If we are getting beat down he won't be in. He means too much to the team to risk playing in a blowout.
It won't be a blowout though.
Our stadium only holds 28,000 and we play in a city of not even 40,000.It is pitful. What was your average like 25,000?Leading the mac in attendence is not impressive because I don't consider any mac team to have a good fan base. Not to mention over half the league just received letters from the NCAA about attendence issues. We get roughly 200,000 people to come to Columbus for every game. That's more any silly mac schools gets for an entire season.
Every website I looked at has your stadium listed at 31,000. Did you recently contract to make the stadium look more full? BTW, State College, PA, home of Penn State, has about 4,000 less people than DeKalb.
The 31,000 includes when we used to have bleachers in the south endzone. We took those out after 2003, and we are now building the AAPC in it's place.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=959 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=791 bgColor=#ffffff>NIU Practices Twice as Second Week of Preseason Begins
Preseason Spotlight on Wide Receivers
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Sophomore Britt Davis is the leading returning receiver for the Huskies after catching 42 passes for 441 yards and three scores as a freshman.
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Aug. 14, 2006
DeKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois Huskies returned to the practice field for a pair of workouts Monday after taking a break from workouts Sunday in the first day off of the preseason. The team went through an hour-and-45 minutes practice in full pads in the morning at Huskie Stadium before finishing with a practice of the same length in shells (shorts and shoulder pads) in the afternoon.
NIU Head Coach Joe Novak continues to like what he sees out of his 2006 squad.
"I've been pleased with what we've done so far," Novak said. "Three weeks of two-a-days is a long time. We're trying to keep it interesting and doing a couple of things to change the routine, change practice and do a few different things. We want them fresh and healthy going to Ohio State."
One of the highlights of the afternoon practice came during special teams, when junior kicker Chris Nendick (Naperville, Ill.) booted a 57-yard field goal, eliciting a cheer and upraised hands from the team.
"When the team sees something like that [the 57-yard field goal], it gives them great confidence," Novak said. "Chris Nendick has been kicking very well. His leg strength has increased, which is something we've been asking him to do. His kickoffs have been much better. We don't have him kick a lot because we don't want him wearing his leg out in practice."
Over the next 10 days, the Huskie practice reports will include a look at each position on the team, beginning with the 2006 wide receivers.
The wide receiver position features strong competition to replace two starters from last season, including Sam Hurd, currently garnering quite a bit of media attention in camp with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent. Sophomore Britt Davis (Broadview, Ill.), who set a NIU freshman record with 42 catches a year ago, along with senior Jarret Carter (Florissant, Mo.) and sophomores Marcus Perez (Elkhart, Ind.) and Matt Simon (Farmington, Minn.) return the most experience. <!-- STORY AD BEGINS HERE -->
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<!-- STORY AD ENDS HERE -->"Jarrett is doing a great job of being a leader and he, Britt, and Matt are all doing a real good job for us," said first-year wide receivers coach Carnelius Cruz. "They are all running and catching and also playing well without the ball with running and blocking. We had only one drop in team drills this morning, which is impressive."
Also making a splash are true freshman Marcus Lewis (Gurnee, Ill.) and sophomore Greg Turner (Glendale Heights, Ill.).
"Marcus has a lot of ability and will help us out in the rotation this season," added Cruz. "Turner is like a machine out there and he knows all the positions having been in the program. All of our kids are working hard and the biggest difference this fall is the increased level of focus now that the season is approaching."
Although the focus level is high, the coaches took time after practice to critique the 2006 freshman class, who have been learning the Huskie Fight Song. Novak said Monday's rendition showed marked improvement over previous efforts, mirroring the rookie class' improvements on the field.
"Yesterday, they thought the fight song was a rap or something," Novak said. "They were screaming it. Today, you could at least hear the tune. [Running backs] Coach (Thomas) Hammock (an NIU grad and former player) worked with them and it was much improved."
The Huskie team sings the fight song after every game and the freshman class has traditionally presented the fight song to the entire NIU freshman class at the Huskie Bash on Move-In Day. Northern Illinois opens the 2006 season on Saturday, Sept. 2 versus preseason No. 1 ranked Ohio State in Columbus. The game will be broadcast live by ABC Sports beginning at 2:30 p.m. (Central). NIU opens its 2006 home schedule on Saturday, Sept. 9 in Huskie Stadium versus MAC opponent Ohio in the first of three straight September home dates for the Huskies. Season and single game tickets for the 2006 campaign are on sale now through the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center. Tickets can be ordered by calling Ticketmaster at 312-559-1212 or on the internet at www.niuhuskies.com. -- NIU --
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NIU Huskies Football
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NIU Linebackers Young And Hungry For 2006 Football Campaign
Head Coach Joe Novak sees a possible six-man rotation at linebacker for the Huskies.
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Senior Keenan Blalark returns at linebacker for the Huskies in 2006.
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Aug. 15, 2006
DeKalb, Ill. - Two-a-day football practice sessions are not only physically draining, but mentally as well.
Following their first pair of two-a-day practices, Northern Illinois University head football coach Joe Novak wanted to see how disciplined his squad could be in their lone session on Tuesday morning at Huskie Stadium.
"Today was solid," Novak said. "You go through two-a-days and they're not all going to be great. Considering where we are in the second week of two-a-days, I liked the concentration.
"That's the thing I'm looking for. I know it's not going to always be jumping up and down and hugging each other, but I really liked the way we're concentrating and we're making some good progress. I'm pleased with where we are at this point."
Also drawing some attention from Novak is the performance of his linebackers.
"I've been pleased (with the linebackers)," Novak said. "We probably have a group of six right now I think we can count on at this point. We're probably starting right now with (Tim) McCarthy (Neenah, Wis.) and (Keenan) Blalark (Elgin, Ill.) in the top two that we can count on. David Bryant (St. Louis, Mo.) is progressing as redshirt freshman at the one linebacker. John Tranchitella (Addison, Ill.) has really stepped forward at the one, I think he's going to be right in the mix. I think Cory Hanson (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Josh Allen (North Chicago, Ill.) will be too. I think right now that those are the six that we're working in there. Right now at this point, we have those six. We just have to keep on getting better, and we'll have a little rotation going on there." <!-- STORY AD BEGINS HERE -->
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<!-- STORY AD ENDS HERE -->Blalark, a returning senior starter, is the only upperclassman out of those six linebackers.
"From the linebacker core, that's a key position for us," Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers Coach Denny Doornbos said. "(Keenan) has done a great job here, he really has. He's come a long ways from where he was at when he first came here and he is that type of guy that has that leadership quality. He's doing really good."
Although the Huskies are only eight days into their preseason camp, Doornbos has seen the improvement in his `backers'.
"It's early on in camp, but the guys are doing good," Doornbos said. "I think we've improved from the spring and I think that's really important. The guys that have played a little bit last year have come to play."
"We're in pretty good shape right now," Doornbos continued. "We're getting reps with some of the guys that didn't have much experience. Some of the guys that did are getting better and better. Right now I think we're improving and that's the key."
The Huskies open the 2006 season on Saturday, Sept. 2 versus preseason No. 1 ranked Ohio State in Columbus. The game will be broadcast live by ABC Sports beginning at 2:30 p.m. (Central). NIU opens its 2006 home schedule on Saturday, Sept. 9 in Huskie Stadium versus MAC opponent Ohio in the first of three straight September home dates for the Huskies. Season and single game tickets for the 2006 campaign are on sale now through the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center. Tickets can be ordered by calling Ticketmaster at 312-559-1212 or on the internet at www.niuhuskies.com. --NIU--
I fully understand all the advantages Penn State has as far as alumni and such. I just don't want to hear the arguement of town population and enrollement. 25,000 students is a pretty good amount and then you consider the fact student tickets are practically free at most of these mid-major schools. I don't see why you can't fill up a 28,000 seat stadium every week. By no means do I think they should bring in over 100,000, that's never going to happen.
Probably the size of the program. Glad to see you missed the point though.Buckeye Nut said:
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You didn't exactly make it very clear what specific aspect you were talking about. What exactly does "size of the program" mean anyway? What do you use to calculate this? Your point is still greatly exaggerated unless you consider them to have the smallest program in the country.
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