subject: 2010 Nothern Illinois Football Predictions [print this page] The Northern Illinois Huskies finished off the 2009 season with a sour taste in their mouth, as they fell big time to USF in the International Bowl. The Huskies wound up finishing second in the MAC West Division at 5-3 and were 7-6 overall. This year the Huskies enter into the third season under head coach Jerry Kill, and are hoping to make some big strides with 15 starters back from last year. To help you get a better idea of what the Huskies will look like this season, here is a quick breakdown of what they will send to the field on both offense and defense, plus my prediction on where they will finish the year in the MAC.
Offense:
The Huskies look to be strong on offense this season behind junior quarterback Chandler Harnish, who if healthy should be one of the top quarterbacks in the MAC this season. In 2009 Harnish put some pretty solid numbers, completing 64% of his attempts for 1,670 yards and 11 touchdowns in just nine starts.
A big reason I believe that Harnish will put up better numbers in 2010, is the fact that the Huskies return senior running back Chad Spann, who rushed for 1,036 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2009. Spann finished fourth in rushing last year in the MAC, and he has a great shot at competing for the rushing title this season.
The Huskies also have some talent back at wide receiver this season, as they bring back starters Landon Cox and Nathan Palmer. Cox led the Huskies with 45 catches for 535 yards and four scores a year ago. Also expected to be a big part of the offense at the receiver position is sophomore Martel Moore and junior Willie Clark.
The Huskies will have to find two new starters on the offensive line, as they must replace both the left guard spot and the center positions this fall. They do bring back both starting tackles, so they shouldn't take a huge hit up front, but the two new starters must produce early if the Huskies are going to surprise some teams early on.
Defense:
With eight starters back on the defensive side of the football, the Huskies are going to look to make some nice strides on this side of the ball in 2010. Up front they return sophomore defensive end Sean Progar and senior defensive tackle DJ Pirkle. Progar really came on strong in his sophomore season, grabbing six sacks, and will be counted on for even more of a pass rush this season.
Northern Illinois will bring back both starting outside linebackers this season, in senior Alex Kube and junior Pat Schiller, both of which finished in the top five in tackles last season. The new addition to the unit will be sophomore middle linebacker Devon Butler, who impressed the coaches with his play last season as a freshman.
In the secondary the Huskies will have all four starters back from the 2009 season, and this unit figures to make some big improvements this year. Senior corners Chris Smith and Patrick George will give the Huskies one of the best starting corner duos in the conference this season. I also look for a big season out of junior free safety Tracy Wilson, who led the Huskies with 93 tackles last season.
MAC West Prediction 1st: I am calling for the Huskies to take home the West title this season, and will be a legit threat to take home the conference championship as well. The Huskies have a ton of weapons on both sides of the ball, and I think they could end up finishing the 2010 season with 8-9 wins.
For a complete look at how the conference will play out this season, check out our 2010 MAC predictions.
