2008 Northern Illinois Huskies Football Betting Preview

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College Football Wagering Preview – Northern Illinois Huskies

Northern Illinois was one of the weakest football wagering teams in the MAC last year, posting only two wins. New head coach Jerry Kill takes over the program but he’s got a lot of evaluating to do this year. The Huskies streak of seven consecutive winning seasons was broken and it will be at least one more year before they start another one.




For the Huskies, the running game works but not much else does. Kill has a lot of work in front of him in what figures to be a rough year for NIU.

Offense

The Huskies offense will score points, for the most part, but it isn’t dynamic like many of the other units in the MAC.

They have a potent rushing attack and have had a 1000-yard rusher in each of the last nine seasons. Last year, James Anderson was that dude. He’s a talented, versatile back who compiled 1245 rushing yards.

Anderson runs behind a solid offensive line that will return four of the five starters. Left tackle Jon Brost is as steady as they come.

But the main issue on offense is the quarterback situation. Dan Nicholson was the starter but is still recovering from a shoulder injury. He’s competing with DeMarcus Grady, Chandler Harnish and Ryan Morris. The passing game produced only eight touchdowns last year versus nine interceptions. The 6.5 yards-per-pass averaged was third-worst in the MAC.

Defense

The defense has plenty of work, particularly the pass defense. The Huskies secondary only picked off three passes last year, which was the fewest in the MAC. A lack of turnovers led to the Huskies defense spending plenty of time on the field.

The Huskies had the fewest takeaways and most fumbles lost, which equates to the worst turnover ratio in the conference (-10).

The defense will improve if the Huskies can take care of the ball. They’d also benefit from a pass rush.

The Huskies have one excellent pass-rusher in Larry English, who posted 10.5 sacks last year. He’s one of the best in the conference but there isn’t a lot of help around him.

Outlook

The Huskies were riddled with injuries last year but they aren’t a contender when everyone is healthy. Maybe injuries pulled them down from five or six wins, to two wins, but a healthy roster isn’t enough to win them the conference.

The Huskies start the season on the road for four of their first five games. On the bill are trips to Minnesota, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Tennessee. They’ll also have to travel to Ball State later in the season.

This is clearly a rebuilding year for the Huskies and Kill has to evaluate his roster and determine some direction.

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