10-18-2004, 12:48 PM
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NORTHERN ILLINOIS
INSIDE SLANT
Garrett Wolfe is doing his best to make the Northern Illinois running back stable a one-horse town.
The sophomore already had one 200-yard rushing performance to his credit this year heading into a showdown with Central Michigan and its star running back, Jerry Seymour.
Wolfe eclipsed Seymour and everyone else on the field with his performance against the Chippewas, running for a career-high 226 yards and four scores in NIU's 42-10 homecoming rout. Wolfe now has at least 100 yards rushing in each of the last four contests, and he is averaging 170.0 rushing yards a game during that stretch.
"Garrett Wolfe is a good football player," Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak said.
"He has great vision, especially for a guy who has sat out two years. He has good acceleration. He's not real big, but he plays physical, and he has all these little moves. You give him a crack and he's through it."
Wolfe has scored 11 touchdowns in the four-game span, 10 on the ground. Wolfe has established himself as the Huskies' top offensive weapon, and as the weather turns toward colder temperatures, look for the Huskies to go the ground with their horse more and more often.
NOTES, QUOTES
GAME BALL GOES TO: RB Garrett Wolfe — The sophomore was fantastic against Central Michigan, scoring four touchdowns and rambling for a career-high 226 yards on the ground. Wolfe helped the NIU offense get going on a windy day in DeKalb.
KEEP AN EYE ON: WR Dan Sheldon — In a tight game, Sheldon's 60-yard touchdown catch broke things open. Sheldon finished the game with three catches for 87 yards, and he's a long-distance threat that will help open up defenses when they crowd the line of scrimmage to stop Garrett Wolfe.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "This week, someone told me we couldn't finish (after scoring just 16 points in the last three quarters against UCF). Now, it looks like we don't know how to start, probably because my halftime talks are better than my pre-game talks." — Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novak after his team scored 35 points after halftime against Central Michigan.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
LOOKING GOOD: Well, the running game wasn't too bad, getting 226 yards and four touchdowns from Garrett Wolfe. The ground attack helped get things going on a day when the wind made it difficult to pass the ball.
STILL NEEDS SOME WORK: NIU hasn't been able to put together a full game of solid offense in a couple of weeks. The Huskies started fast against UCF and survived a couple weeks ago, then took a half before finally warming up to put up 35 points in the second half against Central Michigan.
ROSTER REPORT: There's no doubt now, Garrett Wolfe is the Huskies' main man running the ball. Wolfe had 37 carries compared to 29 carries for the rest of the team. Joe Novak will likely try to give A.J. Harris some carries to keep Wolfe fresh, but the sophomore has made the starting job his own.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
INSIDE SLANT
Garrett Wolfe is doing his best to make the Northern Illinois running back stable a one-horse town.
The sophomore already had one 200-yard rushing performance to his credit this year heading into a showdown with Central Michigan and its star running back, Jerry Seymour.
Wolfe eclipsed Seymour and everyone else on the field with his performance against the Chippewas, running for a career-high 226 yards and four scores in NIU's 42-10 homecoming rout. Wolfe now has at least 100 yards rushing in each of the last four contests, and he is averaging 170.0 rushing yards a game during that stretch.
"Garrett Wolfe is a good football player," Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak said.
"He has great vision, especially for a guy who has sat out two years. He has good acceleration. He's not real big, but he plays physical, and he has all these little moves. You give him a crack and he's through it."
Wolfe has scored 11 touchdowns in the four-game span, 10 on the ground. Wolfe has established himself as the Huskies' top offensive weapon, and as the weather turns toward colder temperatures, look for the Huskies to go the ground with their horse more and more often.
NOTES, QUOTES
GAME BALL GOES TO: RB Garrett Wolfe — The sophomore was fantastic against Central Michigan, scoring four touchdowns and rambling for a career-high 226 yards on the ground. Wolfe helped the NIU offense get going on a windy day in DeKalb.
KEEP AN EYE ON: WR Dan Sheldon — In a tight game, Sheldon's 60-yard touchdown catch broke things open. Sheldon finished the game with three catches for 87 yards, and he's a long-distance threat that will help open up defenses when they crowd the line of scrimmage to stop Garrett Wolfe.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "This week, someone told me we couldn't finish (after scoring just 16 points in the last three quarters against UCF). Now, it looks like we don't know how to start, probably because my halftime talks are better than my pre-game talks." — Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novak after his team scored 35 points after halftime against Central Michigan.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
LOOKING GOOD: Well, the running game wasn't too bad, getting 226 yards and four touchdowns from Garrett Wolfe. The ground attack helped get things going on a day when the wind made it difficult to pass the ball.
STILL NEEDS SOME WORK: NIU hasn't been able to put together a full game of solid offense in a couple of weeks. The Huskies started fast against UCF and survived a couple weeks ago, then took a half before finally warming up to put up 35 points in the second half against Central Michigan.
ROSTER REPORT: There's no doubt now, Garrett Wolfe is the Huskies' main man running the ball. Wolfe had 37 carries compared to 29 carries for the rest of the team. Joe Novak will likely try to give A.J. Harris some carries to keep Wolfe fresh, but the sophomore has made the starting job his own.