2006 Northern Illinois Huskies Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews
Dec. 19 Poinsettia Bowl Preview
Poinsettia Bowl
TCU 37 ... Northern Illinois 7
TCU dominated on both sides of the
ball as QB Jeff Ballard ran for three scores and threw for another,
while Northern Illinois was only able to get into the end zone on a
blocked punt return for a touchdown early in the fourth. Huskie star RB
Garrett Wolfe was held to 28 yards on 20 carries as the ground attack,
hurt by 14 tackles for loss and five sacks, finished with -20 yards. The
Horned Frogs used a short field for a four-yard touchdown to start the
scoring, and then Ballard went to work with scoring runs from ten, one
and six yards out. Ballard finished off with a six-yard touchdown pass
to Brent Hecht. Player of the game ...
TCU QB Jeff
Ballard completed 19 of 29 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown and ran
11 times for 21 yards and three touchdowns Stat Leaders: Northern Illinois - Passing: Dan Nicholson,
6-18, 80 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 20-28, Receiving: Jarrett
Carter, 2-12 TCU - Passing: Jeff Ballard, 19-29, 258 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Lonta Hobbs, 17-114, 1 TD Receiving: Quentily Harmon,
6-93 Notes and Thoughts ... The NFL scouts were looking hard at the matchup of NIU
OT Doug Free vs. TCU DE Tommy Blake. Free couldn't handle Blake's speed
as the Horned Frog junior ripped off three tackles for loss and two
early sacks to all but put the game away. ... TCU had way too much speed
and athleticism on both sides of the ball for the Huskies. Garrett Wolfe
had nowhere to move, and QB Dan Nicholson was a sitting duck. TCU's five
sacks and 14 tackles for loss don't begin to tell the whole story with
several pressures in a dominant defensive performance. ... 23 TCU first
downs to five, 198 rushing yards to -20, and 456 yards of total offense
to 60. Not exactly the way to kick off a bowl season.
Nov. 24
Northern Illinois 27 ... Eastern Michigan 0
Northern Illinois outgained EMU 501 yards to 112 and held the
Eagles to seven first downs in the dominant win. Garrett Wolfe started
off the scoring with a two-yard touchdown run followed up by two Dan
Nicholson scoring passes. Chris Nendick hit two second half field goals
to close out the scoring. Nicholson threw three interceptions as part of
a four-turnover Huskie day, but the defense made up for it. EMU didn't
convert on nine third down chances.
Player of the game ... Northern Illinois RB Garrett Wolfe ran 33
times for 203 yards and three touchdowns Stat Leaders: Eastern Michigan- Passing:
Dontayo Gage, 8-15, 55 yds Rushing: Terrence Blevins, 7-26. Receiving:
Eric Deslauriers, 6-28 Northern Illinois - Passing: Dan
Nicholson, 24-37, 261 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 27-164, 1 TD. Receiving:
Britt Davis, 9-100 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... NIU bounced back
from the mid-season slide in a big way to close out with two wins to not
only become bowl eligible, but to all but assure itself of a spot thanks
to a seventh win. Garrett Wolfe was able to get just enough going to
keep the offense moving, but it was Dan Nicholson's passing, mistakes
and all, that cranked up the offensive yards. On defense, Dustin Utschig
had his second straight terrific game flying all over the place for the
second straight week.
Nov. 17
Northern Illinois 31 ... Central Michigan 10
Garrett Wolfe ran for three touchdowns scoring from ten, two
and 13 yards out and Dan Nicholson threw a 20-yard scoring pass as
Northern Illinois blew past the MAC West champions. The Chippewas
managed a one-yard Ontario Sneed touchdown catch and a 25-yard field
goal from Rick Albreski, but the defense couldn't handle Wolfe and a NIU
running game that helped the Huskies hold on to the ball for 33:42.
Player of the game ... Northern Illinois RB Garrett Wolfe ran 33
times for 203 yards and three touchdowns Stat Leaders: Central Michigan- Passing:
Dan LeFevour, 25-42, 217 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Dan LeFevour, 10-88. Receiving:
Bryan Anderson, 8-82 Northern Illinois - Passing: Dan
Nicholson, 11-18, 116, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 33-203, 3 TD. Receiving:
Jarret Carter, 4-39 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Ah,
there's Garrett Wolfe. For the first time in several weeks, Wolfe got
some room to run and showed off his old form ripping off a huge game
against Central Michigan. Even though the season has been a major
disappointment, a bowl game is still possible with a win over Eastern
Michigan and a 7-5 record to close things out. Dan Nicholson was
effective in place of Phil Horvath, but that was partially because of
Wolfe taking all the pressure off. Dustin Utschig was all over the field
with 12 tackles.
Nov. 2
Toledo 17 ... Northern Illinois 13
Toledo went on a 17-point first half run with Aaron Opelt
running for a six-yard score and threw a three-yard scoring pass to
Steve Odom, and then had to hang on for dear life as the Huskies, who
opened up the scoring with a five-yard Marcus Perez touchdown catch, got
two Chris Nendick field goals, and had a chance at the win on the final
drive. Helped by two pass interference calls, NIU got to the Rocket two.
After two incomplete passes and a run by Garrett Wolfe that went nowhere
thanks to a stop from Greg Hay, a Horvath pass to Britt Davis in the end
zone was broken up by Hay to preserve the win.
Player of the game ... Toledo RB Jalen Parmele ran 31 times for 131
yards Stat Leaders: Toledo- Passing: Aaron
Opelt, 8-21, 49 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Jalen Parmele, 31-131. Receiving:
Steve Odom, 3-14, 1 TD Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil
Horvath, 13-27, 199 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 16-54. Receiving: Britt
Davis, 9-163 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The
disappointment of NIU's season took a major step downward with the bad
home loss to a struggling Temple team. The puzzling problems of the
running game continued with Garrett Wolfe unable to find any room to
move, while Phil Horvath didn't do enough to get the passing attack
going until it was too late. Bowl eligibility is still possible, but
forget about a 13th game; the
team simply isn't playing well enough to earn a spot.
Oct. 28
Iowa 24 ... Northern Illinois 14
Redshirt freshman Jake Christensen stepped in with Drew Tate
out and threw two touchdown passes to go along with a seven-yard Albert
Young scoring run to get by NIU. Down 17-0 going into the fourth
quarter, the Huskies wend on two long scoring drives with Garrett Wolfe
pounding it in from a yard out and getting a 25-yard touchdown catch
from Britt Davis, but the Hawkeyes went on an 80-yard drive of its own
to answered with a ten-yard Scott Chandler scoring catch. NIU's two
final drives ended in turnovers.
Player of the game ... Iowa RB Albert Young ran 25 times for 124
yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 23 yards. Stat Leaders: Iowa- Passing: Jake
Christensen, 19-30, 256 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Albert Young, 25-124, 1 TD. Receiving:
Scott Chandler, 5-63, 1 TD Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil
Horvath, 15-30, 123 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 22-66, 1 TD. Receiving:
Brandon Davis, 4-17 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The
Huskies held up well in the loss to Iowa even with everything wasn't
going well. There were chances late to come through to make a run, but
the offense pressed too much and turned it over twice. Garrett Wolfe was
bottled up for the third game in a row, but unlike the Temple win last
week, Phil Horvath didn't come through. Wolfe is still a draw and bowls
will be interested in NIU, so getting eligible with a win over Toledo
next week is vital. Beating possible MAC champion Central Michigan would
do even more.
Oct. 21
Northern Illinois 43 ... Temple 21
NIU got out to a 40-0 lead with four of Chris Nendick's five
field goals, two Phil Horvath touchdown passes, and two Dan
Nicholson touchdown throws on the was to the easy win. Garrett Wolfe
was held to just 45 yards, but he was taken out in the third
quarter. Temple finally got on the board late in the third quarter
with two Adam DiMichele touchdown passes to Travis Shelton.
DiMichele added another scoring pass to Steve Maneri late in the
fourth.
Player of the game
... Northern Illinois QB Phil Horvath completed 18 of 28 passes for
253 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil
Horvath, 18-28, 253 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 17-45 Receiving: Britt
Davis, 6-92, 1 TD Temple - Passing: Adam DiMichele, 20-29, 322
yds, 3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Tim Brown, 12-23 Receiving: Travis Shelton,
7-204, 2 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Basically, everyone's going to send everything and the kitchen sink
up on the line to stop Garrett Wolfe, so Phil Horvath and the
passing game must come though. Against Temple it wasn't a problem,
but to be competitive against Iowa, Wolfe has to go off and the
secondary ahs to be much, much tighter. Temple got its points in
garbage time, but it was a bit too easy for Adam DiMichele to move
the ball through the air.
Oct. 14
Western Michigan 16 ... Northern Illinois 14
Western Michigan held Garrett Wolfe to 25 rushing yards and
held NIU without netting a yard on the ground, while the offense
generated three Nate Meyer field goals and a two-yard touchdown pass to
Matt Stevens. NIU got on the board first with a blocked punt for a
score, but the offense wasn't able to get back in the end zone until the
final 1:19 on a 31-yard Britt Davis catch. WMU recovered the onside kick
and ran out the clock. Player of the game
...
Western Michigan LB Ameer Ismail made six tackles, three tackles for
loss, one sack, and one interception Stat Leaders: Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil
Horvath, 14-25, 157 yds, 1 TD, 3 INTs Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 18-25 Receiving: Britt Davis,
7-89, 1 TD Western Michigan - Passing: Ryan Cubit, 29-44, 251
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Mark Bonds, 32-98 Receiving: Joe Chapple, 8-53 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Much will
be made about Garrett Wolfe and NIU being held down by Western Michigan
offensively, but the defense is a bigger problem getting no production
from the secondary. When the offense isn't moving, and worse yet,
turning the ball over, NIU needs Wolfe to carry the day, and he wasn't
able to. Now the MAC title hopes are all but gone, but a bowl game is
still a possibility by finishing out 4-1. Everything has to get going
again next week against Temple.
Oct. 7
Northern Illinois 28 ... Miami University 25
In an entertaining game, Garrett Wolfe ran for two touchdowns
and Phil Horvath threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Davis,
followed up by a Wolfe two-point conversion, to take the lead for good.
Miami got two Andre Bratton touchdown runs in the second half and an
80-yard touchdown catch from Dustin Woods, but couldn't stop Wolfe and
the NIU offensive balance. Player of the game
...
Northern Illinois RB Garrett Wolfe ran 29 times for 162 yards and two
touchdowns Stat Leaders: Miami- Passing: Mike Kokal, 21-29,
324 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Brandon Murphy, 10-53 Receiving: Dustin
Woods, 8-178, 1TD Northern Illinois- Passing: Phil Horvath, 15-25,
186 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 29-162, 2 TD Receiving:
Britt Davis, 4-30 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
The offense proved it's a little more than
Garrett Wolfe with good offensive balance thanks to a strong game
against Miami from Phil Horvath. Of course, everything revolves around
Wolfe, and Horvath doesn't have any pressure to throw, but he's still
coming through. The offensive line isn't pass protecting well, but it's
doing a great job of giving Wolfe just enough room to slip through and
crank out big play. On a four-game winning streak, it's the perfect time
to go into a pivotal game at Western Michigan.
Sept. 30
Northern Illinois 40 ... Ball State 28
Northern Illinois Garrett Wolfe ran for 353 yards and three
touchdowns including a 43-yard dash early in the fourth quarter on
the way to a 40-14 lead. Ball State got two of Nate Davis's four
touchdown passes in the final six minutes, but it wasn't nearly
enough to overcome Wolfe and the Huskie offense. Wolfe scored from
51, 48 and 53 yards out helping NIU roll up 610 yards of total
offense. Player of the game
...
Northern Illinois RB Garrett Wolfe ran 31 times for 353 yards and three
touchdowns and caught three pass for three yards Stat Leaders: Ball State- Passing: Nate Davis,
27-39, 298 yds, 4 TD Rushing: MiQuale, Lewis, 14-79 Receiving: Darius
Hill, 9-112, 2 TD Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil Horvath, 20-27,
252 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe,31-353, 3 TD Receiving: Britt
Davis, 5-115 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Garrett
Wolfe has been unbelievable, but also give credit to the NIU
offensive line that's opening up the holes needed to spring the
star. Ball State didn't have a prayed of slowing down Wolfe, and
that helped open things up for Phil Horvath. The veteran quarterback
has to take advantage of all the attention paid to the running game,
and he has done so completing 30 of 39 passes over the last two
games. If the D can be a little stingier, NIU could be unstoppable.
Sept. 23
Northern Illinois 48 ... Indiana State 14
Northern Illinois, who ran for 314 yards, had no problems
handing Indiana State its 21st straight loss as Garrett Wolfe ran for
four first half touchdowns and Ken West returned a fumble 11 yards for a
score. ISU was down 42-0 before finally getting on the board in the
fourth quarter on a one-yard Reilly Murphy touchdown run and Carl Berman
caught a 20-yard scoring pass. Chris Nendick hit field goals from 32 and
38 yards out for the Huskies. Player of the game
...
Northern Illinois RB Garrett Wolfe had 198 yards and four touchdowns
rushing, while leading the Huskies with four receptions. Stat Leaders: Indiana State- Passing: Reilly
Murphy, 12-23, 125 yds Rushing: Tony West, 15-62 Receiving: Carl Berman, 4-44, 1
TD Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil Horvath, 10-12,
91 yds
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 22-198, 4 TDs Receiving: Garrett
Wolfe, 4-42 Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Northern
Illinois knows it can beat up the lousy teams with easy wins over
Buffalo and Indiana State, and now it has to get on track against a
halfway decent team on the road against a Ball State team that lost to
North Dakota State this week. Garrett Wolfe was the story averaging nine
yards per carry, but the passing game was also solid with Phil Horvath
coming up with a razor-sharp game. Everything on the offense is
clicking, but once again, the competition has stunk.
Sept. 16
Northern Illinois 31 ... Buffalo 13
Northern Illinois jumped out to a 17-0 lead and put the game
away early in the fourth quarter thanks to two huge runs from Garrett
Wolfe. The Huskie star ran for a 49-yard touchdown and a 68-yard score,
and Montel Clanton rolled for a 58-yard scoring dash. Buffalo got a
one-yard touchdown run from Steven King in the third quarter, but it
didn't score again until there were :42 to play on a 28-yard catch from
Terrance Breaux. Player of the game ... Northern Illinois RB Garrett
Wolfe ran 24 times for 263 yards and two touchdowns Stat Leaders: Buffalo- Passing: Drew
Willy, 25-41, 250 yds, 1 TD Rushing: James Starks, 15-69. Receiving:
Terrance Breaux, 8-104, 1 TD Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil
Horvath, 12-19, 156 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 24-263, 2 TD. Receiving:
Marcus Perez, 6-91, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It might
have just come against Buffalo, but Northern Illinois has to be happy to
finally explode offensively. The offensive line did a great job opening
up huge holes for Garrett Wolfe, and it gave Phil Horvath plenty of time
to work. The defense needs to be a lot better on third downs after
allowing the Bulls to convert eight of 16 chances. Fortunately, the team
can tune everything up next week against Indiana State.
Sept. 9
Ohio 35 ... Northern Illinois 23
Ohio cranked out 509 yards of total offense and overcame a
17-7 deficit to go on a 28-6 run over the final 31 minutes of the game
for the stunning win. Austen Everson threw three touchdown passes and
Kalvin McRae score three times in the second half including a 58-yard
scoring play in the third for the game-winner. NIU pulled within five in
the fourth on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Perez, but McRae put it
away on a 24-yard dash with 2:31 to play. Player of the game ... Ohio QB Austen Everson completed
23 of 31 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns and ran eight times
for 41 yards Stat Leaders: Northern Illinois- Passing:
Phil Horvath, 19-41, 261 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 24-196, 2 TD. Receiving:
Britt Davis, 5-53 Ohio - Passing: Austen Everson, 23-31,
322 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Kalvin McRae, 17-106, 2 TD. Receiving:
Kalvin McRae, 5-98, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It's one
thing to be torched by the Ohio State passing game, but it's another to
get 322 yards hung on you by an Ohio attack that hasn't done anything in
the air for years. The secondary has to be a major concern, but it might
get a chance to work things out over the next two weeks against Buffalo
and Indiana State. Garrett Wolfe was magnificent, as always, but a
second runner needs to emerge in a hurry. 50 carries in two weeks is a
lot for a back of his size.
Sept. 2
Ohio State 35 ... Northern Illinois 12
Ohio State looked like the number one team from the opening
drive as Troy Smith threw three first quarter touchdown passes hitting
Ted Ginn for scores from six and 42 yards and Anthony Gonzalez from 15
yards out. The blowout was all but complete when Chris Wells scored from
eight yards out on the first play of the second quarter. NIU kept
fighting thanks to RB Garrett Wolfe, who racked up 286 yards of total
offense, but it wasn't nearly enough. Player of the game ... In a losing cause, Northern
Illinois RB Garrett Wolfe ran 26 times for 171 yards and caught five
passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Stat Leaders: Ohio State- Passing:
18-25, 297 yds, 3 TD Rushing: Antonio Pittman, 19-111, 1 TD. Receiving:
Ted Ginn 4-123, 2 TD Northern Illinois - Passing: Phil
Horvath, 15-26, 186 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Garrett Wolfe, 26-171, 1 TD. Receiving:
Garrett Wolfe, 5-114, 1 TD Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Silver lining time. NIU might
have gotten its doors blown off by the Ohio State offense over the first
16 minutes, but the team didn't give up and Garrett Wolfe ran amok
against the number one team in the country. After seeing the speed and
skill of the Buckeyes, Ohio, Buffalo, and the rest of the mediocre teams
NIU faces until the Iowa game in late October will look like they're
going in slow motion. The wide receivers must get more involved to give
Phil Horvath something more than Wolfe to work with.
How many times can Lucy keep pulling the football away
from Charlie Brown?
Northern Illinois is eight years removed from when it was one of the
worst teams in the MAC, so the rags-to-riches angle doesn't really
apply anymore. Six straight winning seasons and several high profile
wins have changed Joe Novak's program to the point where there are
now big expectations.
Last year finally appeared to be the season that Novak
would finally get over the hump and win the MAC title game. It
wasn't his best team ever, but it got over its biggest annual
hurdle, Toledo, and only had to beat an average Akron team to
finally bring home the goal that had been so elusive.
One miraculous Luke Getsy to to Domenik Hixon touchdown pass later,
NIU lost 31-30 and not only missed out on a title, it was left out
of the bowl picture while Toledo went off and blasted UTEP in the
GMAC Bowl.
Good grief.
The biggest
key this season will be consistency. Toledo is the only MAC team as good
as NIU, but the rest of the league has gotten better providing landmines
all over the place. Last year, the Huskies were able to beat Miami
University, Toledo (at Toledo), and came within a controversial
two-point conversion attempt of winning at Northwestern, but lost twice
to Akron and once to Ball State. A team good enough to have battle
Michigan in the season opener, only to get killed by penalties,
shouldn't lose to last year's Ball State team.
Yes, the
Sisyphus of the MAC is going to roll that boulder back up the mountain
again this year with a team loaded with as much talent as anyone in the
league led by All-America candidates Garrett Wolfe at running back and
Doug Free at offensive tackle. There's speed, skill, and enough depth in
most spots to overcome a disaster if injuries hit. In other words, there's no reason to
shoot for anything lower than a repeat trip to the title game and a shot
at winning it all.
The
Schedule:
There are two brutal Big Ten landmines playing at Ohio
State and Iowa, but other than that, it's a piece of cake. Yeah, the
Huskies have to go to Miami University, but the Toledo showdown is in
DeKalb, and missing Bowling Green is never a bad thing. Playing Ohio,
Buffalo, Indiana State, and at Ball State early should mean a 4-1 start
for any team good enough to dream of a MAC title. Divisional road games
at Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan might be more dangerous than
they look on paper.
Best
Offensive Player:
Senior RB Garrett Wolfe.
Tackle Doug Free is the better pro prospect, but Wolfe is the star.
It'll take 1,706 rushing yards to pass Michael Turner on the NIU
all-time rushing list, but it might not be the worst thing in the world
if Wolfe doesn't have to be used enough to get to that mark. Even though
he's a tough 5-7 and 173 pounds, he's not indestructible.
Best
Defensive Player:
Senior FS Dustin Utschig. Easily the team's biggest surprise, Utshig
came from out of nowhere to lead the team in tackles last season and
interceptions. He's a tough tackler who was always in the right position
and never missed a tackle. He not only has to be productive again, he
has to stay on the field with little developed safety depth.
Key player
to a successful season:
Junior NT Zack Holycross. There's no size whatsoever on the NIU front
line since the coaching staff chooses to go with smaller, quicker
players. That means the 284-pound Holycross, and his backup, the
273-pound Adam Schroeder, have to hold up or the bigger MAC lines will
steamroll over the Huskie front seven. Shudder to think what Ohio State
and Iowa might do if Holycross isn't a top run stopper.
The season
will be a success if ... Northern Illinois wins the MAC title. It's never fun to get to
a point where anything less but a championship is a failure of a season,
but that's where the Huskies are at.
Key game:
Nov. 7 vs. Toledo. The Rockets had absolutely owned the Huskies
until a stunning 35-17 NIU win last year in the Glass Bowl changed all
of that. These should be the two best teams in the MAC with the winner
of this nationally televised showdown almost certain to represent the
West in the conference title.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- Completion percentage: Northern Illinois 68% - Opponents 57%
- Red zone scoring percentage: Northern Illinois 91% - Opponents 75%
- Fourth down conversions: Northern Illinois 8 of 12 (67%) - Opponents 9
of 21 (43%)
The Last Time Northern Illinois…
…played in a bowl game…2004 (Silicon Valley Bowl vs. Troy)
…missed a bowl game…2005
…pitched a shutout…2002 (Central Michigan)
…was shutout…1999 (Iowa)
…scored 50 points…2004 (Western Michigan)
…went undefeated…never
…won a conference title…1983 (MAC)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…1963 (George Bork)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2005 (Garrett Wolfe)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2005 (Sam Hurd)
…had a first-round draft choice…never
