KENT, Ohio – Notre Dame, Nebraska, Florida State.

Three of the nations most prestigious college football programs.

Combined they have 19 national championships, six Heisman Trophy winners, and more media exposure than the president.

They have top facilities, cult followings, and tailgating that rivals Mardi Gras.

But they don’t have what NIU has: an all-out rushing assault.

Do you realize that after this weekend, NIU has three different running backs with 100-yard games? Three. And two of them have gone over 200 yards.

NIU is 11th in the nation in racking up yards on the ground with 232.9 yards per game.

Of the three teams above, Notre Dame has the best running game – at 50th in the nation.

It gets worse when you talk about Florida State (87th) and Nebraska (96th).

These are top teams with top recruits and the boys from DeKalb are putting them to shame.

I know what you’re thinking; NIU’s running backs are incredible. Garrett Wolfe is a Heisman candidate next season. A.J. Harris is a lock for the NFL. And after Adrian Davis’ 252 yards on Saturday, is there anybody who can stop the Huskies’ ground game?

But hold on a second. Slow down. I think you’re praising the wrong guys. Let me introduce you to the true workhorses behind the Huskies.

Meet the members of the NIU offensive line. They’re big, they’re strong and they can put an all-you-can-eat buffet out of business.

Behind these guys you could crack the century mark here. OK, maybe not, but these guys are good.

Doug Free, Ben Lueck, Brian Van Acker, Jake Ebenhoch and Jon Brost. These are the guys who make NIU’s running backs look good.

With respect to Davis, NIU’s offensive linemen completely dominated Kent State’s defense. On most of Davis’ big runs, he was untouched.

NIU coach Joe Novak has been around Big Ten programs and their linemen, and even he says NIU’s line is one of the best he’s ever seen.

And they do it all unnoticed. The only time you ever hear a linemen’s number is when he’s called for a penalty.

What a terrible job. You fight in the trenches on every play, are unknown, and the only time you get recognized is when you do something wrong.

Wow, that tops my list for future jobs. Right above snake charmer.

But they do it. Week in and week out the biggest guys on the team show they have the biggest hearts for the game.

And very few offensive lines in the country do it better.