For those who may be interested in a little extra information about the Buckeyes' upcoming opponent, here are some basics on the Northern Illinois, Huskies.
Northern Illinois has consistently been one of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference in recent years. In fact, they've won the conference championship three of the last four seasons.
In their first two games so far this year, the Huskies have defeated UNLV 38-30 and Murray State 57-26. While those teams may not be described as stellar opposition, by any means - NIU will be coming in to Saturday's game with a 2-0 record.
Only two games in to the season, there's really not yet enough of a database to give this year's statistics much consideration. But given the level of competition, yielding 56 points in two games can't be a good sign for the Huskies.
The good news is that they are returning eight starters from last year's defense. The bad news is, NIU finished the 2014 season ranked 95th nationally in total defense (according to NCAA statistics).
Head Coach (and Offensive Coordinator), Rod Carey, runs an up-tempo offense a lot of the time - and that can unfavorably skew a defense's statistics a little - but not by that much. The Huskies' defense could be running in to a real buzz-saw this Saturday when they face Ohio State's offense. After a somewhat lackluster offensive performance against Hawaii last week, the Buckeyes may feel they have something to prove.
The base 4-3 Defensive Coordinator, Jay Niemann, prefers is not that different schematically from OSU's. Although, they're also known to show an odd front on occasion. However, it's rather unlikely the Huskies will be able to throw too much at a (mostly veteran) Buckeye offense that they haven't already seen.
Northern Illinois has a few outstanding defenders, though. Their best defender may be, middle linebacker, Boomer Mays. A 6'0"- 244lb rs senior*, Mays is the unquestioned leader of the NIU defense. Hey - with a name like "Boomer", he'd better be good.
The Huskies are also very high on Sean Folliard, a 6'2"- 231lb outside linebacker. Defensive end, Perez Ford is considered to be quite good, too. But at 6'0"- 227, he'll be at a significant height and weight disadvantage verses either of Ohio State's starting tackles.
The best corner on the NIU defense is Paris Logan, a 5'9"- 195lb senior. However, the best overall player in their secondary is probably, free safety, Marlon Moore. At 5'9", Moore and Logan may each be a touch undersized - but they're very good players.
Moore and Logan are both seniors. In fact, it may be worthy of note that nearly all of the Huskies' top defenders are seniors.
Northern Illinois is a very well-coached and experienced team. One need look back no further than last Saturday to realize how foolish it would be to overlook an MAC team. Particularly, the defending champions -
*Northern Illinois Depth Chart: http://www.ourlads.com/ncaa-football-depth-charts/depth-chart/northern-illinois/91441
