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University of Minnesota Athletics
Camp Blog: Preseason Primer - Northern Illinois
8/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
GopherSports.com will provide a daily blog from the beginning of preseason training camp until the week of the season-opener at Middle Tennessee State, set for Sept. 2. Check back here often for updates from throughout preseason camp. Associate Athletic Communications Director Andy Seeley and other staff members will be covering camp. If you would like to ask a question about preseason camp, have a request for something you'd like to see in the blog or just a comment on the blog, feel free to send an e-mail to aseeley@umn.edu.
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Camp Blog: Preseason Primer - Northern Illinois
GopherSports.com will provide Minnesota Football fans with a primer on the Gophers’ four non-conference opponents as we roll through the preseason camp blog. Up next is the final non-conference game of the season as Minnesota hosts Northern Illinois on Sept. 28 at TCF Bank Stadium.
Finishing Strong:
| The Northern Illinois File | |
| Head Coach | Jerry Kill |
| Coach's Record at NIU | 13-13, 3rd Season |
| 2009 Record | 7-6 |
| Home/Away/Neutral | 5-1/2-4/0-1 |
| Starters Returning/Lost | 17/8 |
| Letterwinners Ret./Lost | 49/15 |
The Gophers have had a solid history of finishing their non-conference schedule on a positive note. They are 9-1 in their final non-conference game of the season over the last 10 years.
Series History: 
This is the third meeting between Minnesota and Northern Illinois. The Gophers lead the all-time series 2-0. They won 31-20 on Sept. 24, 1988 and 31-27 on Aug. 30, 2008, both games were played at Minnesota.
Minnesota Connections: 
On their most-recent roster, Northern Illinois lists two native Minnesotans on its roster, consisting of Dan Edem from Apple Valley and Trevor Olson from Richfield.
About Northern Illinois: 
| 2009 NIU Statistics/Rankings | |||
| | Stat | NCAA | MAC |
| Scor. Off. | 28.6 | 54 | 4 |
| Tot. Off | 345.2 | 83 | 6 |
| Rush Off. | 195.2 | 19 | 1 |
| Pass Off. | 150.0 | 109 | 11 |
| Scor. Def. | 21.6 | 30 | 3 |
| Tot. Def. | 329.9 | 30 | 1 |
| Rush Def. | 124.4 | 35 | 3 |
| Pass Def. | 205.5 | 41 | 6 |
Northern Illinois University was founded in 1899. The school boasts 24,424 students. The football program began at the school's inception in 1899. Northern Illinois began playing in the Mid-American Conference in 1973. The Huskies left the conference from 1987-92 and then returned to the MAC in 1993 and have played there since.
Northern Illinois Overview: 
The Huskies were 7-6 overall and 3-2 in Mid-American Conference play in 2009. Under head coach Jerry Kill, who is now in his third season, Northern Illinois is 13-13. In his first two seasons at the helm Kill has lead the Huskies to back to back bowl game berths. They lost to Louisiana Tech 17-10 in the 2008 Independence Bowl, and lost to South Florida 27-3 in the 2009 International Bowl.
Kill has brought over two decades worth of coaching experience to Northern Illinois. He holds a career record of 117-70 as well as several personal awards including the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year while he was a Southern Illinois and the 2009 National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Courage Award.
Northern Illinois will have a veteran squad with a total of 49 letterwinners returning, including 17 starters. The Huskies were picked to finish first in the MAC West Division by a preseason media poll.
The Huskies ended a long losing streak to the Big Ten last season. NIU's 28-21 win on Sept. 19, 2009 was its first win over a Big Ten opponent since 1988.
Northern Illinois Offensive Player to Watch: Running Back Chad Spann
Senior Chad Spann earned first team All-MAC accolades following a solid 2009 season which included consecutive honors or being named the MAC West Division offensive player of the week in weeks nine and 10. Last season Spann rushed for 1,038 yards with an average of 5.8 yards per carry. He also tied a Northern Illinois single season record with 19 rushing touchdowns, including eight multiple touchdown games.
Northern Illinois Defensive Player to Watch: Defensive Back Jake Coffman
Senior Jake Coffman was named Northern Illinois' 2009 defensive MVP and earned second-team all-MAC honors as he split time between defensive end and nose tackle. Coffman lead the Huskies' 2009 defensive line with 39 tackles with 21 coming unassisted. He also led the team with 8.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss for a total of minus-93 yards on the season.
Northern Illinois Offense At A Glance:
The Huskies averaged 28.6 points and more than 345 yards of total offense per game in 2009.
Northern Illinois is a run-first offense as is evident by its average of 195 yards rushing compared to 150 yards passing per game in 2009. The Spann-led rushing attack accumulated 27 touchdowns last season and had five different players that averaged 4.4 yards per carrry or better.
Despite the heavy emphasis on the run game, the Huskies' pass offense has proved to be opportunistic. Quarterback Chandler Harnish was able to complete 64.1 percent of his passes in 2009 for 1670 yards and 11 touchdowns.Northern Illinois Defense At A Glance:
The Huskies had the No. 1 total defense in the MAC, and a top-30 total and scoring defense in the NCAA last season. Northern Illinois gave up an average of just 329.9 yards and 21.6 points per game in 2009.
Northen Illinois has veteran leaders in all levels of the defense, starting with Coffman working as a run-stopper and quarterback hunter on the defensive line. The linebacking corps is led by senior Alex Cube, who comes into the season with over 200 tackles and 26 career starts. Leading the way for the defensive secondary is junior safety Tracy Wilson who led the Huskies in 2009 with 93 tackles, including 26 solo tackles.
Game Implications: The Gophers will be looking wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule with momentum, as the Big Ten schedule gets under way the following week against Northwestern. Having as much positive momentum as possible, coming out of the non-conference schedule will be pivotal for the Gophers as they head into Big Ten play. The Huskies were a bowl team in 2009, finishing 7-6. NIU has three BCS-level opponents on its 2010 non-conference slate and they would like nothing more than to knock off any or all of them, as they head into Mid-American Conference play.
-Keith Beise, Athletic Communications Assistant
