Huskies lead MAC in turnover margin

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

For more NIU coverage, visit HuskieWire.com

Turnover-free for the past 10 quarters, Northern Illinois unsurprisingly finds itself as one of the best teams in the country when it comes to turnover margin.

The Huskies have eight more takeaways than giveaways, good for a turnover margin of 1.6. That leads the MAC and doubles second-place Ohio. The Huskies are tied for fourth nationally with Auburn and Cincinnati in turnover margin.

NIU coach Jerry Kill said during Monday's MAC coaches teleconference that the offense, and specifically quarterback Chandler Harnish, has done a good job of not turning over the ball. Harnish has one interception in five games.

"I think as long as you don't turnover the football you have an opportunity to be successful," Kill said. "If he continues to do that, we'll have an opportunity to continue to get better offensively."

Kill also said the defense has been active this season, which was a point of emphasis during the offseason.

"And I think when we've played fundamentally good football, we've got a lot of people around the football," Kill said. "We had a game in there where we didn't (Idaho), but for the most part we've run the ball and when you get somebody hitting somebody and somebody is stripping it out, you've got a chance to be successful."

Weather reports: Kill cited the change in the wind in the first half, giving NIU the wind at their backs in the first and second quarter as a big help to NIU's 38-3 victory against Western Michigan on Saturday.

Monday, he explained how often he looks at weather reports on gameday and during the week.

"When you live in DeKalb, you're always looking at weather reports," he said. "We don't have an indoor facility, so we're always looking at the weather report. We getting it in staff meetings, if we've got to find a place to practice. On gameday, wind direction, because it is unique wind here, you have to pay attention quite a bit."

Upper hand: Over the past five years, Central Michigan has risen to become one of top teams in the MAC, but one team the Chippewas have consistently struggled with is Eastern Michigan, a team that consistently has finished at the bottom of the conference. The Eagles have won four of the past five meetings between the two.

"I don't know what it is," Central Michigan coach Butch Jones said. "I think sometimes its their players making plays. That's happened in the last few years. In a number of years they've been shootouts. So I wish I could put a finger on it."

This is Eastern Michigan coach Ron English's first taste of the in-state rivalry as the Eagles' head coach and said he's tried to remain focused on his team's improvement.

"I don't know if there's an advantage but I do know that sometimes matchups are key," English said. "This game, what we're fighting right now, with our team, is the psychological aspect of this game. We've been competitive but we just have not gotten over the hump in many areas."

Leading the way: Running back Chad Spann is tied for first in the nation in scoring with Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs. Spann has 10 total touchdowns and is averaging 12 points per game.

Spann ran for three touchdowns and 132 yards in Saturday's win. His nine rushing touchdowns already have eclipsed the eight touchdowns he scored on the ground in 2008, which led the team.

"Chad's just a hard-working kid," Kill said. "He's built very low to the ground, very strong, his feet always keep moving and he has good vision and has been productive for us."

A reason to smile: Finally, Kill was asked about defensive end Jake Coffman's 79-yard interception return for a touchdown against Western Michigan.

"Jake is a tremendous person," Kill said. "I'm very loyal to our county, I love the United States of America and we carry the flag out (before games)... To have a young man that has been in the Marine Corps, has fought for your country, he's 25 years old, playing on your team and he tips a ball and catches it and goes 79 yards, I think our whole team wanted to run out there with him. It couldn't happen to a better young man, a better person.

"I've had a lot of great things happen in my life, but to see that happen to that kid was one of the better things that could ever happen. We've got a lot of guys over there fighting for our country that let us play this great game of football. I think sometimes we forget that."

Bye week plans: Since NIU doesn't play this week, the schedule will change a little for the Huskies.

"We've got a lot of work to do fundamentally," Kill said. "[Monday], our players are off, [Today] we'll have a short practice. We'll shorten things up but it gives us an opportunity to get prepared for Toledo because of what they do."