Just got home from the game and here are some random thoughts and observations

-I think the crowd today was very decent considering the circumstances.

-Very proud of the defense today. Impressed by EMU's D as well.

-Our offense did not play well today, plain and simple. The wind was definitely howling today and I'm assuming because of the conditions NIU chose to attempt very few plays down field which unfortunately made us extremely one dimensional. EMU's d sat on all of our bread and butter short routes and runs.

- Gillette is one slippery son of a b!tch. It made him great at times today, but his reluctance to throw the ball away also put his team in the 4th and 35 situation.

- Chandler did not throw the ball particularly well today which mirrored his passing performance at the end of the Ball State game. Again, thank the maker for his running ability.

- We are back to back MAC west champs, and though this team is not nearly as strong as the 2010 version, we are very capable of beating Ohio. GO HUSKIES!

(11-25-2011 04:43 PM)Huskie359 Wrote:  Just got home from the game and here are some random thoughts and observations

-I think the crowd today was very decent considering the circumstances.

-Very proud of the defense today. Impressed by EMU's D as well.

-Our offense did not play well today, plain and simple. The wind was definitely howling today and I'm assuming because of the conditions NIU chose to attempt very few plays down field which unfortunately made us extremely one dimensional. EMU's d sat on all of our bread and butter short routes and runs.

- Gillette is one slippery son of a b!tch. It made him great at times today, but his reluctance to throw the ball away also put his team in the 4th and 35 situation.

- Chandler did not throw the ball particularly well today which mirrored his passing performance at the end of the Ball State game. Again, thank the maker for his running ability.

- We are back to back MAC west champs, and though this team is not nearly as strong as the 2010 version, we are very capable of beating Ohio. GO HUSKIES!

Gillett impressed me today, a very shifty guy.....thought we had him sacked a couple of times and he escaped
lucky for us he didn't throw it away on 2 consecutive plays on their final drive.....even then, they almost converted on 4th and 35 !!

The crowd looked pretty decent.....didn't see final attendance

We dodged another bullet today. I thought we'd come out sky high today. Very surprised we played so tight. Definitely played not to lose.

Kudos to the D. Big goal line stand holding Eagles to 3. Great job on the safety, too. Eagles were thisclose to coverting the 4th and 35.

Boy, when games get close, Canada's collar sure does get tight. It's Chandler all the time.

On to Detroit. Let's take care of business on Friday night.

Ugly win

(11-25-2011 08:30 PM)bigdhuskie Wrote:  The crowd looked pretty decent.....didn't see final attendance

13+ thousand...not bad, i think.

Indeed, not what we all wanted but a W is a W! The defense tackled much better on average than we have. In the off season, Jay and Dave need to look at what we can do to create and recover turnovers. I have said it to all my fellow Huskie fans, Ron English is a good coach and my hat's off to him and his staff. Looking at over 120 points scored against you the last 2 years is saliva enough to get after it. We will hear from them again. I reserved 3 rooms in Detroit after BSU, so thankfully, no jinx. Let's get this done once and for all!!! Go Huskies and see y'all at the bar at the Ren Cen!!

Cause for concern: we were 2-13 on 3rd down conversions.

(11-25-2011 10:08 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  Cause for concern: we were 2-13 on 3rd down conversions.

We were 9th in the nation going into the game. The wind didn't help and it seemed like harnish just had an off day passing in general.

(11-25-2011 10:10 PM)armour248 Wrote:  

(11-25-2011 10:08 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  Cause for concern: we were 2-13 on 3rd down conversions.

We were 9th in the nation going into the game. The wind didn't help and it seemed like harnish just had an off day passing in general.

And we were in the top 10 in the country in 3rd down conversations last year too. I wouldn't be concerned about it. Reminded me of the Buffalo game, more of an aberration than anything.

Oh and I thought Canada did a terrible job playcalling today. I have no idea why we didn't see more outside runs. I know EMU is improved this year, but one of the things I distinctly remember from the last two years is how slooooooooooooooow EMU's defense is. The color guy even mentioned it early on that NIU needed to run outside more.

Just a very strange game plan from Canada today.

(11-25-2011 10:54 PM)7 Wrote:  

(11-25-2011 10:10 PM)armour248 Wrote:  

(11-25-2011 10:08 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  Cause for concern: we were 2-13 on 3rd down conversions.

We were 9th in the nation going into the game. The wind didn't help and it seemed like harnish just had an off day passing in general.

And we were in the top 10 in the country in 3rd down conversations last year too. I wouldn't be concerned about it. Reminded me of the Buffalo game, more of an aberration than anything.

I looked at the play-by-play for the game. For 12 third down situations, we averaged over 7 yards to go. I didn't count the 13th third down situation because we were running out the clock.

Not gaining much on first and second downs is what led to our third down problems.

(11-25-2011 10:59 PM)7 Wrote:  Oh and I thought Canada did a terrible job playcalling today. I have no idea why we didn't see more outside runs. I know EMU is improved this year, but one of the things I distinctly remember from the last two years is how slooooooooooooooow EMU's defense is. The color guy even mentioned it early on that NIU needed to run outside more.

Just a very strange game plan from Canada today.

Agree. We ran the sweep with with Tommy Lee once for about 15, then nothing.

We also need to run play action more! It almost always works.

What the heck was Lynch doing in there late in the 4th quarter starting from our own 13 yard line? That was another wasted possession.

(11-25-2011 11:36 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  What the heck was Lynch doing in there late in the 4th quarter starting from our own 13 yard line? That was another wasted possession.

We did the same thing in the MACC game last year.

(11-25-2011 11:43 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(11-25-2011 11:36 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  What the heck was Lynch doing in there late in the 4th quarter starting from our own 13 yard line? That was another wasted possession.

We did the same thing in the MACC game last year.

I think we needed to get that out of the way.
This was so much like our MACC game last year except EMU didn't make the 4 & super long conversion.

Hopefully now the team will have 100% focus on Ohio and not a student getting killed in town, Thanksgiving & Senior Day.

(11-25-2011 11:36 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  What the heck was Lynch doing in there late in the 4th quarter starting from our own 13 yard line? That was another wasted possession.

Deja vu....Same timing and field position in the game as last years MACC.

(11-25-2011 11:46 PM)thxjoenovak Wrote:  

(11-25-2011 11:36 PM)NIU1981 Wrote:  What the heck was Lynch doing in there late in the 4th quarter starting from our own 13 yard line? That was another wasted possession.

Deja vu....Same timing and field position in the game as last years MACC.

I may have thrown a few expletives in there when i was "wondering out loud" why Lynch was in there.

Lynch move was stupid.
Chandler could not handle the wind.
He will make a nice employee for a company.
O Line was dominated.
Thank God Gillette missed a pass out in the flat in the 3rd qtr for a TD and a wide open drop for a TD.
Bad feeling about Ohio.
Luck may run out.
Would like us to play a complete ballgame in MACC.

Ugly win. Hopefully the Huskies step up for the MACC game.

The MACC game is indoors. Big difference. Harnish will have no problem throwing the ball. I am not worried