After months of considerable hype and endless speculation by NIU football fans, the actual importance of Saturday’s spring football game was truly confusing.

In his post-game comments, coach Joe Novak said he really wasn’t concerned about the game’s result. Translation: he treated the game for what it was — a pre-season scrimmage.

Under that criterion, how can a scrimmage between athletes who haven’t played competitively in more than four months be properly evaluated? A lot can change between now and Sept. 2 at Ohio State, but here are the first impressions.

In last year’s spring game, the final score was 34-0 in an offensive showcase for NIU’s wide receivers. Saturday’s final score (6-0) was more of a baseball score than the actual NIU baseball game being played simultaneously a few hundred feet away (17-5).

After ranking No. 16 in the country in total offense last season, the offensive performance ranked from decent to yawn-inducing. With Phil Horvath signaling calls from the sideline with a sprained ankle, Dan Nicholson and Ryan Morris divided the snaps.

Morris had a slight edge in execution and total yards, although his lame-duck interception in the end zone was not encouraging. Nicholson looked rusty and it showed in his two interceptions.

The wide receivers sorely missed Britt Davis, whose knee injury is rumored to be much more serious than a simple sprain. With speedy Marcus Perez also sitting out, the wide receivers could not create consistent separation and were mostly ineffective.

After leading one of the best running attacks in the nation, the offensive line was frequently dominated in the trenches by the undersized defensive line.

Montell Clanton and Cas Prime had a few highlight moments, including Prime’s 22-yard scamper.

After the game, Novak enthusiastically reported that Wolfe has 170 out of 180 degrees of motion in his shoulder and should be 100 percent by June practices.

The real star, however, was the defense. The attacking four-three defense was very aggressive and got to the quarterback consistently. Sophomore defensive end Larry English used superior quickness to register four sacks, and the defensive line frequently penetrated the pocket.

The linebackers were absolute ball hawks, delivering highlight-reel hits like it was mid-season already.

But with so many starters sitting out, no questions were truly resolved. When asked when he’ll make his quarterback decision, Novak jokingly said probably by Aug. 31. By then, all these observations could be rendered useless. NIU football fans will just have to wait and see.