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Game Thread Game One: #1 Ohio State 35, Northern Illinois 12 (9/2/06)

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Bucks07 said:
Still better than 0 bowls since 1968. And if you cant find 8000 more people to fill the stadium the program just isnt what you want it to be. I have a lot of respect for the team, and obviously they have some very loyal fans such as yourself, but not selling out the home games and failing to sell 3,500 tickets to this game just doesnt paint a pretty picture of overall support.
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I agree. NIU has a very bandwagonish fan base. If we have a down year our attendance will go down badly. However all things considered, we still have led the MAC in attendance the last 4 years and that is something that I am proud of.

I wouldn't base your opinon of our fans off of the Ohio State ticket sales. We brought 20,000 to Northwestern last year, 7,000 to Michigan, and sold our Iowa tickets in a hurry. The Ohio State thing is an exception.
 
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http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stories/081606aal.html

Nation's Top Running Back May Hail From The MAC
Northern Illinois tailback heads into '06 as nation's top returning rusher


If you were asked what school the nation's top returning rusher hails from, would Northern Illinois come to mind? It should, because that's where senior tailback Garrett Wolfe has been racking up yards at a furious pace from the moment he first came to the MAC school.
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Garrett, who enters the 2006 season averaging 175.6 yards per game, is undoubtedly one of the best players in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on">Northern Illinois</st1:place> program history, and should be one of the top players this season in college football, as the Huskies look to finally capture the elusive MAC championship.
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Last season, Wolfe rushed for 1,580 yards and 16 touchdowns despite playing in just nine games. And in the MAC championship game loss to Akron, the tailback rushed for 270 yards on 42 carries. Looking at these numbers, you can't help but ask yourself how much yardage he would've racked up had he not suffered a knee injury last season.
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"He had almost 1,600 yards [last season] and missed three and a half games," <st1:place w:st="on">Northern Illinois</st1:place> head coach Joe Novak said. "The year before, I think he had 15 or 16-hundred and didn't start until the fifth game. So I mean he's been so productive that it's almost unfathomable how productive he's been."
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In addition to being the nation's top returning rusher, Wolfe also comes into the 2006 season as the top player in all-purpose yards and is the leader in active career rushing yards with a whopping 3,236 yards, which is good enough for sixth place on <st1:place w:st="on">Northern Illinois</st1:place>' list of career rushers. And as long as he can stay healthy, he still has his senior season ahead of him.
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"For a little guy, he's extremely durable," Novak said. He's carried the ball so many times for a guy his size and he makes a difference in our football game. We played <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Akron</st1:place></st1:City> the first time and we didn't block very well for him and he had 50 yards in that game. The championship game, he had 270. I mean, with that kind of production, and I know there are questions from a lot of the pro teams about his size and I agree, there is a question. But you can't overlook somebody being that productive for such a large part of the team."
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Wolfe stands in at just 5-foot-7, 177 pounds, and while there might be questions from NFL teams in regards to his small frame, the senior certainly has not let that stand in his way from doing what he does best:
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Wolfe received votes for the Heisman - the only MAC player to receive votes for the award last year - and should draw some attention once again if he's able to put the numbers that he has in the past. Wolfe has also been named to the Maxwell Award Watch List for the 2006 season, which goes to the nation's top player.
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In talking with Garrett, however, his main concern is just getting to the MAC championship he and his teammates are missing. <st1:place w:st="on">Northern Illinois</st1:place> came close last year with their first trip to the MAC title game, but they have yet to take that next step and Wolfe wants to see it happen this year.
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"First and foremost, I want to win a MAC championship," Wolfe said. "We went to the Silicon Valley Bowl a couple years ago and that was a great experience. The whole bowl game experience gives you another game to compete, another week to play the game you love, and I think it's something we need to take advantage of. We just need to compete as hard as we've had in the past. And if we compete at that level every week, and every quarter, and every down, then I think we'll be fine."
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With his tremendous numbers, Wolfe has also become one of the leaders on this team, as he's earned the respect of his teammates around him.
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"Garrett is an extremely good leader," Novak said. He's a bit more vocal [than the others]. Garrett's gotten to the point where he'll get up and when he talks, they listen because they respect him so much."
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"He's a phenomenally talented guy," <st1:place w:st="on">Northern Illinois</st1:place> offensive tackle Doug Free said. "Plus, he's unbelievably tough for being the size he is. He's got great toughness. He can carry the ball 40 times a game and that's really a key when you have the same guy back there and you can get used to [blocking for] him."
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Besides the MAC title game last year, Garrett had another day of 270-plus yards rushing in the Huskies' game against <st1:place w:st="on">Western Michigan</st1:place>, where he ran for 277 yards - his highest total of the season - on 36 carries.
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"I had a very productive day against them," Wolfe said. "But, with the way they play their defense, it's kind of like a great risk, great reward. The blitz a lot and with them blitzing all the time, that can either have me lose five yards on a play or have me going for 40. So, I think I had the luck of the Irish with me when we played them on that day and the way life is you're not that lucky too often."
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Maybe so. But it's quite clear that with the numbers Wolfe has put up so far in his career, his talent far exceeds any luck that may have come his way.
 
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G-FORCE said:
I agree. NIU has a very bandwagonish fan base. If we have a down year our attendance will go down badly. However all things considered, we still have led the MAC in attendance the last 4 years and that is something that I am proud of.

I wouldn't base your opinon of our fans off of the Ohio State ticket sales. We brought 20,000 to Northwestern last year, 7,000 to Michigan, and sold our Iowa tickets in a hurry. The Ohio State thing is an exception.
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Ok, I can buy that. And if they keep winning the real fan base will grow and negate the bandwagon factor, although it will probably increase the asshole factor as seen by some fans of any winning team.

If they are bandwagon that explains them not buying tickets to a game most people think NIU can't win too.
 
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I'm not one to make fun of other team's fans, but if THIS is the general consensus of Troy Smith's quarterbacking abilities....

I think our defense has alread faced an equally impressive dual-threat QB like Troy Smith, and that was Brett Basanez from Northwestern last season. Basanez passed for 3622 yards and 21 TD's last season while also rushing for 423 yards and 7 TD's. Basanez is a better passing QB than Troy Smith as well.
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...NIU fans will be in for a surprise come 9/2.
 
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I think our defense has alread faced an equally impressive dual-threat QB like Troy Smith, and that was Brett Basanez from Northwestern last season. Basanez passed for 3622 yards and 21 TD's last season while also rushing for 423 yards and 7 TD's. Basanez is a better passing QB than Troy Smith as well.
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Yeah, and Basanez didn't have to do a whole lot seeing as Tyrell Sutton was running for 214 yards on 30 carries. Hell, even Basanez ran for 55 yards on 10 carries. If frickin' Bret Basanez can run for 5.5 ypc against NIU, I drool at the thought of what Troy Smith can do. Northwestern punted once all game...
 
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R0CK3TM4NN said:
I'm not one to make fun of other team's fans, but if THIS is the general consensus of Troy Smith's quarterbacking abilities....



...NIU fans will be in for a surprise come 9/2.
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Looking Forward

I think NIU is a perfect game before Texas. I think the young OSU defense will get a nice test on a fast RB which should get them ready for Charles and company. I really would like them to build some confidence and shut him down as well. I expect every team to do quick passes and spreads to get away from our D line and test the secondary.
 
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CONGERSBUCKEYE said:
I think NIU is a perfect game before Texas. I think the young OSU defense will get a nice test on a fast RB which should get them ready for Charles and company. I really would like them to build some confidence and shut him down as well. I expect every team to do quick passes and spreads to get away from our D line and test the secondary.
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I agree. The gameplan for both NIU and UT should be stop the run and make the QB beat us, so this is a great test to open the season. I also expect a lot of quick passes and spreads (a la the '04 Northwestern game) and misdirection from teams to try and use the speed of the defense against them.
 
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lvbuckeye said:
i think it's pretty fair to say that if Ohio State or Meatchicken actually played a game AT NIU, there would be a huge boost in the attendence numbers...
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Well it would be a definite sellout, so it certainly wouldn't hurt.

But Mili I don't think playing Michigan last year had any affect on our attendance, and unless we beat Ohio State, I don't think playing you will have any affet either.
 
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