Each week during the college football season, the Northern Star will recap the most interesting NIU grades published by Pro Football Focus, a sports analytics company that evaluates every player on every play of every game. Season and single-game grades are based on a 0-100 scale. To learn more about PFF’s grading system, click here.
The NIU football team didn’t have its best outing on Saturday. Far from it, actually.
The Huskies struggled offensively as they put up only a field goal in a 6-3 loss to San Diego State. It was their lowest-scoring loss since the 2010 International Bowl. Even so, NIU earned some impressive grades after a strong defensive outing powered by two takeaways and a career day from both starting linebackers.
Dasean Dixon (79.6 defense): The UAlbany transfer only played 19 defensive snaps, but he finished as NIU’s highest-graded defender. Dixon finished with one solo tackle and an assist to put him at 10 tackles for the season. He also earned the team’s best pass rushing grade (76.5) after recording a quarterback hit and a hurry.
Quinn Urwiler (85.5 tackling): Four Huskies received a tackling grade of 80.0 or better, but Urwiler earned the team’s top mark after recording a career-high 16 tackles — 10 solo — on Saturday. He played 62 of 70 snaps and received NIU’s third-highest run defense grade (72.3). The linebacker also finished with a sack and a QB hurry.
Filip Maciorowski (76.3 defense): Urwiler wasn’t the only NIU linebacker to crack double-digit tackles against the Aztecs. Maciorowski also set a career high with 13 tackles — five solo — while logging the first full sack of his career. He received the Huskies’ second-highest defense grade and was their highest-graded player in coverage (75.1) after giving up one catch on two targets against him.
NIU (81.0 pass blocking): Despite giving up two sacks, NIU’s pass-blocking unit earned its highest mark of the season by far. Four players received a grade of 80.0 or better in that category, led by left guard Aidan Tweedy’s 87.3 grade.
Evan Malcore (73.1 offense): Though Lazaro Rogers took home NIU’s best offensive grade (80.1) after playing just one snap, Malcore was the standout of the starters. The left tackle had the second-highest pass blocking grade (80.0) among the starting offensive line.
