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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Da'Ron Brown (4), redshirt senior wide receiver, jumps to catch a pass during the Dec. 5 MAC Championship game against Bowling Green at Ford Field in Detroit. NIU won, 51-17.

MAC Championship Rapid Reaction: NIU football 51, Bowling Green Falcons 17

By Frank Gogola | December 5, 2014

What happened: In a role reversal of the 2013 MAC Championship game, the Huskies (11-2) blew out the Bowling Green Falcons (7-6), 51-17, to capture the 2014 MAC title Friday at Ford Field in Detroit.How it happened: Redshirt senior safety Dechane Durante...

Ford Field in Detroit before the start of the NIU-Bowling Green MAC Championship 2014 game.

MAC Championship at the half: NIU up 20-10 over Bowling Green

By Frank Gogola | December 5, 2014

The Huskies turned a pair of first-quarter interceptions into 10 points.They converted redshirt senior safety Dechane Durante’s interception on the game’s opening drive into a 5-yard touchdown run by redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Hare. An interception...

Football's Tyler Loos has been on the sidelines of the MAC Championship game for 4 years, but that's changing Friday

Football’s Tyler Loos has been on the sidelines of the MAC Championship game for 4 years, but that’s changing Friday

By Frank Gogola | December 4, 2014

For Tyler Loos, redshirt senior left tackle, the fifth time’s the charm.Loos missed the Huskies’ MAC title game each of the last four seasons due to redshirting or being sidelined with injuries. He’ll see his first MAC Championship game action when...

Dome away from home

By Frank Gogola | December 2, 2014

Football will experience its first taste of playing in a dome this season when it takes on the Bowling Green Falcons in the Marathon MAC Championship game.The Huskies will take on the Falcons at Ford Field, the home of the Detroit Lions, 6 p.m. Friday....

NIU football players celebrate in the locker room after beating the Western Michigan Broncos Friday at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich. NIU won, 31-21.

NIU football takes down Western Michigan Broncos in comeback

By Frank Gogola | November 30, 2014

Football knew it had what it took to come back from a 21-10 halftime deficit against the Western Michigan Broncos to seal its fifth-straight trip to the MAC Championship game.The Huskies (10-2, 6-1 MAC) scored the game’s final 24 points, including 21...

Rapid Reaction: NIU football 31, Western Michigan Broncos 21

November 28, 2014

What happened: The Huskies (10-2, 7-1 MAC) scored the game’s final 24 points to beat the Western Michigan Broncos (8-4, 6-2 MAC), 31-21, to clinch the MAC West title.How it happened: Freshman kicker Christian Hagan split the uprights on a 40-yard field...

Breaking Down the Broncos

By Frank Gogola | November 25, 2014

The No. 14 football team will close out its regular season with a matchup against Western Michigan at 6 p.m. today at Huskie Stadium. The Huskies (11-0, 7-0 MAC) will look to win their 12th straight game, increase their nation-leading home winning streak to 26 games and extend their nation-leading conference winning streak to 25. The Huskies also look to claim the school’s first undefeated record as an FBS program in school history. Sports writer Brian Earle (@NSSBrianE22) will break down the Broncos.

Quarterback: The Broncos’ starting quarterback job has been back and forth all season between senior Tyler Van Tubbergen and redshirt freshman Zach Terrell. Van Tubbergen has made six starts compared to Terrell’s five, but he is out the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. Terrell started in the Broncos’ most recent game against Central Michigan. He has been up and down in his first season, throwing eight touchdowns as well as eight interceptions. He completes 53.3 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,463 yards this season. He is not a mobile quarterback as on the season he has totaled -15 rushing yards.

Running back: The Broncos feature two running backs in their backfield with a similar number of carries. Senior Dareyon Chance has carried the ball 138 times for 658 yards while senior Brian Fields has 143 carries for 552 yards. Fields has done a better job of finding the end zone this season as he has six rushing touchdowns compared to Chance’s two touchdowns. In the red zone, Fields will see the bulk of the carries. Fields is used sparingly in the passing game as he has caught 13 passes for 122 yards.

Wide Receiver: The playmaker in the Broncos’ offense is freshman Corey Davis. Davis leads the Broncos and the nation’s freshman wide receivers in receiving yards, receptions, receiving yards per game, yards per catch and receiving touchdowns. He has recorded 64 receptions for 913 yards and six touchdowns. He averages 14.3 yards per catch and 91.3 yards per game. On the season he has recorded two 100-yard receiving games. With 87 more yards he will become the fourth wide receiver in MAC history to reach 1,000 yards in his freshman season.

Offensive line: The most experienced member of the Broncos’ offensive line is senior Terry Davisson. He is the anchor of a line that has surrendered 20 total sacks for a loss of 142 yards this season. They will be challenged by the Huskies’ defensive unit, which is fourth in the MAC with 28 sacks this season. Since Terrell is not a very mobile quarterback, the offensive line will have to buy as much time as it can for Terrell to find an open receiver. If Terrell doesn’t have any time to throw, it could be a long day for Western Michigan.

Defensive line: Senior Travonte Boles has done a little bit of everything for the Broncos at defensive tackle this season. He has recorded 51 total tackles on the season and been a force at stopping the run, with five tackles for a loss of 12 yards. Boles can also get after the quarterback as he has 1.5 sacks as well as a quarterback hurry on the season. Boles has also been solid in pass coverage this season as he grabbed an interception and broken up three passes. He is also coming off a game in which he blocked a PAT attempt against Central Michigan.

Linebacker: Senior Kyle Lark has been a tackling machine for the Broncos this season. He is the second-leading tackler on the team with 88 total tackles. He has been strong against the run, making five tackles for a loss of 11 yards. He has not recorded a sack on the season, but in pass coverage he has recorded two pass deflections and two pass breakups. He has not picked off a pass, but he has one fumble recovery on the season.

Secondary: The leader of the defense is junior strong safety Justin Currie. The strong safety leads the Broncos with 103 total tackles, 54 of them solo. He is a hard-hitting defensive back, recording two fumbles on the season. He has made seven tackles for a loss of 20 yards and gotten to the quarterback once this season. He is strong in pass coverage as he has picked off three passes while breaking up nine passes. The Huskies will want to be aware of where Currie is on the field at all times.

Special teams: Sophomore kicker Andrew Haldeman has been the Broncos’ leading scorer this season. He has been responsible for 66 points this season, which is 30 more than the next-highest scorer. He has been an accurate kicker this season, hitting 16-18 field goals. He has been busy kicking field goals of late as nine of his 16 field goals have come in the last two games. Haldeman hit six field goals against Eastern Michigan and three against Central Michigan. He also has not missed an extra point, hitting 18-18 PATs.

Junior safety Marlon Moore (2) celebrates recovering a fumble in NIU’s 21-14 win against Ohio on Nov. 18 at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio. NIU is now one win away from securing a trip to the MAC Championship. The Huskies take on the Western Michigan Broncos 10 a.m. Nov. 28 at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich.

1 win: That’s what NIU football needs to get back to MAC Championship

By Frank Gogola | November 19, 2014

Football’s victory over the Ohio Bobcats Tuesday positions the Huskies one win away from their fifth-straight trip to Detroit.The Huskies (9-2, 6-1 MAC) beat the Bobcats (5-6, 3-4 MAC), 21-14, at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio. If the Huskies beat the...

Rapid Reaction: NIU 21, Ohio 14

By Frank Gogola | November 18, 2014

What happened: Football (9-2, 6-1 MAC) beat the Ohio Bobcats (5-6, 3-4 MAC), 21-14, Tuesday at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio.How it happened: Redshirt senior tailback Cameron Stingily opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run on the first play of...

NIU football takes on Ohio Bobcats on road

By Danny Albers | November 17, 2014

Football will need to win a pair of games on the road — including one tonight — to stay in contention for its fifth-straight MAC West title.The Huskies (8-2, 5-1 MAC) take on the Ohio Bobcats (5-5, 3-3 MAC) 7 p.m. today at Peden Stadium in Athens,...

Redshirt senior tailback Cameron Stingily rushes down the field Tuesday at Huskie Stadium against the Toledo Rockets. The Huskies used two second-half touchdowns from Stingily to help secure a significant victory in the MAC standings.

Football notches signature win

By Frank Gogola | November 12, 2014

Football did more in its win over the Toledo Rockets than position itself on the inside track to play in the MAC Championship game: It showed this year’s team deserves to make what has become an annual trek to Detroit.The Huskies (8-2, 5-1 MAC) showed...

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Hare (12) carries the ball during his 78-yard touchdown run on the Huskies’ first series of the game. The Huskies ran for 332 yards while passing for only 54 yards Saturday at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich., against the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

Rapid reaction: Football 27, Toledo Rockets 24

By Frank Gogola | November 11, 2014

What happened: The Huskies (8-2, 5-1 MAC) beat the Toledo Rockets (6-4, 5-1 MAC) for the fifth-straight season, 27-24, Tuesday at Huskie Stadium.How it happened: The NIU offense jumped to a 10-0 lead 10 minutes into the first quarter as the defense forced...