Quick points from tonight's game at Huskie Stadium:
- Defense. Collectively, this unit is the MVP thus far. Last season, it gave up more than 500 yards to the Huskies, despite only 10 points - this time, it has not allowed NIU to get much of anything - 81 total offensive yards, in fact. Its only score, a field goal, came after returner Ricky Crider took a kickoff 75 yards to CMU's 20-yard line - and a facemask penalty moved the ball up 10 yards. The defense's response? A 4-play, -12 yard drive for Northern Illinois.
- LeFevour is back to his old ways. Looks like Dan's ankles are holding up pretty well. He's already got 93 yards on 14 carries, plus a touchdown. His running ability is the difference-maker for the offense's success so far - the Huskies have not had an answer for the junior quarterback. There was one third-down play in the second quarter in which he converted a 3rd-and-12 with a 13-yard run. He's showing excellent instinct on the field.
- So is the offensive line. Although NIU's tough front four have gotten through on a few plays, overall CMU's offensive line is playing tremendous. That's especially helping out senior tailback Ontario Sneed, whose burst through the middle also is putting a dent in the Huskies' defense. He's got 62 yards on nine carries. Against the toughest defense in the MAC, Central has put up 336 yards of total offense in one half of play. A lot of that is attributed to the front line.
- Keep it up. Central carries a good-size lead into halftime, but this Northern Illinois squad is tough and has plenty of close-game experience this season. Coach Jerry Kill should have that team fired up in the second half. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if they come back and make this a nail-biter, especially in their final home MAC game.
No comments:
Post a Comment