For Bowling Green and Northern Illinois, a game that has championship significance in November is somewhat a novel idea. Yes, both teams had model years last year, with BG finishing at 8-3 and Northern Illinois sharing the Mid-American Conference West title a year ago.
However, both teams were also out of contention for an outright division championship and a subsequent bowl bid early in the season, after Bowling Green fell to Marshall and later Miami. Northern, despite finishing 4-1 in conference, lost early to Toledo and thus was out of luck for the outright title.
NIU (6-3, 5-0 MAC) coach Joe Novak was adamant in the excitement surrounding tomorrow’s game in statements from earlier this week.
“It’s exciting. We’re anxious. To be playing for something in the second week of November is great,” Novak said. “The winner of this game is not a lock [for the West Division championship]. … This is a big game in the West.”
BG Coach Urban Meyer acknowledged earlier in the week that the accolades his team has received are important, but not as important as his team’s preparation on the field.
“You’re 8-0, you’re ranked 16 in the country, you’ve got the nation’s second-longest winning streak, but all of that isn’t really important,” Meyer said. “The task at hand is winning a championship-level game.”
Perhaps Meyer’s caution is well-founded, as The Huskies have won five straight games, including impressive wins over Miami, 48-41, Central Michigan, 49-0 and Western Michigan, 24-20. The team features outstanding individual players on the offensive side of the ball, including Michael Turner, the Huskies’ third-string tailback entering the season.
Turner has put up huge numbers this year, despite being injured in the Western game two weeks ago. He had totaled over 100 yards rushing in six straight games prior to Western (160 vs. Wisconsin, 282 vs. Western Illinois, 203 vs. Kent State, 130 vs. Ball State, 222 vs. Miami [OH] and 165 vs. Central Michigan).
“The last two weeks we’ve struggled against the run,” Meyer said. “Ideally, our goal is to stop people from rushing the ball effectively. Turner’s real fast; to believe he’s a backup, I can’t believe it. He’s a 10.6 100-meter guy, and ran twice for over 50 yards in the second half against Miami. … He’s an inside and outside runner — he does both very well. He is a fantastic zone runner.”
The BG rushing game, though, has also been stellar as of late, rushing for over 220 yards in each of their last six games, and over 200 yards in their last seven. Since returning from a separated shoulder injury, tailback Joe Alls has rushed for over 100 yards in two straight games, including 179 against Kent last week.
“You go back to the value of a possession,” Meyer said. “Against teams who take great pride in rushing the ball, you’re going to get fewer opportunities and possessions. Typically, you get 13 possessions a game, and this week it might be 12, whereas against a passing team you might get 14 or 15 a game.”
BG at Northern Illinois
RADIO: 88.1 FM WBGU
PREGAME: Ziggy Zoomba’s pregame show begins at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow
KICKOFF: Murph McNeal and Brian George will be on-the-call beginning at 2:30 p.m.
