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University of Minnesota Athletics
Blog: Opposing Viewpoint - NIU
9/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Each week during the football season, GopherSports.com will bring you the opposing viewpoint by talking to a member of the media who covers Minnesota's opponent for that week. This week, we're joined by NIU radio play-by-play man Bill Baker. Baker has been calling the Huskies' games for 31 years.
GopherSports.com: With both teams coming in 1-2 on the season, do you see it shaping up as a very important game on both teams' schedules?
Bill Baker: Anytime you reach that final non-conference contest; all of a sudden you find yourselves with but 60 minutes of football in which you need to "fine tune" portions of your game, gain a little confidence and continue to develop a bit more depth before reaching the portion of your schedule which is the most important - league play.
That's exactly where both the Gophers and Huskies find themselves this week and given the 1-2 record for both teams, this game takes on added importance when it comes to getting to that six-win mark to become eligible for a post-season bowl game.
GopherSports.com: Who or what will have Northern Illinois' attention this week, in regard to the Minnesota team?
Bill Baker: Without question, Adam Weber and Duane Bennett would be the biggest attention getters when the Huskies look at Minnesota. And it's easy to see why when you consider that just two years ago Bennett ran for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Weber, as a sophomore, threw for nearly 300 yards and had two touchdown passes. Both have matured and have been Big Ten battle tested as their statistics to date would indicate.
Defensively, the Gophers' Keanon Cooper and Mike Rallis are individuals that the Huskie offensive coaches know must be accounted for with Jewhan Edwards play at the nose and his ability to penetrate along the line of scrimmage also being of note.
GopherSports.com: Chandler Harnish played very well in Minneapolis back in 2008 in his first collegiate action. How has he changed since then?
Bill Baker: Chandler Harnish very nearly engineered an upset of the Gophers on opening night back in 2008 with those 326 passing yards and pair of touchdowns. Harnish, however, on that night would only run for about ten yards net. The Chandler Harnish you'll see Saturday night will come into the game having rushed for some 295 yards and is, in fact, the Huskies' leading ground gainer.
Another thing to note is that this statistic is based on three games played. Making these numbers stand out even more is that in one of those contests, the first at Iowa State, his participation was only that of holding for extra point and field goal attempts. While it must be recorded at 216 yards per game for stat purposes in terms of total offense; if you take things at face value while quarterbacking in games two and three, he has accounted for about 324.5 yards of total offense on average including 325 at Illinois just last week. Like Adam Weber, Harnish has truly grown into the job and is a quarterback who can beat an opponent with both his arm and his feet.
GopherSports.com: What have you learned about the Huskies through their first three games?
Bill Baker: It's what the Huskies have learned about themselves that matters most and that's that they are on their way to becoming a pretty good football team. Going into the season the biggest question marks were the offensive line, depth at the linebacker spots and the kicking game. Each unit has, I think, improved from game to game but there are still areas which need to be addressed and decisions to be made regarding personnel. Close games vs. North Dakota and at Illinois have prevented them from getting a good look and, in some cases an initial look at people they feel will need to contribute before the end of the season.
Myself, I'd say that for the most part the positions that were expected to be strong and deep, such as running back and wide receivers, have been. A few bumps and bruises in the secondary have given other people a chance to step in and be recognized and one player in particular has done just that in cornerback Rashaan Melvin. A red-shirt sophomore, Melvin had seven solo stops, many in the open field last week at Illinois. The talent and depth that were purported to be in place with this most definitely is. The only thing lacking in some cases is experience.
GopherSports.com: How has the team handled the issues that Coach Kill has been dealing with the last few weeks?
Bill Baker: When you look at Jerry Kill's staff, the first thing you might notice is the length time many, many of his assistants, including his coordinators have been together. Jerry has a very structured system and thus, the transition to Tracy Claeys as acting head coach was seamless. With everyone associated with the program kept in the loop as much as possible regarding Jerry's condition, game prep for Illinois (at least what I had observed) did not appear to miss a beat. By Wednesday night of that week, Jerry had begun to quiz his assistants on the Illinois game plan. At that point, I believe, everyone knew that the boss was going to be back. In the end, there was a great deal of concern but no disruption. Jerry wouldn't have it any other way.
GopherSports.com: What is/are the key/keys to victory in this game for either team?
Bill Baker: As to the keys to victory- well, neither team can afford to look past tonight to their respective conference openers. Minnesota will have to deal with a quarterback in Chandler Harnish who has emerged as a strong runner with just a flair of option football in him. That and a strong running game from the likes of Chad Spann and Jasmin Hopkins are what make Northern Illinois successful. As Jerry Kill has said many times; "it's who we are, we run the football."
As for the Huskies, it's a Big Ten team with Big Ten athletes they'll be facing. NIU cannot afford to make many, if any, mistakes. There was but one turnover in last week's game at Illinois when Harnish had the ball knocked out of his hands killing a drive fairly deep into Illini territory. Score on that possession and it could have been a whole different game from that point on. Secondly, when you do get into the red zone; take advantage. Field goals are okay, but touchdowns will win you more games. In a word, Finish! You never know how many true scoring opportunities you might get.
On a side note, I had the opportunity to view the new TCF Bank Stadium when we were here for basketball last winter. I've been everywhere in the Big Ten and it's truly an amazing facility and will serve Golden Gopher football for many years. Good luck to you all ... just as soon as we get out of town.
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