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Northern Illinois Huskies
MAC West
Coach: Thomas Hammock fourth year with team
Last year’s record: 9-5
Overview:
NIU enters this season as the defending MAC champions as well as the favorites to repeat. Last season NIU had a 9-5 record and won a tie breaker for the MAC West. They return QB Rocky Lombardi who was solid last season for the Huskies. Harrison Waylee steps up as running back with big shoes to fill with four offensive linemen returning. This is a group that should be more dominant than last year. This defense has been rebuilding the past few years to say the least, with a new DC this should be an improved unit compared to last season. Moving the ball against NIU won’t be as easy as it was a season ago.
Dom’s outlook:
NIU is clearly one of the top teams in the MAC, most like them as the favorite while I think they are the third best team in the conference. This team is solid all around but doesn’t dominate anywhere outside of offensive line. The defense is better than the past two seasons, when compared to Central Michigan or Toledo who have a better defense and offenses that are equal, it makes you wonder how the head-to-head will go with those teams. Rocky Lombardi is considered more of a game manager with his play, this year I think he takes a step up from that and becomes more dominant throughout the season. NIU, like Miami (OH) has a pretty easy schedule for the first half of the season. The first four weeks they play Eastern Illinois, Tulsa, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky. At the very worst NIU can start out 500. after the first four games. It’ll be hard for a team like NIU to beat two power five opponents with their style of play. The back half of the schedule is as hard as it gets in the MAC. Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Miami (OH), and Akron end the season for the Huskies. CMU, WMU, and Miami are all top 6 teams in the conference while Akron could prove to be a strong opponent in conference play.
Predictions:
NIU is a top team in the conference, the question is are they good enough to go back-to-back in a competitive conference? Last year they overachieved and went to win a tie breaker for the West title. This year I don’t think they will get to the MAC title game to know fault on their own. I have them losing to Toledo but beating Central Michigan. This could cause a three-way tie depending how conference play goes. At the very worst I have NIU winning six games and at the very best winning nine games with crucial wins over Tulsa, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, and Miami.
