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Northern Illinois might have to turn to backup again this week after two-year starter hurts knee
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009
It was coach Jerry Kill of Northern Illinois speaking, but it could also have been coach J.D. Brookhart of the University of Akron.
''You can ask any coach in the country that loses their No. 1 quarterback . . . the game plan does change,'' Kill said Tuesday afternoon during his weekly on-campus news conference. ''It's different. You have to scale back because he [the backup] is not used to doing everything.''
Kill and Brookhart will be on opposite sidelines Saturday afternoon, when the Huskies (4-3, 2-1) meet the Zips (1-6, 0-3) in a Mid-American Conference crossover game in DeKalb, Ill.
Brookhart's team is down to its third-string quarterback, freshman Patrick Nicely, after Chris Jacquemain was dismissed and Matt Rodgers was hurt.
Northern Illinois went with sophomore backup DeMarcus Grady in a 27-22 victory over Miami Saturday after sophomore Chandler Harnish, a two-year starter, suffered a minor knee injury Oct. 17 in a 20-19 loss at Toledo.
With Harnish (81-of-126 for 967 yards and six touchdowns) out of the lineup against Miami, Kill instituted a more conservative game plan. Grady completed 6-of-10 passes for 60 yards and had 10 rushes for 55 yards.
''We were just trying to find a way to win,'' Kill said.
The vaunted Huskies' ground game took up the slack with 202 yards in 39 rushes, led by junior Chad Spann, who had 156 yards on 21 carries. He had touchdown runs of 40 and 42 yards.
Meanwhile, the Northern Illinois defense was doing its part, by posting eight sacks and holding the RedHawks to minus-11 yards rushing, a school defensive record.
Harnish, who was 118-of-211 for 1,528 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman, had minor surgery Oct. 20 and was expected to be out until early November.
But Harnish was tossing the ball on the sidelines before the Miami game, and Kill has not ruled him out completely for the Zips.
''It was an injury that we hoped we could get him back in two or three weeks . . . but we could very well have him back this week,'' Kill said.
In other MAC developments:
Ball State (1-7, 1-3) — The Cardinals, who were nationally ranked and undefeated in the regular season in 2008, used the record-setting running of Mi-Quale Lewis and Corey Sykes to win their first game of 2009, edging winless Eastern Michigan 29-27 last weekend. ''Obviously, we are very excited about getting the proverbial monkey off our backs,'' first-year coach Stan Parrish said. ''We have played a lot of close games this fall, but we haven't finished.'' Lewis, a senior, rushed for a school-record 301 yards on 26 carries and scored one touchdown. Sykes, a sophomore, ran 23 times for 203 yards and three touchdowns. It is the first time in Football Bowl Subdivision history that one team has had a 300-yard rusher and a 200-yard rusher in the same game.
Temple (5-2, 4-0) — The Owls, behind the running of freshman Bernard Pierce, moved into sole possession of first place in the MAC-East by winning at Toledo 40-24 on Saturday night. It gave Temple a five-game winning streak for the first time since 1979, the last year the team went to a bowl game. ''The guys are doing a good job executing,'' said Temple coach Al Golden. ''We have to continue to keep our intensity up and stay focused.'' Pierce ran for 212 yards on 40 carries and scoring three touchdowns.
Buffalo (3-5, 1-3) — The Bulls, the defending MAC champions, have played more close games than any conference team in 2008 and 2009. Buffalo has had 12 of its 21 games in those two seasons decided by seven points or less, including five out of seven this year. Both of its games against the University of Akron and one against Kent State are included in that category. The Bulls lost at Western Michigan 34-31 in overtime Saturday, which was the second consecutive year the Broncos prevailed over the Bulls in overtime.
Central Michigan (7-1, 4-0) — The Chippewas won at Bowling Green 24-10 Saturday to run their winning streak to seven games, which is the sixth-longest current streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. CMU is ranked 26th in the USA Today coaches poll and 27th in the Associated Press media poll. The Chippewas, whose only loss was to Arizona in their opener, have a chance to make an impact on the poll voters Saturday at Boston College.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
It was coach Jerry Kill of Northern Illinois speaking, but it could also have been coach J.D. Brookhart of the University of Akron.
''You can ask any coach in the country that loses their No. 1 quarterback . . . the game plan does change,'' Kill said Tuesday afternoon during his weekly on-campus news conference. ''It's different. You have to scale back because he [the backup] is not used to doing everything.''
Kill and Brookhart will be on opposite sidelines Saturday afternoon, when the Huskies (4-3, 2-1) meet the Zips (1-6, 0-3) in a Mid-American Conference crossover game in DeKalb, Ill.
Brookhart's team is down to its third-string quarterback, freshman Patrick Nicely, after Chris Jacquemain was dismissed and Matt Rodgers was hurt.
Northern Illinois went with sophomore backup DeMarcus Grady in a 27-22 victory over Miami Saturday after sophomore Chandler Harnish, a two-year starter, suffered a minor knee injury Oct. 17 in a 20-19 loss at Toledo.
With Harnish (81-of-126 for 967 yards and six touchdowns) out of the lineup against Miami, Kill instituted a more conservative game plan. Grady completed 6-of-10 passes for 60 yards and had 10 rushes for 55 yards.
''We were just trying to find a way to win,'' Kill said.
The vaunted Huskies' ground game took up the slack with 202 yards in 39 rushes, led by junior Chad Spann, who had 156 yards on 21 carries. He had touchdown runs of 40 and 42 yards.
Meanwhile, the Northern Illinois defense was doing its part, by posting eight sacks and holding the RedHawks to minus-11 yards rushing, a school defensive record.
Harnish, who was 118-of-211 for 1,528 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman, had minor surgery Oct. 20 and was expected to be out until early November.
But Harnish was tossing the ball on the sidelines before the Miami game, and Kill has not ruled him out completely for the Zips.
''It was an injury that we hoped we could get him back in two or three weeks . . . but we could very well have him back this week,'' Kill said.
In other MAC developments:
Ball State (1-7, 1-3) — The Cardinals, who were nationally ranked and undefeated in the regular season in 2008, used the record-setting running of Mi-Quale Lewis and Corey Sykes to win their first game of 2009, edging winless Eastern Michigan 29-27 last weekend. ''Obviously, we are very excited about getting the proverbial monkey off our backs,'' first-year coach Stan Parrish said. ''We have played a lot of close games this fall, but we haven't finished.'' Lewis, a senior, rushed for a school-record 301 yards on 26 carries and scored one touchdown. Sykes, a sophomore, ran 23 times for 203 yards and three touchdowns. It is the first time in Football Bowl Subdivision history that one team has had a 300-yard rusher and a 200-yard rusher in the same game.
Temple (5-2, 4-0) — The Owls, behind the running of freshman Bernard Pierce, moved into sole possession of first place in the MAC-East by winning at Toledo 40-24 on Saturday night. It gave Temple a five-game winning streak for the first time since 1979, the last year the team went to a bowl game. ''The guys are doing a good job executing,'' said Temple coach Al Golden. ''We have to continue to keep our intensity up and stay focused.'' Pierce ran for 212 yards on 40 carries and scoring three touchdowns.
Buffalo (3-5, 1-3) — The Bulls, the defending MAC champions, have played more close games than any conference team in 2008 and 2009. Buffalo has had 12 of its 21 games in those two seasons decided by seven points or less, including five out of seven this year. Both of its games against the University of Akron and one against Kent State are included in that category. The Bulls lost at Western Michigan 34-31 in overtime Saturday, which was the second consecutive year the Broncos prevailed over the Bulls in overtime.
Central Michigan (7-1, 4-0) — The Chippewas won at Bowling Green 24-10 Saturday to run their winning streak to seven games, which is the sixth-longest current streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. CMU is ranked 26th in the USA Today coaches poll and 27th in the Associated Press media poll. The Chippewas, whose only loss was to Arizona in their opener, have a chance to make an impact on the poll voters Saturday at Boston College.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
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Canton, OH
Posted 05:17 PM, 10/28/2009
Misery loves company. . . .old adage. . .
