming off a 23-20 overtime loss at San Diego State. They lost 35-28 the week before in their MAC opener at Buffalo. The Eagles beat Purdue 20-19 earlier this season.
"I know they feel like they let one slip way last weekend, and watching the film I agree," Carey said.
NIU (1-3, 1-0) has lost to Iowa, Florida State and Utah. The Huskies haven't lost to the Eagles since 2007 and have won 18 of the last 21 meetings.
The Eagles rotate quarterbacks. Tyler Wiegers has started every game and Mike Glass has also played.
Wiegers has completed 75 percent of his passes, while Glass is second on the team with 135 rushing yards and a 4.4 per-carry average.
"They're playing two quarterbacks because they have two good quarterbacks," Carey said. "And their team has responded to it."
The Eagles also feature defensive end Maxx Crosby, who had 2.5 sacks last week.
Carey said in a year the Huskies have faced many strong defensive ends - including Florida State's Brian Burns, who is considered a potential first-round NFL draft pick - Crosby stands out.
"For my two cents, I would rate Maxx ahead of all those kids we played," Carey said. "He's that good and that dynamic. We haven't played slouches so we got some good comparison there."
Carey said the same thing about the Eagles' defense.
"I know this defense we're about to play is as good or better than all of them."
The Huskies are trying to find consistency on offense. Sophomore quarterback Marcus Childers is coming off his best game of the season at Florida State - his 20-for- 41, 2-touchdown, no-interception performance went for 215 yards and was 104 yards more than his previous best.
His numbers against FSU were also similar to what he did last year in a 30-27 win against Eastern Michigan in overtime at Huskie Stadium - 23-for-40, 278 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"No one could sit here and say, 'I'm OK with (the offense),'" Carey said. "It's not good enough, believe me. We're working hard to change it. We need to execute better."
"We know NIU has been the most dominant program in the MAC, I don't know the exact number of years, but probably the past couple decades," EMU coach Chris Creighton said. "They're picked to win it again this year. A team that I have coached has yet to beat them, they've beaten us in overtime the last two years. They've settled on a quarterback and they have the best defense in the league. ... We know we're going to be facing the best in our league."
Northern Illinois at E. Michigan
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
Radio: WLBK-AM 1360, 98.9-FM
TV: ESPN+
Series history: NIU leads 32-14-2
Fast fact: The Eagles have been giving two quarterbacks a lot of playing time. Tyler Wiegers has started all four games and in 54-of-72 for 697 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Mike Glass is 31-of-53 for 502 yards, five touchdowns and one interception to go with 135 yards and three touchdowns rushing.
Prediction: NIU 17, EMU 14