2009 Northern Illinois Huskies NCAA Football Predictions
Written July 2, 2009 by Jason Lowry
The Northern Illinois Huskies had bounced back from a 2-10 season in 2007 to go 6-7 in 2008, but that record could have been a lot better under first year coach Jerry Kill, as the Huskies lost five of their seven games by 7 points or less. One of those loses came in the Independence Bowl where the Huskies fell to Louisiana Tech 10-17. Kill has his work cut out for him in 2009, as the Huskies lost 24 lettermen from last season and return just 11 starters.
The majority of the starters coming back are on the offensive side of things, as seven starters return to an offense that scored nearly 28 points a game last season. The Huskies look set for a few more years at the quarterback positions, after a successful freshman run by Chandler Harnish, who is expected to have an even better sophomore season after throwing for 1,528 yards and 8 touchdowns as a freshman. Harnish is not the only sophomore ready to do some damage this season, as five other sophomores are expected to start this season, including four who started last year as freshmen. One of those is running back Me’co Brown, who was second in the team behind Harnish with 510 yards rushing and 2 scores. The team also brings back junior Chad Spann, who led all Huskies with 8 rushing touchdowns last season. At wide receiver the Huskies lost their top two threats from 2008, but have high hopes for sophomore Nathan Palmer, who had 12 catches for 278 yards and 2 scores last season as a freshman. The offensive remains intact on the left side, but will have to find replacements for both the right guard and right tackle. Sophomore left tackle Trevor Olson and senior left guard Jason Onyebuagu both have the talent to be all-conference performers this season. It looks as though the team will stick sophomore Joe Pawiak at right guard, while senior Kevin Skatrud takes over at right tackle. The Huskies also have a solid guy in the middle in senior center Eddie Adamski. If Harnish continues to mature at the quarterback position, this offense could make some big strides in 2009. Bet the Huskies this season at Sportsbook.com.
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The defense has just four starters back from 2008, and unless this unit surprises I think this could be the main reason the Huskies are unable to win the West this season. The only starter returning up front is junior defensive tackle Mike Krause, who is expected to be joined in the middle by junior DJ Pirkle. At the end positions junior Jake Coffman will team up with senior Brandon Bice, who really came on strong last season with 6.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for a loss. At linebacker once again only one starter returns, but its a pretty good one in junior Alex Kube, who was 4th on the team with 59 tackles last season. The guy to watch out for at this position is sophomore Pat Schiller, who had 24 tackles including 2.5 for a loss as a freshman. In the secondary the Huskies have two new starters at the corner position in juniors Patrick George and Kiaree Daniels, but they return both starters at the safety positions in senior David Bryant and junior Mike Sobol. Bryant and Sobol were 1 and 2 in tackles recorded last season, and while thats not the best stat for a defense, its good these two will be back in 2009. Another player to keep an eye on is sophomore Tracy Wilson, who showed he belongs on the field last season. A lot has to right for this defense, as they are weak both upfront and in the secondary, but if Kill can work his magic with this group, the Huskies could really surprise some teams. Bet the Mid-American Conference this season at Sportsbook.com.
My 2009 Prediction: Tie 3rd in MAC West. I know this team has a lot of young talent coming back that played well in 2008, but this team lost 24 lettermen from last year, and thats just a hard number to overcome. I still think the Huskies can finish up the season at 6-6 and bowl eligible, but with 15 underclassmen expected to start this season, I think the Huskies could be a real threat to win this conference in 2010.
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