The Huskies and Minutemen face off for the first time in over a decade
The Northern Illinois Huskies (2-2, 0-1 MAC) will look to bounce back after two straight losses this weekend when they host the UMass Minutemen (1-4) Saturday afternoon.
UMass, an Independent that will be joining the MAC next season, has already played four MAC schools this season and lost to all four – with Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Buffalo, and Miami all claiming victory. They have yet to beat an FBS team, with their lone win coming against FCS-foe Central Connecticut two weeks ago.
NIU, despite statistically dominating all four of their opponents this season, dropped another heart breaker last week to NC State, after a pair of strip sacks gave the Wolfpack 14 easy points and a seven-point win.
This will be just the third meeting between the two schools and first in over a decade. Northern has won both match ups in dominating fashion, a 63-0 win in 2012 and a 63-19 win back in 2013.
Game notes
- Time and date: Saturday, October 5 at 12 p.m. ET
- Network: CBS Sports Network
- Location: Huskie Stadium — DeKalb, IL
- Spread: NIU (-17)
- Over/under: 46.5
- All-time series: NIU leads, 2-0
- Last meeting: NIU 63, UMass 19 — November 2, 2013
Getting to Know the Minutemen
Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Offensively the Minutemen have been struggling this season. They enter week six scoring just 19 points per game (119th out of 133 FBS teams) and are averaging 203.4 passing yards (92nd) and 136.6 rushing yards (93rd). Their 340.0 yards per game ranks 101st in the NCAA.
Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh leads the team in both passing and rushing this season. In the air he has completed 58.9% of his throws (89/151) for 1017 yards and five touchdowns. However, he has thrown three interceptions and been sacked a whopping SIXTEEN times for a loss of -92 yards. On the ground he has run the ball 73 times for 226 yards and a touchdown, but if you take out the sacks, his rushing stats look much better – with 57 carries for 318 yards (5.58 yards per carry).
When Phommachanh does hand it off, Jalen John gets the bulk of the carries. John has 60 rushes for 210 yards and a touchdown. But the Minutemen do have a few other halfbacks that will most likely see action – CJ Hester and Brandon Campbell. Hester has a team-leading two rushing touchdowns and 137 yards on his 35 carries while Campbell has 25 attempts but only 61 yards and a score.
In the air there are a trio of receivers the Huskie secondary will need to key in on, starting with Jakobie Keeney-James. Keeney-James is the most prolific receiver they have and leads the team in catches (20), yards (406) and touchdowns (3). But Jacquon Gibson and Sterling Galban will also get targets. Gibson has 16 grabs for 193 yards and Galban has 14 for 105 yards.
Defensively, UMass is giving up 30.8 points per game (106th in the NCAA) however, teams are not gaining a lot of yards against this squad. They’re holding opponents to just 308.6 yards per game – which is tied for 34th best in the FBS. They’re allowing just 120.8 rushing yards and 187.8 passing yards per game. They have only forced three turnovers all season long – two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Up front the Minutemen haven’t been able to get much pressure, netting just 18 tackles for loss and four sacks all season. Defensive lineman, Etinosa Reuben, and defensive end, Louce Julien, have been the most effective. Both have 14 total tackles and a sack, with Reuben having an additional two TFL and two quarterback hurries to Julien’s one TFL and one forced fumble.
Linebackers Gerrell Johnson, Jalen Stewart, and Derrieon Craig control the middle of the field and are ranked second, third, and fourth in tackles, respectively. Johnson has 24 stops, two quarterback hurries, a TFL, and half a sack. Stewart and Craig are right behind him with 23 tackles each while Stewart has added two pass break ups, a TLF, and a sack and Craig has 1.5 TFL, a pass break up, a fumble recovery, and a QBH.
In the secondary Te’Rai Powell and Arsheen Jiles have been solid for the Minutemen. Powell has a team-leading 24 tackles and a pass break up while Jiles has 18 stops, a team-high 2.5 TFL, two pass break ups, and a QBH.
Getting to Know the Huskies
Photo by Nicholas Faulkner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
After an amazing season opener against Western Illinois that saw the Huskies explode for 55 points and over 700 total yards, the NIU offense has fallen on hard times the last three games, getting worse and worse each week. Against Notre Dame in week two, NIU gained 388 yards. The following game against Buffalo it was down to 359 yards. And then last week, they only managed 279 yards against NC State.
The Huskie defense, on the contrary, has been amazing. They have held their opponents to under 200 total yards the last two weeks…but that somehow has not been enough, as the offense has coughed up six turnovers and Northern has lost both those games.
NIU is averaging 26.8 points and 433 yards per game – which is skewed by that week one blowout. Take out that first game and Northern is netting just 17.6 points and 342 yards per game against fellow FBS teams.
Quarterback Ethan Hampton has once against struggled. The past two games he has three interceptions, two lost fumbles, and four sacks to just one touchdown. On the year, he has completed 58.6% of his throws for 879 yards and seven touchdowns (five of which came in the WIU game in week one).
There is a growing portion of the fan base, myself included, that would like to see quarterback Jalen Macon get some more playing time. Macon, a transfer from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, has more than 1000 yards in his career and can also use his legs to avoid pressure better. He saw some time in the season opener, going 4/7 for 50 yards and running it five times for 27 yards and a touchdown.
Hampton has spread the ball around well, as six players have five or more receptions but only one Huskie receiver has more than ten receptions – Grayson Barnes. His 11 grabs leads the team and his 141 yards is second best. Cam Thompson, Trayvon Rudolph, and Andrew McElroy are also big targets for the Huskies’ quarterback. Thompson has nine catches, 129 yards and a team-leading two TDs, Rudolph has 119 yards and a touchdown on his seven grabs, and McElroy has eight receptions for 107 yards.
However, the Huskie with the most receiving yards is still their halfback, Antario Brown. Brown has 204 yards on his eight receptions. And, on the ground, he also leads NIU with 355 yards and two touchdowns on 80 carries (4.4 yards per carry). Gavin Williams has continued to be a solid backup to Brown. He now has 41 rushes for 182 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and six receptions for 25 yards.
The Huskies bread and butter has been their defense this season. NIU ranks SEVENTH in the NCAA in total defense, allowing just 234.8 yards per game, and are giving up just 19.0 points per game. The 145.8 passing yards allowed per game is tenth best in the FBS and the 89.0 rushing yards is 17th best. No team has gained more than 300 yards in a game this season against NIU, with WIU actually coming closest, with 298 yards.
After holding NC State to an abysmal 1-11 on third down conversions, the Huskies now rank third in the FBS in third down defense, allowing teams to convert on just 19.1% of their tries…only Alabama and Tennessee have a better defense on third down. NIU has also only allowed their opponents to get a total of 54 first downs all season, which is fifth best in the nation.
Up front Roy Williams and Devonte O’Malley continue to do well for NIU. Williams’ 15 tackles is fourth on the team and he also has two sacks and two TFL. O’Malley leads NIU with 3.5 TFL and has 11 total stops, two sacks, a QBH, and forced and recovered a fumble.
Linebackers Jaden Dolphin and Christian Fuhrman lead the team in tackles. Dolphin leads by a single tackle, with 23 stops and two TFL, while Fuhrman has 22 tackles, three TFL, a pass break up, and an interception. However, Fuhrman did leave the game last week with an injury and there have been no updates as of Wednesday, 10/2, if he will miss time this week.
Nate Valcarcel and Jacob Finley patrol the secondary. Valcarcel is third on the team with 17 tackles and also has two pass break ups, a TFL, a sack, and a QBH. Finley might only have seven tackles but he leads the team with four pass break ups, double the amount of any other Huskie, and also has a TFL as well.
Prediction
The Huskies should win this game. They have a stout defense that is one of the best in the country and have proven that against two big teams – Notre Dame and NC State – and are going up against an offense that has struggled all season long in both scoring and moving the ball.
NIU’s offense might not be as good as we once thought but Brown should find more running lanes in this game than in the previous few. Hampton should also have ample time to throw against a Minuteman defense that hasn’t gotten much pressure in the backfield this season.
If the offense can keep from turning the ball over, and Hampton is able to find his receivers when passing, the Huskies should have no problems with UMass.
UMass – 17
NIU – 38