Gameday
Stadium: Huskie Stadium (24,000)
TV: Comcast SportsNet Chicago
▪ Play-by-Play: Tom Dore
▪ Analyst: Dave Kaplan and Bob Chmiel
▪ Sideline: Jim Blaney
Sycamore Radio: WSDM (92.7 FM)
▪ Play-by-Play: Brian Fritz
▪ Analyst: Pete Emmert
Series Information:
Series Record: Indiana State leads 5-4
Last Meeting: ISU 14, NIU 48, 9/23/06 at NIU
Last ISU Win: ISU 28, NIU 10, 10/09/76 at NIU
Current Streak: Indiana State has won three of the last four meetings, including three straight from 1974-1976.
Setting The Stage
Indiana State will play its second FBS and Mid-American Conference opponent of the season on Saturday, when the team squares off against Northern Illinois at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Ill. ISU was shut out by MAC opponent Eastern Illinois, 52-0, in the team's season opener before falling last weekend to No. 20 ranked Eastern Illinois on the road 38-3. The Sycamores will face off against the Huskies for the first time since 2006, when NIU defeated ISU by a score of 48-14 at Huskie Stadium, led by running back and current Chicago Bear Garrett Wolfe's four touchdowns and 198 yards rushing on the day.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State is led by first-head head coach Trent Miles, a 1987 graduate of ISU as well as a native of Terre Haute, Ind. Miles made his debut as a collegiate head football coach on against Eastern Michigan and will be looking for his first victory at Indiana State. Prior to coming to ISU, Miles spent three seasons (2005-07) as the running backs coach at Washington under head coach Tyrone Willingham and three years at Notre Dame (2002-04) as the wide receivers coach.
The Northern Illinois Head Coach
Former Southern Illinois head coach Jerry Kill begins his first season at the helm of the Northern Illinois program. Kill arrived at NIU after seven seasons at Southern Illinois, where he led the Salukis to five straight appearances in the FCS playoffs. SIU advanced to the FCS semifinals in 2007 and the Salukis were ranked in the Top 20 for 64 straight weeks during his tenure. Kill owns a head coaching record of 104-59 (.638) in 15 seasons as a head coach at NIU, SIU, Emporia State and Saginaw Valley State. He was 55-32 at Southern Illinois and won the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.
Northern Illinois Scouting Report
Northern Illinois is a member of the Mid-American Conference and play their home contests at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Ill. After two road games and an open date, Northern Illinois makes its 2008 home debut today versus Indiana State. The Huskies are coming off a couple of very close losses to Minnesota (L, 27-31) and Western Michigan (L, 26-29) in their first two games of the season. The Huskies are led on offense by redshirt freshman quarterback Chandler Harnish, who is 19-of-33 for 384 yards and two touchdowns in the air in the team's first two games. He is helped on defense by sophomore strong safety Mike Sobol, who has 15 tackles on the season.
The Last Time Against Northern Illinois
The Indiana State offense came into its non-conference battle against Northern Illinois ranked fourth in the nation in total offense. However, the Husky defense was able to dominate and Garrett Wolfe proved to be too much on the ground as the Sycamores left Huskie Stadium with a 48-14 defeat on Saturday afternoon in front of 19,720 rain-soaked fans. Wolfe ran for 198 yards and scored touchdowns on runs of 12, 17, 1 and 6 yards in the first half as the Huskies built a 38-0 lead. The Northern Illinois defense limited the high-scoring Indiana State offense to 89 total yards and five first downs in the first half and scoring on a fumble recovery and return on ISU's first play from scrimmage.
An Indiana State Win Over Northern Illinois Would ...
▪ Snap the Sycamores' 16-game losing streak, dating back to a 28-22 Homecoming victory over Missouri Valley Football Conference rival Missouri State in 2006.
▪ Be the Sycamores' first victory over an NCAA FBS school since they downed Eastern Michigan by a score of 21-14 for the first victory of the 2001 campaign.
▪ Bring Indiana State's record against members of the Mid-American Conference to 37-68-1 and would give the Sycamores their first victory over a member of the MAC since 2001 when they beat against Eastern Michigan, 21-14.
▪ Give Indiana State its first road win since 2004, when it defeated Eastern Illinois, 33-30, in overtime at O'Brien Stadium.
▪ Give Trent Miles his first collegiate head coaching victory and bring the team's season record to 1-2 overall.
Sewall On The Move
Freshman Alex Sewall has been very active in ISU's first two games. The free safety recorded four solo stops against Eastern Michigan and then followed that up with a career and team-high nine tackles against No. 20 Eastern Illinois last Saturday.
No Shutout This Time
The Indiana State offense struggled to put points on the scoreboard in the team's season-opener against FBS opponent Eastern Michigan. For three quarters in Saturday's game against No. 20 Eastern Illinois, the scoreboard was blank for the Sycamores once again and looked headed for the same. However, the team put together an impressive 14-play, 67-yard drive that culminated in freshman placekicker Braulio Martinez converting on a 22-yard field goal to give ISU its first points of the season.
Controlling The Clock
Despite the loss to No. 20 Eastern Illinois on Saturday night, the Sycamore offense controlled the game well throughout the contest. ISU had 18 first downs in the game compared to EIU's 16 overall and dominated the time of possession with a total of 35:12. The Sycamores were able to control the clock thanks to a balanced rushing attack that saw ISU out-gain EIU on the ground by a margin of 176 to 175.
A “Special” Performance
Sophomore punter Gabe Mullane was impressive in his collegiate debut, as he averaged a booming 43.7 yards per punt in the season opening game against Eastern Michigan. That performance earned Mullane the year's initial MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week award (Sept. 1). Mullane punted nine times in the game for a total of 393 yards. His long was a 59-yarder and he booted 3-of-9 punts at least 50 yards in the game. He also pinned the Eagles deep inside their own 20-yard line on two separate occasions.
Young Guns
Of the 53 players that saw action for the Sycamores in the season opener at Eastern Michigan, a total of 34 of those players were seeing their first-ever collegiate action of any kind. ISU started five players on offense in their first game and started one newcomer on defense, plus one more on special teams against the Eagles.
Up Next
Indiana State will open the home portion of its schedule against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, September 27, at Noon (ET) at Memorial Stadium.
