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Northern Illinois Huskies Football: 2015 Season Preview and Prediction

By Patrick Schmidt

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Can the Northern Illinois Huskies win their division for a sixth straight year and capture their fourth MAC Championship in the last six years?

Northern Illinois has shared or won the MAC West division for five straight years, including three outright MAC Championships despite having three head coaches in that span.

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From Jerry Kill to Dave Doeren to Rod Carey, Northern Illinois has maintained a level of excellence and are one of the best programs outside the Power Five conferences with or without Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Jordan Lynch.

The string of 11-win seasons and championships has resulted in NIU getting an expanded stadium and expectations are so high that anything short of a MAC title is a disappointment.

After routing Bowling Green in the MAC Championship Game last year, can the Huskies make it six straight years with 11 wins and a division title?

Offensive Outlook

Northern Illinois survived without All-Everything quarterback Jordan Lynch last year with Drew Hare completing 59.5 percent of his passes for 2,322 yards and 18 touchdowns to only two interceptions. He’s not the same runner that Lynch was, but few quarterbacks ever have been, but rushed for 900 yards on a 5.7 yards per carry average and eight touchdowns. He had 180 and 166 yards in back-to-back games against Miami (OH) and Eastern Michigan and could hit the 1,000-yard plateau this year.

The offensive line needs to replace three starters up front and with a run-based offense, the group needs to come together early in fall camp and in the season to ensure the run game continues it’s annual dominance. Last year, NIU was 17th in the nation and second in the MAC with an average of 249.1 rushing yards. Last year’s leading rusher, Cameron Stingly is trying to make the Pittsburgh steelers now so the Huskies need to replace his 971 yards and 14 touchdowns but they’ve shown in the past they can plug guys in and not miss a beat.

Joel Bouagnon served as Stingly’s backup last year and ran for 655 yards and five touchdowns on 113 carries. Paving the way for Bouganon and protecting Hare is center Andrew Ness, who may be the team’s best player and a first-team All-MAC selection awaits him later this year, and guard Aidan Conlon.

North Dakota transfer Kenny Golladay, Tommylee Lewis and Juwan Brescacin lead the wide receivers who are looking to make an impact when their number is called in this run-oriented offense. Brescacin is the leading returning receiver after having 31 catches for 445 yards and five touchdowns as the No. 2 option behind Da’Ron Brown.

Defensive Outlook

The Husky defense finished fifth in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing an average of 25.6 points, and fourth in total defense, allowing an average of 391.6 yards per game and should be even better with eight starters returning. NIU has to get better on third down where they allowed opponents to convert 43.46 percent of third downs. That mark was 10th in the MAC and the worst since 2009, the last year NIU didn’t win their division, so it has to be better if they are to win the MAC this year.

Defensive end Jason Meehan is gone after leading the team with seven sacks so Perez Ford will have to assume the leadership role on the front four after coming second to Meehan with five sacks last year. He was also second to Meehan with nine tackles or loss, tying Boomer Mays for second on the team.

Mays may be the best player on this defense after he had 75 tackles and nine for loss and if Rasheem Lemon is reinstated to the team after he was suspended in April after he was charged with domestic battery, this unit could be among the best in the MAC.

If Mays isn’t the best player on the defense that honor goes to senior cornerback Paris Logan after he had 77 tackles, 15 pass breakups and three interceptions last year. He’s also an elite return man but his ability to be a shutdown corner and get his nose dirty in the run game has him on track for an All-MAC season. Joining him in pursuit of that goal is safety Marlon Moore who led the team in tackles despite his 5-9, 192-pound frame.

Prediction

NIU replaces Northwestern on their non-conference schedule with a road date with defending champion Ohio State in Week 3 and adds a road game against Boston College in the following week. If Boston College was before Ohio State I would be more inclined to pick the upset, but I worry the lingering effects from playing a physical team like the Buckeyes will be tough to recover from so quick.

One week after playing Boston College, NIU gets a road game against Central Michigan, the only MAC opponent to beat the Huskies. That is undoubtedly a tough start to the year but this season will hinge on their road game with Toledo. The Rockets lost to NIU for a fifth straight year last year but shared the same 7-1 conference record and will need a sixth straight win to have a chance at a sixth straight division title.

NIU loves to run the ball and Toledo had the MAC’s best rush defense last year and with this one on the road, I think this is the year Toledo gets them unless Hare and Bouagnon are exceptional.

Next: Which Head Coach Wins His First National Championship Next?

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