SB Nation - Chandler Harnish

A 31-45 loss to the deserving West Champs leaves the Huskies wanting more

Mike Breese — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:46:52 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Dan LeFevour. Enough said.

I'd just like to say that I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving weekend. It was pretty exhausting for myself, but it was a great time and got to see some relatives on the west coast I had not seen in a while. Although I did miss the game on Friday as I was busy traveling, I watched the replay on ESPN360.com. I had seen some negative comments on the message board, but overall I thought it was a hard-fought game against the best team in the conference on a short week on the road.

Hats off to QB Dan LeFevour, RB Bryan Schroeder and the rest of the Chippewas. The best QB in the MAC was absolutely unstoppable and is reaching the apex of his season. He could do nothing wrong passing for 255 yds and 3 TDs. The Chips ran right at the Huskies, as Schroeder powered through for 128 yds and 2 TDs on only 9 carries and caught 4 passes for 41 yds and a TD. LeFevour is a sure-fire NFL prospect and proved it today. His pocket awareness is untouchable and was a pro at running the same offense he has been running for 4 years now.

The Huskies did what they could on offense and defense, but silly mistakes put the Huskies down too much early as they tried to make a furious comeback at the end of the game. The stat of the game was 3rd down conversions. NIU was 4 of 12 (33%) whereas CMU was 12 of 18 (67%).

The ball didn't bounce the right way for the Huskies on Friday, but they put up a tremendous effort. It must have been tough facing both the East (Ohio) and West Champs in consecutive weeks. For a team that was predicted to finish in the bottom half of the West, I was impressed.

Here's a positional breakdown of what I saw against the Chips in Mt. Pleasant:

Quarterback

It's clear that Chandler Harnish was not in a groove the entire game. First of all, you could clearly tell that his knee hasn't healed completely. He didn't look confident in the pocket and didn't have full speed on his runs. Another thing that messed up the offensive rhythm is the times that DeMarcus Grady filled in at QB. It was so painstakingly obvious that he was going to run the ball. We could have been more creative putting either one of the QBs in motion and sending them out wide or in the slot. Just keep Harnish behind center, especially early in the game when you're trying to get your footing.

Chandler had trouble handling snaps from Adamski at a couple different parts of the game. Sometimes, Harnish just held on to the ball too long. This could be accredited to Harnish himself, the offensive line protection or the wide receivers not getting open. He threw two interceptions late, which again could have just been miscommunications or bad throws. Looked like he was just trying to force it too much and needs to work on feeling out the blitz.

Running Back

This game reminded me of how much I love it when Chad Spann runs the ball. He started the game because Me'co Brown was out with an ankle injury. Are we seriously going to have to kidnap Me'co Brown to get Spann more carries next season? We should nickname him Mr. September, because the smaller back seems to breakdown come the latter part of the season.

Even though Spann looked awesome running the ball, you could clearly tell that his shoulder was not 100%. He had a critical fumble and then a dropped pass late in the game. A healthy Spann doesn't make those mistakes. More awesomeness from the postgame notes:

***Chad Spann scored his 19th rushing touchdown of the season (and 20th overall) to tie the Northern Illinois single season record for rushing scores. Spann tied the record owned by Stacey Robinson (1989 and 1990) and Michael Turner (2002). He also moved up to tie Turner for second on the Huskies' list for single season touchdowns with 20, trailing only Garrett Wolfe's 21 in 2004. Spann's 120 points on the year are also tied for second in a single season.

Wide Receivers

As a whole, way, way too many drops. I'm including the TEs and RBs in the passing game. Outcome would have been a lot different had they been able to catch everything thrown to them.

Martel Moore is an absolute beast. He made 3 highlight reel catches for 61 yds and almost a 4th that got knocked down. AND HE'S ONLY A TRUE FRESHMAN! He will be a future MAC star.

Landon Cox looked worn out in this game. Maybe being the only reliable WR all season finally caught up to him. He caught a TD pass early, but later on the game he had a couple drops and left the field with an injury.

Marcus Lewis was all over the place in his last regular-season game as a Huskie. He starts off the game as the go-to guy, catching 3 passes. The end of the 1st, he goes all alligator arms and doesn't catch the pass in his vicinity. Then comes the offensive pass interference. In the 4th quarter he had a SICK crack-back block on a Harnish scramble for a first. And in the final offensive drive for the Huskies, he scores the touchdown. Crazy, crazy game for the 4th year senior.

Offensive Line

It took all season, but the lack of depth really started to show as Panan Tense made his first start of his career for Adam Kiel at RT. There was just way too much pressure on Harnish the entire game. OL has to be a major focus this offseason to improve through recruiting. Joe Pawlak is a little trigger happy.

Defensive Line

Nobody could really get any pressure on Dan LeFevour, but who really can? Got cut up in the rushing game giving up 6.3 ypc to the Chippewa rushers. CMU just ran it up the middle with Schroeder. Same with the O-Line, the depth on this side of the ball has been severely depleted especially with Brian Lawson's late season hand injury. Jake Coffman had 6 tackles and Bice finished with 3 tackles and a sack.

Linebackers

Just a whole lot of meh. The starters looked like their feet were in ice blocks. A lot of overpursuing, which gave CMU the chance to execute screen passes. The only bright spot I saw was Tyrone Clark making a couple of big hits. He also was the player that tipped the ball up so that Patrick George could return the ball for a TD late in the game. The true freshman has been making great plays all season long. Both Schiller & Hanson had 9 tackles a piece and #53 was accredited with the forced fumble.

Defensive Backs

Senior David Bryant started at FS in his last regular-season game, but the rust from being sidelined most of the season was very evident. Dan LeFevour's stiff arm of him was highlight reel stuff. He did, however recover the fumble late in the game. SS Tracy Wilson racked up his 10 tackles a game average in this one.

CB Chris Smith IS A MAN. He played out of his goddamn mind in this game. Just awesome, hard tackles the entire game long. He's the best tackling CB we've had in a long, long time. Not bad for a JUCO transfer in his first year.

One thing I didn't get was all the soft coverage by the CBs on 3rd downs. It was just ridiculous. A player only has to go so far to get a 1st down and you're backed up even further than that. Yes, Kiaree Daniels I'm looking at you. 12 of 18 on 3rd downs is just ridiculous. Tommy Davis had some trouble in the tackling department as a backup. PG didn't have a stellar game either, but did return that INT for a touchdown late.

Special Teams

F*CK RUGBY PUNTS

This is not a personnel problem, this is a coaching problem. Sure, the Mike Salerno's 9 yard punt was into the wind but seriously... Josh Wilber and his monster leg hasn't played since Akron. Talk about under-utilized.

Coaching

These Huskies never gave up, right until the bitter end. Talk about getting this team up to play when they're down 10-38. There was a distinct difference in terms of talent and personnel between both teams, but I felt that the coaches did a decent job of switching things up. An offseason favor: No more 9 yard punts.

So what's next?

We wait, and then we wait some more. The MAC Championship is this Friday and bowl invitations will be sent soon after that. Navy doesn't take on Army until December 12th, so we may not know who our opponent will be in our potential bowl game until then. So now the most important thing to do is heal the bumps and bruises, hit the recruiting trail and keep in game shape. There's a bowl game on the horizon.

Injury Updates: Could Justin Anderson go out in a blaze of glory?

Mike Breese — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:51:09 -0000

via cache.daylife.com

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Most of you know the whole story behind RB Justin Anderson. He was our last 1,000 yd rusher back (Spann's 170 yds away) in 2007 when we were 2-10. Since Kill took over in 2008, JA stumbled down the depth chart, finishing with only 209 rushing yds last year. This year he has that same 3rd string role and has rushed for 136 yds on 20 carries in 2009. The extent of his spotlight was the 4th down run on a fake punt to seal the victory against Purdue earlier this year.

He hasn't been able to get much of a shake behind both Chad Spann and Me'co Brown this year. However, in the last game both players were spelled late in the game because of injuries. Spann suffered a shoulder stinger late and just by watching Brown you could tell that he has been suffering from some sort of injury.

Huskie Wire has the updated status for both backs:

Injury updates: Kill said running back Chad Spann (shoulder) would not practice Tuesday, but reiterated that Spann would remain a game-time decision. Running back Me'co Brown has an ankle injury and Kill said the sophomore hasn't been 100 percent for 2-3 weeks. Brown practiced on Sunday but limped throughout the practice. Kill said on Tuesday if the game were that day that Brown would play.

So if Spann and Brown aren't able to go, then what Coach Kill?

"We still have Justin Anderson and Ricky Crider who have played some minutes," Kill said. "We’re not going to sit around and worry about what we can’t control. Hopefully, Chad will be ready to go. We’re going to start the next one and play.”

#21 has always been a fan favorite and it should be interesting to see exactly how many touches he gets in Athens.

On the defensive side of things, FS David Bryant continues to be plagued by injuries his senior year. He is not listed on the depth chart and his status is doubtful for Saturday:

Kill also said that safety David Bryant, who injured a knee against Miami (Ohio) could be available to play but will see how the week develops. Bryant participated in more of practice than he did last week.

Going as planned, QB Chandler Harnish has recovered nicely to play against the Bobcats this weekend

On the positive side for the Huskies, Kill said quarterback Chandler Harnish's right knee came out better than expected after Harnish played the second half against Ball State this past Thursday.

"I think Chandler Harnish was kind of surprised at how good he did feel at the end of the game, which is a good thing for us," Kill said. "He practiced on Sunday. He didn’t have as much swelling as we had anticipated. It was good that he got minutes during that game. It’s going to help us going into this one."

Poll

Do we beat Ohio without Chad Spann?

No, Spann is our entire offense

8 votes

Yes, the other backs + Harnish and the passing game is enough

32 votes

40 votes | Poll has closed

MAC Title Still In Reach For Huskies

Jerry Burnes — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:30:33 -0000

DeMarcus Grady didn't have to do much when Chandler Harnish went out, but he posted some pretty numbers in those spots.

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When the 2009 season began the Northern Illinois Huskies were projected to finish third in the Mid-American-West behind Western and Central Michigan.

Now 10 games into the season the Huskies (7-3, 5-1 MAC) will be no worse than the No. 2 team in the MAC West. With a win this coming Saturday over Ohio in Athens, NIU will head into its game at Central Michigan with a trip to Detroit hanging in the balance.

The Huskies did what they needed to do these past four games with wins over Miami (OH), Akron, Eastern Michigan and Ball State. Those teams entered the Huskies' four-game stretch with a 1-25 record and enter this next week 4-37. Any losses would have been devastating for a MAC team fighting for a bowl.

But masked in the impressive season NIU is putting up is the disappointing one Western Michigan has put up. The Broncos have struggled on defense and on the offensive line. Star quarterback Tim Hiller hasn't had nearly the time to throw which was evident against NIU. Their record (5-6, 4-3) record lingers as shocking.

NIU has waded through an injury to quarterback Chandler Harnish. How? With the run game that starred in the three games Harnish did not play, but struggled some against Ball State. Redshirt junior Chad Spann has been without doubt the Most Valuable Player of the Huskies team. Spann has 16 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for fourth in the nation, and has 17 total scores. He also has 830 yards and will look to become the first Huskie under Jerry Kill to rush for 1,000 yards.

The Huskies will have their hands full with Ohio (7-3, 5-1) before heading to Central Michigan (8-2, 6-0) and All-World quarterback Dan LeFevour. The win over Ball State has all but clinched a bowl game for the second straight season. A win over Ohio makes NIU the No. 3 team in the entire MAC, that will be a bowl game.

A win over Ohio sets up a MAC West title battle with CMU, for a chance at the first MAC title since 1983. That season Bill Mallory led the Huskies to a MAC Championship and the California Bowl. NIU's last appearance in Detroit was in 2005 when Akron upset the Huskies on a last second hail mary to Domenik Hixon.

History is in the hands of the Huskies. They control their own fate. It would not be a good time to have a lapse and put the MAC title out of reach before getting a shot at LeFevour.

Poll

If NIU faces CMU for the MAC West title, can they beat the Chippewas?

No. Why? Two words: Dan LeFevour

21 votes

Yes. The team is on a roll and will continue it.

37 votes

58 votes | Poll has closed

NIU Huskies capture the Bronze Stalk Trophy from Ball State in ugly 26-20 victory

Mike Breese — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:49:42 -0000

He's Baaack

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This victory improves Northern Illinois' record to 7-3, which all but guarantees us a bowl spot. It certainly wasn't the prettiest win over the now 1-9 Cardinals, but a W is a W. Right? The MAC Championship is still in sight.

The defense took all of the first half to wake up for this game. The first drive Ball State was able to punch the ball in early strictly by rushing the ball.

Chad Spann surprisingly started the game at running back, and the Huskies marched down the field with a good amount of both rushing and passing by DeMarcus Grady. The result was a wide-open 9 yd TD pass to Preston Williams, who caught the first TD pass of his career on his own senior night.

After forcing a safety on defense and then punching the ball into the endzone with Spann, the Huskies seemed like they would start pulling away from the Cardinals. On the most controversial call of the game, Jerry Kill decided to go for an onside kick that Ball State recovered on NIU's 38 yd line.

The rest of the first half resulted in two Ball State field goals, making the score 16-13 going in to the half. On offense, Me'co Brown wasn't effective and Grady was both sacked and intercepted on two different series.

Chandler Harnish made his return at the start of the 2nd half and drove the Huskies down the field. On 3rd and 4 at BSU's 22 yd line, the Huskies called a timeout. The resulting play was a run up the middle with Brown and Salerno went on to kick a field goal to make it 19-13 Huskies.

Ball State got backed up into their own territory and NIU had great field position after the punt. NIU's drive resulted in a Harnish TD pass to Marcus Lewis in the right corner of the endzone. Yet another senior getting his first TD ever on senior day. The Huskie offense stalled as two separate QB sacks made it hard to continue the drives late in the game. NIU's defense bended, but did not break apart from a temporary lapse by FS Mike Sobol giving up a touchdown.

Timeouts were wasted by Ball State and eventually the Huskies were able to run the clock down to seal a victory.

Both Spann and Brown were shaken up towards the end of the game. Spann was favoring his shoulder, but it didn't seem to serious of an injury watching how he was acting on the sidelines.

It was great to get Harnish some reps in this game to prepare for next week against Ohio. The Huskies now have 9 days to prepare for Saturday's matchup against the 7-3 Bobcats. That looming game may or may not be the deciding factor into whether we get a quality bowl game or not.

GO HUSKIES!

NIUHuskies.com Box Score

ESPN Box Score

What are your thoughts on the game?

Poll

Who is your player of the game against Ball State?

WR Nathan Palmer - 3 carries for 69 yds

4 votes

RB Chad Spann - 11 carries for 68 yds (5.7 ypc) and 1 TD

5 votes

WR Landon Cox - 6 catches for 41 yds

2 votes

KR Ricky Crider - 6 ko returns for 137 yds (22.8)

2 votes

MLB Pat Schiller - 12 tackles, .5 sacks, 1 TFL

20 votes

QB Chandler Harnish - 9 of 9 for 60 yds and 1 TD

16 votes

49 votes | Poll has closed

Chandler Harnish Watch 24/7

Mike Breese — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:37:42 -0000

Just in case you weren't aware, quarterback Chandler Harnish hasn't played since his knee injury towards the end of the Toledo. DeMarcus Grady certainly has picked up his slack, proving his worth both on the ground and exponentially through the air. But then again Miami, Akron & EMU aren't top-25 teams and we are very fond of running the ball down opponents throats.

Chandler's been practicing since Sunday, so is able to play in the game today.

Here's what Kill had to say after the Tuesday practice:

"I’ve got a lot of time to decide. I’ve got two days yet," Kill said after Tuesday’s practice. "We’re going to do a little bit more than we usually do today, which we did last week. I’ll do what’s in the best interest for Chandler Harnish and our football team, but more so the best interest of Chandler. If he is not ready to play, in my opinion, he will not play. If he’s ready to play, we’ll play him."

"The way we do things, what we do, your quarterback better be 100 percent because if he’s 70 or 80, he’s only going to be able to play in certain situations," Kill said. "We’ll be careful. If we were going [Tuesday], [Harnish] would have the opportunity to play if coach Kill and [trainer] Kammy [Powell] clear him to play."

"When he can stay in the training room for 4-5 hours and get everything done," Kill said, "he can come out here and he’s in pretty good shape... [Powell] is a tremendous trainer because there aren’t very many trainers that are rehab specialists plus being a trainer. And then you throw [Eric] Klein in there with what he does with them. He’s pretty amazing."

Tracking his progression even further, here's what his status was like after Sunday's practice:

"He took I don’t know many exact plays but we basically inserted him in and were careful with his reps because I didn’t want the knee to swell up a bunch," Kill said.

Kill did say that Harnish told him his knee felt good Monday morning and that Harnish did not look rusty at Sunday’s practice.

"There are a lot of things that can happen between now and Thursday night that could change my mind," Kill said. "As a head coach you’ve always got the right to do that I guess. It’s a wait-and-see situation. I’m not going to play anybody that’s coming off a knee, something of that type of injury, it’s not like coming off a broken finger or the flu or something like that. It’s a different deal.

"I’m going to have to feel real comfortable for me to just put him right back out there."

Harnish does not have to wear a brace while moving around.

"With his situation, not having a ligament tear, it’s more of a meniscus situation, not having a ligament tear he doesn’t have to wear a brace," Kill said.

Translation/Interpretation/Prediction:

DeMarcus Grady will start today. We may or may not see Harnish play in the game.

I liken this situation a little bit to what Cincinnati's Brian Kelly is doing with Tony Pike. He said that Pike was expected to play this weekend, but is going to focus on him starting against Illinois.

The focus is on starting Harnish against the Ohio Bobcats, but it would be nice to get him some reps against Ball State. Ohio already has 7 wins whereas the Cards only have 1...over Eastern Michigan. You can see why it is important to be ready for Athens in a week.

PS - If Harnish miraculously comes back and is perfectly healthy in the next game or so, then trainer Kammy Powell needs a raise. Kill can't do a press conference without mentioning her name.

Poll

When would you like to see Harnish back?

Off the bench vs Ball State

15 votes

Starting vs Ohio

4 votes

Off the bench vs Ohio

3 votes

Doesn't matter with our running game

2 votes

24 votes | Poll has closed

Comfortably Numb in Dekalb

Mike Breese — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:43:17 -0000

I don't know what to feel about this Northern Illinois team.

They looked like they were getting into the groove last Thursday, but Eastern Michigan is an abomination of a team. I know, I know. They have a new coach building from nothing with a new system, but that team I saw out there was terrible. The latter part of the MAC this year is a bottomless pit and the Eagles are nearing the bottom.

We ran the ball, ran some more and when the times were right, DeMarcus Grady launched the ball to Landon Cox for TDs on two separate occasions.

Me'co Brown got the unwarranted start at RB, but Chad Spann was unfazed by this development. In his first two carries he ripped off TD scores of 65 and 79 yds. That's NCAA video game stuff right there. You want to start the game off strong? Start the 3rd leading scorer in the nation in Spann. Justin Anderson is ahead of Me'co at this point. I guess Kill wants to keep playing "his guys", but if this costs us a chance at the MAC Championship I will blow my top.

The return game continues to be awesome, with Tommy Davis returning the opening kickoff for a TD. Something that hasn't been emulated since Michael "The Burner" Turner returned a 93-yarder back in 2002. It's truly unbelievable the strides that we've made on the special teams side of things. Now the only thing to fix is figuring out why Salerno's kicks keep getting blocked. Another thing that could come back and bite us.

We didn't look great in the wins over Miami or Akron, so this was a much-needed break of a victory that we only had 4 days to prepare for. This week we face a Ball State team that barely squeaked by EMU two weeks ago to grab their only win of the season. We open as a 17-point favorite at home against the Cardinals.

Sure our running game is working against the bottom of the MAC with a little play action thrown in. Only adding to the mystery is the status of Chandler Harnish,who allegedly was cleared to practice on Sunday. The thing is, we don't need Chandler and his sore knee to beat BSU on Thursday. However, he must get some reps to prepare for the road trip @ Ohio and eventually @ Central Michigan down the road.

The best part of this team is that they control their own destiny at the moment. All of the goals are in reach as stated many a times before. There are obstacles in the way, but a MAC Championship is still in the picture.

I just don't know how good this team is!!! Nobody does. Am I right?

They may lead the MAC in a majority of important statistics, but stats don't matter. Paper doesn't matter. All that matter is what happens on the field.

Right now, we just need to keep winning to look more attractive to whichever Bowl selection people want to extend an invitation to us. One game at a time. That road starts through Dekalb on Thursday against a team that really put a sour taste in to the mouths of the Huskies last year.

I should be liking these wins. I do. It's just that we all have to wait and see what this team is capable of.

So here I sit, comfortably numb as an NIU fan.

10 Reasons to Watch Eastern Michigan vs Northern Illinois tonight

Mike Breese — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:05:57 -0000

Eastern Michigan Eagles @ Northern Illinois Huskies (-21)
GAMETIME: 6:30 CST
TV: ESPNU
H2H: 23-14-2 Huskies

As we begin to sell our soul to ESPN's weekday schedule, here are some reasons why EMU-NIU should be the center of your attention, at least for a half:

1. Battle for Bowl Eligibility

6 wins will not only make the Huskies bowl-eligible, it also matches the win total from last year with an extra 3 or more games to go in the season. It's looking like more than 6 wins will be needed to get into a bowl game this year, but would be quite the accomplishment in only Jerry Kill's second year here as Head Coach.

2. Short Week Phenomena

It will be interesting how both teams react after the very short turnaround from Saturday. While NIU played a home game at 11 AM, the EMU Eagles had to travel all the way to Fayetteville for a night game. These factors give the Huskies a day and a half, maybe two days of extra preparation.

3. 'Kill Ball'

Run the ball, stop the run, don't turn the ball over. Simple, yet effective. In the last two games, NIU has out-gained their opponents a combined 477-20 on the ground. It should be interesting to see what this 15th-ranked rushing attack does to the 120th ranked run defense of EMU. The only teams that throw less than us are GT & the military academies. You're gonna see 8-9 guys in the box on every single play.

4. RB Chad Spann

A recent recruit called Northern Illinois "Running Back U". I was watching the former Huskie Michael Turner play for the Falcons on Monday night and blasphemous thoughts rang through my head. I thought that Turner was pulling some Spann moves out there breaking tackles left and right. Consider #28 a 'Mini Burner'. He runs harder than any running back I've ever seen play. He'll go in to piles, keep driving his feet, spring out of there like houdini for a touchdown. Truly a spectacle to watch. 5th in the nation in scoring with 14 TDs on teh season.

5. QB DeMarcus Grady

With starter Chandler Harnish out with a knee injury, DeMarcus has stepped up and lead this team to two straight victories. He hasn't passed much, but isn't expected to. Essentially we are running the wildcat formation with him in shotgun, as it seems he always to hit the corner when sprinting out to grab the first down. In his third straight start, expect for more passes being called to gain him some experience in that department.

6. DT Jake Coffman

The 25-year-old former Marine continues to impress, even after moving from DE to the middle after a season-ending hand injury to Brian Lawson. He's had 7 TFLs and 3.5 sacks these past two games. Definitely the soul of the defense and somebody to be looked up to.

7. Ron English

Here's a guy that you've probably heard of, having worked as both a defensive coordinator at Michigan and at Louisville. He's taken on project hell at Eastern Michigan. Less than 10 miles from Ann Arbor, lies Ypsilanti home to the relatively unknown Eagles. If English can't fix the program there, then no one can.

8. The Weather

Dekalb, IL is home to some of the stranger weather that you happen to see in the Midwest. You name it, you'll probably see it in the course of a day. Last week it was 25-30 mph winds. This week, who knows. In 2006 & 2008, November ESPN weekday broadcasts featured a "Fog Game" where you couldn't even see the field against Toledo & Central Michigan respectively.

9. You're sick of Thursday night Beamer Ball

10. You're sick of Holtz-on-Holtz crime

Self explanatory.

The Daily Diesel is taking all precautionary measures

Mike Breese — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:36:44 -0000

If you haven't noticed already, Red and Black Attack went under a redesign recently. If you have any input about how it looks feel free to leave any comments or e-mail me at rabattack@gmail.com

Huskie Football

Considering we're playing an 0-8 Eastern Michigan team tomorrow, you would figure that we would rest some guys with the short week and all. Not so fast my friends!

JO in limbo, Flahive to play against EMU, Skarb free to run wheel routes again

Onyebuagu's injured ankle was in a walking boot and he was on crutches at Monday's practice. NIU puts its football players in a walking boot with any foot injury regardless of the severity and Kill said the crutches were to relieve pressure.

"I think he's got a shot to play," Kill said.

One reason for optimism would be that Onyebuagu played the entire game this past Saturday against Akron despite injuring the ankle in the first quarter. Kill praised Onyebuagu for how he played against the Zips.

"[He] played his best game since I've been here," Kill said. "I don't know if he concentrated more because he was hurt or what but he played his best game by far."

Also, fullback Connor Flahive [knee] will play.

Bryant improving, Harnish apparently rehabbing in underground hyperbaric chamber

Safety David Bryant [knee] will not but Kill said Bryant was looking much better and he was hoping to get the senior back for the Ball State game next Thursday. Finally, there is no update on quarterback Chandler Harnish's knee.

"I told [trainer] Kammy [Powell] I didn't want to know anything until Tuesday, because then you just get your hopes up," Kill said. "So right now we're concentrating on DeMarcus [Grady], which after watching film, the strides from Game 1 to 2 were immense. Now we need to take him another step."

Inside the Yordon Center, all eyes are upon Chandler Harnish's rehab.

It's Spanntastic

Spann won MAC West Player of the Week - START HIM JERRY. Oh yeah, Salerno won ST POW as well.

Northern Star Online: Huskies news and notes

Huskie tailback Chad Spann must be eating his Fruit Loops lately: He’s been following his nose more than Toucan Sam.

Only Spann’s nose doesn’t lead him to cereal; it leads him to the endzone.

After a two-touchdown performance against Akron this week, Spann is tied for the No. 5 ranking nationally in scoring.

Non-AQ helmet stickers, Week 9 - College Football Nation - ESPN

Northern Star Online: Offensive breakdown of Eastern Michigan

Northern Star Online: Defensive breakdown of Eastern Michigan

Huskies and Eastern Michigan Square Off Thursday Night at Huskie Stadium - NORTHERN ILLINOIS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Weekly Football Press Conference Quotes - Nov. 3, 2009 - NORTHERN ILLINOIS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Football: Thoughts from Northern Illinois Perspective - The Eastern Echo

Huskie Wire | Huskie Q&A with Nabal Jefferson

Eastern Michigan University Athletics - Eagles Swing Back Into MAC Action for Thursday Night Game

Northern Illinois' November 12 Home Game to Air on ESPNU - NORTHERN ILLINOIS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Northern Star Online: Lack of support from stands does not affect results for Huskies football

Northern Star Online: The life of a cornerback; Patrick George

Huskie Basketball

If you can dodge Coach Pattons' clipboard, you can dodge a ball

Boosting attendance: Athletic director Jeff Compher said there will be some changes at games in the Convocation Center to try and raise attendance levels.

Compher's main idea is an ongoing dodgeball tournament at halftime among various student groups, leading to a winner at the end of the season.

"I'm really looking forward to that because I'm learning more about dodgeball," Compher said. "[Deputy athletics director] Glen [Krupica] pointed out to me that we used to call it bombardment when we were kids. But there's actually like rules and everything for it. ... I think that will be a lot of fun and draw some good student excitement to it."

Some of the other ideas include doing less promotional activities in the final 10 minutes of a game and having the band play more and the cheerleaders be more active. NIU averaged 1,806 fans at home last season, which was ninth in the MAC.

"Those last 8 to 4 minutes really mean something to the outcome of our games so we're going to be focused on that and how we can get a great atmosphere the last few minutes at all of our games," Compher said.

"Alternative lineup": Jake at PG, Dinunno at SG.

Huskies Roll Past Aurora in Exhibition Opener, 93-59 - NORTHERN ILLINOIS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Northern Star Online: 2 new coaches and players have Huskies primed for season

Basketball Media Day 2009: Ricardo Patton and Player Quotes - NORTHERN ILLINOIS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Transfer ready to help Huskies hoops - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Northern Star Online: Colorado transfer makes an impact on NIU basketball team

Chandler Harnish's magic knee & gaps on D

Mike Breese — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:33:59 -0000

Harnish apparently has Wolverine-esque mutant healing powers.

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Initial reports after the Miami game said that Chandler would be out 2-3 weeks with his knee injury.

But today, the Daily Chronicle is saying that he had surgery last Tuesday and could be ready to play on Saturday!

Don't get too excited though.

"It's not a major thing that's going to keep him out for the rest of the year," Kill said. "He'll be back. It's just something that we'll have to see. Optimistically, I was told that there's a chance that he could play this weekend. But we'll just have to see how it comes along."

His official status is questionable. Translation: He's not going to play this weekend unless there is an emergency.

"I'm old-school," Kill said. "You've got to be able to practice and show me you can move around and do all of those things before we're going to play you. We'll just have to see."

And the 4th string quarterback is...

"We traveled Jordan Lynch last week, our quarterback. You don't want to do that if you don't have to. We're trying to get the numbers back up in the program in certain classes and I just don't want to pull all the redshirts off the kids if we don't have to."

Of course we run the ball 90% of the time (made up stat), so the quarterback position matters less than who we throw out there on defense. FS David Bryant got knocked out the game early against Miami with a knee injury.

"He doesn't have to have surgery on his knee but you're probably looking at anywhere from 2-4 weeks from what I was told," Kill said.

This is not a good situation, because the general consensus is that Bryant is the best player on our defense. He had to deal with a bum ankle earlier in the season, not the way you want to spend your senior year.

Last and probably the worst injury of them all, starting NG Brian Lawson is doubtful to return this season with surgery on his hand. We'll have him back probably if we make a bowl game somehow.

Finally, nose guard Brian Lawson's injured hand is in a cast and while he'll be evaluated every week, Kill wasn't optimistic that Lawson would return before the season ends. Safety Garrett Barnas got dinged up in the Miami game but will be fine for this week.

Filling in for Lawson was Jake Coffman moving in to the middle against the Redhawks, where he netted 2.5 sacks.

I think we'll be OK and both Harnish and Bryant will be back for the road trip @ Ohio and @ Central Michigan to cap the season off. Those two games will define what kind of team this really is.

Chandler Harnish questionable for Saturday with knee injury

Mike Breese — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:18:56 -0000

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Yup, you read that correctly

"He went to the doctor today and he'll be questionable for Saturday," Kill said. "We've just got to wait and see how the situation is going to work out. He's got a knee situation and how bad and how critical, time will tell over the next two or three days."

Harnish injured the knee against Toledo this past Saturday in a 20-19 loss, although it's unclear on which play it happened. Harnish took a hard hit and a possibly late hit on NIU's final drive of the fourth quarter when he scrambled for two-yard run and was hit by Toledo's Derrick Summers and then safety Barry Church. Church's hit disoriented Harnish for the next few plays but Harnish said after the game his head was fine.

"If Chandler's not where he needs to be and is not able to practice by Thursday or get moving around by Thursday then we're certainly not going to take a risk or anything of that nature," Kill said. "I think we'll know a lot more in the next two or three days."

In the meantime, Grady and Morris received extra repetitions at Tuesday's practice.

"That's what we're working on with [Grady] and Ryan Morris, the crafty veteran that's been here through the years," Kill said.

I'm sorry, but the amount of QB draws and sweeps that we have installed in our offense, Ryan Morris is just not going to be able to run those. DeMarcus Grady was pretty shaky in the passing game last year, but he's had a year to improve after filling in when Harnish was out with an ankle injury.

Last year Grady actually started the Miami game, got hurt and Harnish came back early from his injury to lead the Huskies to victory. It wasn't Chandler's greatest performance in the Glass Bowl and it will be interesting to see how this develops throughout the week. We all know that #12 will do anything to put himself out there on the field to lead the team.

SB Nation - Chandler Harnish

A 31-45 loss to the deserving West Champs leaves the Huskies wanting more

Quarterback

Running Back

Wide Receivers

Offensive Line

Defensive Line

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Coaching

So what's next?

Injury Updates: Could Justin Anderson go out in a blaze of glory?

Do we beat Ohio without Chad Spann?

No, Spann is our entire offense

Yes, the other backs + Harnish and the passing game is enough

MAC Title Still In Reach For Huskies

If NIU faces CMU for the MAC West title, can they beat the Chippewas?

No. Why? Two words: Dan LeFevour

Yes. The team is on a roll and will continue it.

NIU Huskies capture the Bronze Stalk Trophy from Ball State in ugly 26-20 victory

Who is your player of the game against Ball State?

WR Nathan Palmer - 3 carries for 69 yds

RB Chad Spann - 11 carries for 68 yds (5.7 ypc) and 1 TD

WR Landon Cox - 6 catches for 41 yds

KR Ricky Crider - 6 ko returns for 137 yds (22.8)

MLB Pat Schiller - 12 tackles, .5 sacks, 1 TFL

QB Chandler Harnish - 9 of 9 for 60 yds and 1 TD

Chandler Harnish Watch 24/7

When would you like to see Harnish back?

Off the bench vs Ball State

Starting vs Ohio

Off the bench vs Ohio

Doesn't matter with our running game

Comfortably Numb in Dekalb

10 Reasons to Watch Eastern Michigan vs Northern Illinois tonight

1. Battle for Bowl Eligibility

2. Short Week Phenomena

3. 'Kill Ball'

4. RB Chad Spann

5. QB DeMarcus Grady

6. DT Jake Coffman

7. Ron English

8. The Weather

9. You're sick of Thursday night Beamer Ball

10. You're sick of Holtz-on-Holtz crime

The Daily Diesel is taking all precautionary measures

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Huskie Basketball

Lady Huskie Basketball

Huskie Soccer

Lady Huskie Soccer

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Random awesomeness

Chandler Harnish's magic knee & gaps on D

Chandler Harnish questionable for Saturday with knee injury