GAME 3: Ohio State v Northern Illinois

GAME 3       OHIO STATE v NORTHERN ILLINOIS    

September 19, 2015                        Ohio Stadium                                     Columbus, OH

Northern Illinois Huskies

Location: DeKalb, IL

Stadium: Huskie Stadium (23,595)

Coach: Rod Carey (3^rd year): 25-6 at NIU/overall, 2-0 v B1G, 0-0 v OSU

Series: OSU w 1, NIU 0

Last Meeting: 9/2/2006: OSU 35, Northern Illinois 12

Coach Meyer (4^th year): 40-3 at OSU/144-26 overall, 28-2 v B1G, 1-1 v NIU

2014 Northern Illinois Huskies (11-3)(7-1) MAC                 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes (14-1)(9-0) B1G

55           Presbyterian                        3                                       34           at Navy              17

23           at Northwestern                15                                       21           Virginia Tech     35                48           at UNLV                           34                                       66           Kent State            0

14           at Arkansas                       52                                       50           Cincinnati           28

17           Kent State                         14                                       52           at Maryland        24     17           Central Michigan               34                                      56           Rutgers                17

51           Miami University              41                                       31           at Penn State       24 2OT

28           at Eastern Michigan          17                                        55           Illinois                14  35           at Ball State                        21                                      49          at Michigan State 37              

27           Toledo                                24                                       31          at Minnesota        24

21           at Ohio University             14                                        42          Indiana                 27             31           at Western Michigan          21                                        42         Michigan              28

51           Bowling Green                  17                                         59        Wisconsin                0

                (MAC Championship)                                                               (B1G Championship)

23           Marshall                               52                                       42        Alabama                35  

                (Boca Raton Bowl)                                                                   (Sugar Bowl)

                                                                                                        42        Oregon                  20

                                                                                                                   (National Championship)

2015 Northern Illinois Huskies (2-0)                                        2015 Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0)

38           UNLV                                  30                                         42       at Virginia Tech      24

57           Murray State                        26                                         38      Hawaii                       0     

S19         at Ohio State                                                                               Northern Illinois

S26         at Boston College                                                                       Western Michigan

O3          at Central Michigan                                                                     at Indiana

O10        Ball State                                                                                     Maryland

O17        at Miami University                                                                    Penn State

O24        Eastern Michigan                                                                        at Rutgers

O31       

N7          at Toledo (T Nov 3)                                                                     Minnesota

N14        at Buffalo (W Nov 11)                                                                 at Illinois

N21        Western Michigan (W Nov 18)                                                   Michigan State

N28        Ohio University                                                                            at Michigan

The Huskies have won five straight MAC West division titles and have amassed an amazing 38-2 league record in that time.  They look to challenge yet again this year with 13 returning starters, a top quarterback, and a good defense.  But for the Huskies, it all starts under center with junior quarterback Drew Hare who last year, was tied with Heisman winner Marcus Mariotta for the fewest interceptions thrown during the regular season (2).  Hare has picked up where he left off, throwing for over 300 yards in the first two games this year against UNLV and Murray State.  He also leads the MAC and is fifth in the nation in passing efficiency with a 203.3 rating.  His favorite target has become WR Kenny Galladay, a transfer from North Dakota.  Galladay has 17 catches already in 2015 for 357 yards and two touchdowns, including a nine-catch, 213-yard day verses UNLV to earn MAC Player of the Week honors.  Galladay is not alone in the passing attack, as the Huskie offense also features senior wideout Tommylee Lewis and junior Chad Beebe.  Lewis has battled injuries during his career, receiving a medical redshirt last year and sitting out last week, however, he has caught a pass in 29 straight games in which he has played and was first team All-MAC in 2013.  On the other side, Chad Beebe has hauled in six catches for 89 yards, providing a dependable possession receiver for the NIU offense.  The Huskies like to get the tight end involved in their passing game and this year is no exception, as senior Desroy Maxwell has become one of the most dependable players on the offensive side of the ball with seven catches in the two games this year for 65 yards and a touchdown.  Running the ball will be junior Joel Bouagnon, a good blend of size and speed.  He has averaged 5.7 yards per carry and scored five touchdowns thus far this season.  He will attempt to run behind a rather large offensive line, all over 300 pounds, led by senior guard Aidan Conlan and senior center Andrew Ness.  Conlan has started 44 consecutive games at his position, while Ness is on the preseason watch lists for the Rimington, Outland, and Lombardi awards.  On his right will be junior Josh Ruka at RG and true freshman Max Scharping at RT.  Junior Levon Myers figures to get the starting nod at LT.

Northern Illinois will probably try to gain traction running straight ahead looking to have a slight size advantage.  Also look for them to try to slide the tight end over the middle for some quick-hitting passes to try to keep pressure off of Hare.  Ohio State’s speed at linebacker should keep any wide plays in check, so if they can bottle up the tight end, they can force the Huskies to throw deep where the superior athletic ability of the Ohio State secondary should enable them shut down any kind of vertical passing threat.

                                                          WR Kenny Golladay

The Huskies have always been tough against the run and this year they appear to be continuing that trend.  They return three starters on the defensive line, led by senior DE Perez Ford.  Coming off an outstanding 2014 season in which he was second team All-Mac, Ford made the preseason watch list for the Lombardi Award and last week, tied his career high with six tackles and a tackle for loss against Murray State.  DT William Lee, a redshirt sophomore, started all 14 games a year ago, and picked up where he left off with two tackles and a sack last week.  Junior Corey Thomas is slated to start at NG and he has been productive in their two games with six tackles, while senior Cameron Clinton-Earl will be at the other DE position.  He has been in on four tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack.  Senior Boomer Mays leads the Huskie linebacking corps and is the leading tackler thus far with 17, which includes a tackle for loss.  Right behind him is OLB Renard Cheren with 15 tackles and he also has a tackle for loss and a sack.  The other OLB will be Sean Folliard with 10 tackles and two tackles for loss.  Their quickness enables them to cover most backs out of the backfield and tight ends on short pass routes.  The secondary is led by senior FS Marlon Moore who led the team last year with 99.  He has picked up where he left off with five stops in each of the first two games.  Brandon Mays is also someone for the Ohio State offense to keep an eye on.  The sophomore SS has been involved in eight tackles, coming up to stop wide plays to his side and has also broken up a pass.  Sophomore Albert Smalls and senior Paris Logan man the corner positions for the NIU defense.  Smalls has been very active in run support, garnering eight tackles while Logan comes in with 12 tackles and an interception. 

The Ohio State offense, particularly the line, will look to shrug off a rather lackluster performance against Hawaii, this time with a full week of practice and preparation.  NIU’s size on the defensive front will not make it easy to run between the tackles and Mays and Smalls will come up to try to slow down the pitch sweeps to Braxton Miller.  Look for some deep throws as none of NIU’s starting secondary should be able to keep up with Michael Thomas in one-on-one coverage.  Also look for Nick Vannett down the middle, which should pull the linebackers away from the line of scrimmage and allow some runs off tackle by Elliott and runs by Jones and JT Barrett.  

                                             DE Perez Ford

SPECIAL TEAMS: Christian Hagan will attempt field goals for Northern Illinois.  He has a good leg, hitting a 48-yarder while going 2 for 2.  Jake Ambrose will handle the punting chores and he also has a good leg, averaging 39.7 yards per punt with a long of 49.

SUMMARY: Last week, the lack of rest and the lack of a full week of preparation may have led to a lack luster offensive performance, but the Ohio State offensive line will face a challenge in dealing with the size of the NIU interior.  The receivers will need to be crisp on their downfield blocking assignments to keep the aggressive NIU DBs from coming up against the pitch sweeps and wide plays Ohio State likes to run.  Providing the offensive line starts out better than they did last week, the Ohio State offense should roll as there will be simply too many weapons for the NIU defense to deal with.  The Ohio State defense was lights-out against Hawaii last week and should be able to continue to mount a pass rush and shut down any semblance of a rushing attack.

OHIO STATE 48, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 14