Two years ago, NIU quarterback Dan Nicholson made his first career start. It came in the middle of the season in Toledo, Ohio.

Nicholson threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns in the NIU victory. It marked the first Huskie win against the Rockets since 1989, and the first at the Glass Bowl since 1987.

Now a junior, Nicholson might not be able to start in NIU’s next game – which is against Toledo (3-5 overall, 1-3 MAC).

The quarterback missed the second half against Wisconsin last week, as he wasn’t cleared by doctors after a large hit that afternoon.

“He has been cleared [now], but he was not in great shape [Tuesday] morning,” said NIU head coach Joe Novak. “We have to see what he does after he runs around for a little bit.”

Novak said at this point, if the junior isn’t ready to go, redshirt sophomore Ryan Morris will start.

Red Zone schizophrenia

For yet another week, the NIU (1-7, 0-4) offense ranks last in the MAC in red zone offense.

So far, NIU has gotten inside the opponents 20-yard line 21 times. In those trips, NIU has scored only 12 times. Half of the scores have been field goals.

While in the red zone, the Huskie offense has committed three fumbles and an interception, and turned over the ball twice on downs.

However, the red zone has been the NIU defense’s favorite part of the field. The Huskies share the No. 1 red zone defense in the MAC, along with the Temple Owls (3-5, 3-2).

Both teams are allowing opponents to score 71.9 percent of the time when inside the 20-yard line. The two schools also have allowed the same number of touchdowns and field goals in the red zone at 15 and eight, respectively.

MAC standings

There are only two teams in the MAC that have an overall record above .500.

Ball State (5-3, 3-2) and Bowling Green (4-3, 2-1) are the only two teams in the black. MAC West leader Central Michigan (4-4, 3-0) and Miami (4-4, 3-1) are the only other programs in the conference that are at .500.

The other nine teams in the MAC have an overall record below .500. NIU holds the worst overall record in the conference, with Eastern Michigan only one win above the Huskies. There are six programs in the conference that have a 3-5 overall record.

A large surprise has come from the Eastern Division. Ohio (3-5, 1-3) was picked preseason to finish first, with Kent State (3-5, 1-3) picked as a close second.

However, the Bobcats and the Golden Flashes are last and second-to-last in the Eastern Division, respectively.

Buffalo, which was picked to finish last in the East, is the current leader in the division. The Bulls have a conference record of 3-1 with a division record of 2-0.