The Northern Illinois University football season will start Saturday, in a sense, when the Huskies will play host to Central Michigan University with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. The game will be the third of the season, however, if Northern Illinois would be successful this season, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) opener with Central Michigan will be a key component.
Northern Illinois has a brutal non-conference schedule this Fall. The schedule is not conducive to racking up the requisite number of victories to become eligible for a bowl berth in December or January 2019.
First, the Huskies lost, 33-7, at Iowa September 1. Northern Illinois dropped a 17-6 decision to Utah at home in DeKalb Saturday. Trips to Florida State and Brigham Young await Northern Illinois.
Central Michigan, 0-2, lost to respectable Kentucky and Kansas, four victories in the past four years.
Utah was the first appearance of a Pac-12 team in DeKalb and the first time Utah faced a foe from the MAC.
The game was competitive until the Utes returned an interception for a touchdown with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Once again the Huskies displayed a strong defense. Utah trailed, 3-0, at halftime. But, the Huskies’ offense was kept in check most of the game.
Northern Illinois’ highly-touted defensive end, Sutton Smith, 6-1 and 237-pound junior, led the way on defense. Smith collected six tackles, including two quarterback sacks. He was named MAC West defensive player of the week.