By Woodrow Carroll
Northern Illinois University played its third home football game of the season Saturday, and, for the third time this season it rained on the Huskies’ parade. It mattered little because Northern Illinois defeated the hapless Akron Zips, 49-0, in a (Mid-American Conference (MAC) game. Northern Illinois, 3-5 and 2-2, had to win to keep alive hopes for a successful season.
With winless Akron out of the way, Northern Illinois has four games remaining, all with MAC West Division foes. Up first will be Saturday’s 11 a.m. game at Central Michigan. Three victories for Northern Illinois in the final four games would improved the Huskies’ overall record to 6-6. Unlike the situation involving Illinois which figures to go to a bowl game with six victories, Northern Illinois with six victories might not make it to a bowl game.
For those familiar with Mid-American Conference scheduling, Saturday’s game with the Chippewas will mark the final time the Huskies will play Saturday, short of a conference championship, or bowl game. Night games in November will be at Toledo, Wednesday, Nov. 13, and home games with Eastern Michigan, Tuesdays, November 19, and Western Michigan, November 26, to close out the regular-season schedule.
• For the first time in Lovie Smith’s four years as head coach at the University of Illinois, the Fighting Illini will not enter November with a losing record.
Thanks to a 24-6 victory at Purdue Saturday, the Illini raised their season record to 4-4 overall. For a team that was all but buried in the netherland of Big Ten football a few weeks back, a winning record is at hand.
Illinois, 4-4 and 2-3 in the Big Ten Conference, will play host to Rutgers, 2-6 and 0-5, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. After pegged as a 30-point underdog to Wisconsin and 10-point underdog to Purdue the past two weeks, both Illinois victories, the Illini likely will be wearing the favorite’s mantle Saturday.
It took a last-second field goal to upset Wisconsin. No such heroics were needed against Purdue. Illinois led 24-0 before Purdue scored with less than six minutes to play.
A victory over Rutgers and the Orange-and-Blue would need only one victory in its final three games to become bowl-eligible.
Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa already have reached six victories among the Big Ten 14! Michigan State, Nebraska, and Illinois follow with four victories each.
• Low on the victory totem among Big Ten schools is Northwestern, 1-6 and 0-5, with a solitary non-conference victory over UNLV. The Wildcats were shut out, 20-0, by Iowa Saturday.
Northwestern will be at Indiana at 6 p.m. Saturday. Indiana, 6-2 and 3-2, is one of the conference surprises.
Last season it was Northwestern which surprised. This season it’s Minnesota and Indiana. Along with Ohio State and Penn State, the Minnesota Gophers, 8-0 and 5-0, remain among the Big Ten’s undefeated teams after rolling over Maryland, 52-10, Saturday. The Gophers are two games ahead of both Wisconsin and Iowa in the Big Ten West Division race.
So far it has been a fun run for Minnesota, under head coach P.J. Fleck of Kaneland High School and Northern Illinois University. A real test will be Nov. 9 when Minnesota play host to Penn State in a battle of teams with 8-0 and 5-0 records. Both teams will have byes Saturday.