Huskies-Falcons ready for latest West Division shootout
DeKALB - Ali vs. Frazier. Rocky vs. Apollo. Bowling Green State University vs. Northern Illinois University.
The starting bell for the rubber match of this heavyweight series is slated for 6:05 p.m. Friday at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
Perhaps not yet on a par with those legendary boxing matches, the BGSU-NIU series has nevertheless quickly grown into a memorable annual encounter.
"For us, this this has really developed into a great game, a truly great game," said NIU coach Joe Novak.
After a four-year gap in the series, Bowling Green was shifted to the Mid-American Conference's West Division for the 2002 season which then marked the start of annual meetings. The series quickly heated up when the Huskies knocked off the unbeaten 16th-ranked Falcons at Huskie Stadium before a rabid crowd of 25,822 fans. In front of the then largest print media contingent for a regular-season game in conference history, Northern Illinois halted the nation's second-longest I-A winning streak at 11 games. The Falcons never recovered as they lost three of their final four games and missed out on a bowl bid.
One year later, the Falcons gained a revenge by toppling an NIU squad that was at an all-time high ranking of No. 12. With a national-television audience watching on ESPN and College GameDay on hand, the Falcons blitzed the Huskies 34-18. The contest was the first regular-season MAC game between two nationally-ranked opponents since 1973. With the loss, the Huskies dropped dramatically in the polls. And NIU followed the same path as the Falcons the previous year, the Huskies lost out on a bowl bid after losing to the University of Toledo.
Now, it's payback time.
Bowling Green State coach Gregg Brandon warned his players to be prepared for an unpleasant welcoming party.
"They're going to be geeked up," Brandon said. "This is a big game. It's become a rivalry because both teams are good, and both teams have a chance to win the West. They won there, we've won here, and now this is the rubber match. We are going into a hostile environment, and it's a key MAC West game, and it's as close to a must win as you can say."
The opportunity for NIU to avenge last year's loss before a national television audience, and move a step forward in the West Division, adds to the lore of the series.
"It's become a great game," said NIU quarterback and Ohio native Josh Haldi. "It will be fun to have ESPN2 at our place this year."
The health of Haldi could go a long way in determining the winner of Friday's night game. Red-shirt sophomore quarterback Phil Horvath has had an up-and-down experience replacing Haldi, who sat out the non-conference schedule after playing only the first series of the opening game with a right foot stress fracture.
Horvath came within a few plays of piloting the Huskies to a 3-0 mark. He completed 50-of-91 passes for 652 yards and six touchdowns, but it was Horvath's six interceptions that have some Huskie fans clamoring for Haldi's return.
Northern Illinois (1-2, 0-0) closed practice all week and remains tight-lipped on Haldi's status for Friday's game.
"We'll see," Haldi said. "I feel good and I'm anxious to see what happens. It will be a game-time decision. I'm walking fine and it feels good and I'm way ahead of schedule as far as getting better."
Haldi admitted the process has been frustrating. He spends five hours a day getting treatment, whether its applying ice, heat and other methods to facilitate bone growth
"I've become Phil's best friend," Haldi joked of hanging out with head NIU athletics trainer Phil Voorhis.
Even if Haldi plays, the Huskie offense might take some time before getting anywhere near last year's 32.2 points-per-game average. Haldi has played just one series since the season-ending victory over Eastern Michigan University last November.
Meanwhile, Bowling Green State (1-1, 0-0) shrugged off the loss of all-conference quarterback Josh Harris, with talented junior Omar Jacobs already performing at a high level.
The Falcons have a formidable offense, complete with an offensive line that has allowed only one sack and averages 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds; a quartet of running backs that combined for 2,530 all-purpose yards last year; a pair of game-breaking receivers in Cole Manger and Charles Sharon; and one of the best kickers in school history, Shaun Suisham.
Novak has a simple, but effective method to stop BGSU's offense.
"The best way to stop a high-power offense is not let them have the ball," Novak said.
Easier said than done.
The no-huddle, multiple receivers, empty backfield "basketball on grass" offense of the Falcons shredded NIU's defense for 634 yards last year. The goal of BGSU's offense is to spread the field in order to find weaknesses and capitalize on mismatches. The Huskies must contain running backs P.J. Pope and B.J. Lane to limit the effectiveness of Bowling Green State's offense.
"We have to be sound and get our keys right because their offensive line is pretty smart and big," said defensive end Quince Holman, who was moved to the inside to fill the void left by injured starter Eric Pittman. "We've been practicing hard all week. We have to run to the ball because they do a lot of screens. We have to pop them and keeping hitting them and play aggressive."
Brandon expects NIU's defense to try and rattle Jacobs.
"The thing they like to do defensively is try to disrupt you, confuse the quarterback, and mix the looks up," Brandon said. "Two years ago, they did that. Last year they didn't because we exploited them. So, it is going to be interesting to see how they approach it this year. They're just going to try and confuse Omar, mix it up a little bit, and try and keep us off balance."
The BGSU defense often gets overlooked, but the unit was one of the main reasons the Falcons finished 11-3 and claimed a Motor City Bowl victory over Northwestern University last year. Led by cornerback Keon Newsome and linebackers Jovon Burkes and Ted Piepkow, the Falcon defense look to hold the Northern Illinois' running game in check.
Last year the Huskies fell into an early hole and became one-dimensional on offense, as they were limited to 62 yards rushing. The Huskies must also reverse their deadly trend of turning over the ball. They rank 68th in the country in turnover margin. The MAC opener also serves as the first test for the Huskies in their goal of winning a conference championship.
"A year ago, beating the BCS people was awesome, but the bottom .
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2004/09/23/sports/sports01.txt
DeKALB - Ali vs. Frazier. Rocky vs. Apollo. Bowling Green State University vs. Northern Illinois University.
The starting bell for the rubber match of this heavyweight series is slated for 6:05 p.m. Friday at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
Perhaps not yet on a par with those legendary boxing matches, the BGSU-NIU series has nevertheless quickly grown into a memorable annual encounter.
"For us, this this has really developed into a great game, a truly great game," said NIU coach Joe Novak.
After a four-year gap in the series, Bowling Green was shifted to the Mid-American Conference's West Division for the 2002 season which then marked the start of annual meetings. The series quickly heated up when the Huskies knocked off the unbeaten 16th-ranked Falcons at Huskie Stadium before a rabid crowd of 25,822 fans. In front of the then largest print media contingent for a regular-season game in conference history, Northern Illinois halted the nation's second-longest I-A winning streak at 11 games. The Falcons never recovered as they lost three of their final four games and missed out on a bowl bid.
One year later, the Falcons gained a revenge by toppling an NIU squad that was at an all-time high ranking of No. 12. With a national-television audience watching on ESPN and College GameDay on hand, the Falcons blitzed the Huskies 34-18. The contest was the first regular-season MAC game between two nationally-ranked opponents since 1973. With the loss, the Huskies dropped dramatically in the polls. And NIU followed the same path as the Falcons the previous year, the Huskies lost out on a bowl bid after losing to the University of Toledo.
Now, it's payback time.
Bowling Green State coach Gregg Brandon warned his players to be prepared for an unpleasant welcoming party.
"They're going to be geeked up," Brandon said. "This is a big game. It's become a rivalry because both teams are good, and both teams have a chance to win the West. They won there, we've won here, and now this is the rubber match. We are going into a hostile environment, and it's a key MAC West game, and it's as close to a must win as you can say."
The opportunity for NIU to avenge last year's loss before a national television audience, and move a step forward in the West Division, adds to the lore of the series.
"It's become a great game," said NIU quarterback and Ohio native Josh Haldi. "It will be fun to have ESPN2 at our place this year."
The health of Haldi could go a long way in determining the winner of Friday's night game. Red-shirt sophomore quarterback Phil Horvath has had an up-and-down experience replacing Haldi, who sat out the non-conference schedule after playing only the first series of the opening game with a right foot stress fracture.
Horvath came within a few plays of piloting the Huskies to a 3-0 mark. He completed 50-of-91 passes for 652 yards and six touchdowns, but it was Horvath's six interceptions that have some Huskie fans clamoring for Haldi's return.
Northern Illinois (1-2, 0-0) closed practice all week and remains tight-lipped on Haldi's status for Friday's game.
"We'll see," Haldi said. "I feel good and I'm anxious to see what happens. It will be a game-time decision. I'm walking fine and it feels good and I'm way ahead of schedule as far as getting better."
Haldi admitted the process has been frustrating. He spends five hours a day getting treatment, whether its applying ice, heat and other methods to facilitate bone growth
"I've become Phil's best friend," Haldi joked of hanging out with head NIU athletics trainer Phil Voorhis.
Even if Haldi plays, the Huskie offense might take some time before getting anywhere near last year's 32.2 points-per-game average. Haldi has played just one series since the season-ending victory over Eastern Michigan University last November.
Meanwhile, Bowling Green State (1-1, 0-0) shrugged off the loss of all-conference quarterback Josh Harris, with talented junior Omar Jacobs already performing at a high level.
The Falcons have a formidable offense, complete with an offensive line that has allowed only one sack and averages 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds; a quartet of running backs that combined for 2,530 all-purpose yards last year; a pair of game-breaking receivers in Cole Manger and Charles Sharon; and one of the best kickers in school history, Shaun Suisham.
Novak has a simple, but effective method to stop BGSU's offense.
"The best way to stop a high-power offense is not let them have the ball," Novak said.
Easier said than done.
The no-huddle, multiple receivers, empty backfield "basketball on grass" offense of the Falcons shredded NIU's defense for 634 yards last year. The goal of BGSU's offense is to spread the field in order to find weaknesses and capitalize on mismatches. The Huskies must contain running backs P.J. Pope and B.J. Lane to limit the effectiveness of Bowling Green State's offense.
"We have to be sound and get our keys right because their offensive line is pretty smart and big," said defensive end Quince Holman, who was moved to the inside to fill the void left by injured starter Eric Pittman. "We've been practicing hard all week. We have to run to the ball because they do a lot of screens. We have to pop them and keeping hitting them and play aggressive."
Brandon expects NIU's defense to try and rattle Jacobs.
"The thing they like to do defensively is try to disrupt you, confuse the quarterback, and mix the looks up," Brandon said. "Two years ago, they did that. Last year they didn't because we exploited them. So, it is going to be interesting to see how they approach it this year. They're just going to try and confuse Omar, mix it up a little bit, and try and keep us off balance."
The BGSU defense often gets overlooked, but the unit was one of the main reasons the Falcons finished 11-3 and claimed a Motor City Bowl victory over Northwestern University last year. Led by cornerback Keon Newsome and linebackers Jovon Burkes and Ted Piepkow, the Falcon defense look to hold the Northern Illinois' running game in check.
Last year the Huskies fell into an early hole and became one-dimensional on offense, as they were limited to 62 yards rushing. The Huskies must also reverse their deadly trend of turning over the ball. They rank 68th in the country in turnover margin. The MAC opener also serves as the first test for the Huskies in their goal of winning a conference championship.
"A year ago, beating the BCS people was awesome, but the bottom .
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2004/09/23/sports/sports01.txt
