Quote:The belief is that this is foolproof, a friendly system designed to make the most of the quarterback's ability to move the ball in and out of the passing game, and that the beat will go on despite the changing cast.

It's only fair to have some faith in the system. The Huskies went from Harnish to Lynch and improved, amazingly enough; while future improvement seems mathematically improbable, the Huskies can tout an asset unshared by the vast majority of the Football Bowl Subdivision: NIU has a can't-fail offensive mentality.

Quote:SEASON BREAKDOWN & PREDICTION:

In a nutshell: Northern Illinois is not going to give away the West Division. This is the Huskies' house, you see, and these Huskies – the program we've seen grow before our very eyes since 2010 – won't go down without a fight, with or without the star quarterback the meat and bones of last year's defense. Ball State and Toledo are two good, strong, capable teams; neither has what it takes to stop NIU from reaching another MAC title game and competing for another season with double-digit wins. Allow the situation at quarterback speak for the entire program: NIU has become bigger than any one individual player – the system in place, on the field and off, virtually ensures no significant decline from one season to the next.


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I'm not that worried about the Huskies' situation at quarterback – I mean, I understand the difficulty inherent to replacing a legend, but the offense is so quarterback-friendly as to guarantee the new starter challenges for all-conference accolades. As a whole, the offense will rival Bowling Green for the MAC's best. What worries me more than the quarterback spot – and much, much more, to be honest – is this defense. There are significant problems, in my mind: NIU is fine at end but questionable in reserve, so keeping Meehan and Ford healthy is a priority; the interior of the line is a mess, not to mention undersized; the second level is great in space but must be kept clean by the front four; and the secondary is clearly going to struggle without Ward patrolling every quadrant of the deep middle. Add an average kicking game into the mix and you have some issues to address.

So this isn't a 12-win team, I'd say. Instead, look for NIU to have some early issues, likely dropping two games in September, before finding a groove and some momentum heading into MAC play. With no Bowling Green on the regular-season slate, I see no reason why this team can't again go undefeated from October through November and earn yet another spot in the conference championship game. This is life: NIU is built to last, built to survive a hiccup and built to run roughshod over the overwhelming majority of the MAC – and that's not changing in 2014. The Huskies are not quite as good as the program's recent versions, but this team is again one of the best in the conference – if not the best, period, to little surprise.

Dream season: NIU goes 11-1 in the regular season before topping Bowling Green in the MAC title game.

Nightmare season: The Huskies slide to 7-5, third in the West Division.

(08-04-2014 09:13 AM)7 Wrote:  He's right on about how QB friendly NIU is. Also right on about real concerns on D.

(08-04-2014 09:33 AM)HuskieJWN Wrote:  

(08-04-2014 09:13 AM)7 Wrote:  He's right on about how QB friendly NIU is. Also right on about real concerns on D.

He usually has a good grasp of things and has been pretty spot on. Nice to see a nightmare season is still over .500 and going bowling. Means your program is where it needs to be.

As for the offense being qb friendly and foolproof he's again spot on. Carey even mentioned in a presser that they are going to do what the qb can do and avoid anything he can't. That's genius and obviously seems like duh but many teams don't do it.

At worst this offense is going to hand it off to two guys that will eclipse 2,000 yards combined and run a **** ton of jet sweeps and bubble screens and out athlete the entire MAC.

(08-04-2014 10:03 AM)klake87 Wrote:  Two years ago, we didn't know how good Lynch would be. He had a whole new offensive line. The new QB has a veteran offensive line plus more than capable backups. There is depth at running back. Barring injury, plenty of skill at WR. The next QB does not have to be superman.

(08-04-2014 10:54 AM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Myerberg is simply the best college football analyst out there. Having said that, his preview does not offer much comfort. If you were to not read the number, you would not have said you just read the 39th ranked team. Obviously his concerns are valid, but to hear Paul say "I'm worried" is something that makes me quiver. He basically has NIU ranked 39th because of the track record NIU has put up recently, which in my opinion NIU does deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Quote:I'm worried about the secondary, and about the group's ability to force turnovers in particular – Ward's leading specialty, among his many qualities. Again, there is one positive to consider: Meehan and Ford could put together the sort of pass rush needed to offset any decline from the secondary.

(08-04-2014 10:54 AM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Myerberg is simply the best college football analyst out there. Having said that, his preview does not offer much comfort. If you were to not read the number, you would not have said you just read the 39th ranked team. Obviously his concerns are valid, but to hear Paul say "I'm worried" is something that makes me quiver. He basically has NIU ranked 39th because of the track record NIU has put up recently, which in my opinion NIU does deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Quote:...the Huskies can tout an asset unshared by the vast majority of the Football Bowl Subdivision: NIU has a can't-fail offensive mentality.

Quote:In total, no team in the MAC can match what NIU brings to the table at the skill positions.

Quote:Toledo's line is great; NIU's should be better.

Quote:Northern Illinois is not going to give away the West Division.

(08-04-2014 01:36 PM)cartershaw Wrote:  Good ranking for a team that doesn't know their starting quarterback and has huge holes to fill on the D.

(08-04-2014 01:36 PM)cartershaw Wrote:  Good ranking for a team that doesn't know their starting quarterback and has huge holes to fill on the D.

I think our biggest problem is on D, and specifically the D Line... Bishop made our LBs look good, because he took up O linemen.. Because none of our LBs can shed blocks, like Schiller could.

(08-04-2014 10:57 AM)Max Power Wrote:  It looks like he's missing the additions of Lemon and Dunbar. Aside from that, very thorough.

(08-04-2014 04:10 PM)JCCNIU31 Wrote:  

(08-04-2014 10:57 AM)Max Power Wrote:  It looks like he's missing the additions of Lemon and Dunbar. Aside from that, very thorough.

We don't even know if Dunbar will play at this point so can't fault him for missing him.