Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said he took special notice of a full-page advertisement a Northern Illinois alumni group placed in the Tribune last week, teasing the University of Illinois about not having the Huskies on its schedule.
“I played these (NIU) guys twice in my career (with two victories as coach at Wisconsin),” Bielema said Monday during his weekly news conference. “Not to steal (former coach) Pat Hill’s Fresno State philosophy, but ‘any time, anyplace, anywhere.’ … I think they really buy into that.”
The Huskies (3-0) will buy into that again Saturday night when they take their nation-leading 17-game true road winning streak into Fayettville, Ark., for a rare Southeastern Conference confrontation. The Razorbacks (2-1) are coming off a 49-28 upset victory at Texas Tech while NIU just beat UNLV 48-34.
Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey is trying to temper the emotion that will come from his players heading to SEC country. The Huskies are 1-9 overall against SEC teams, with the lone victory being a 19-16 upset at Alabama in 2003.
“It is a big-time game and I get that perspective, (but) we just played a big-time game out in the desert (against UNLV),” Carey said. “We played a big-time game before that (at Northwestern). To us, they’re all big.
“But, is this a unique environment being an SEC opponent (before) a sellout crowd where these guys haven’t played before and I haven’t coached before? Yeah, you bet. They have something special down there from everything everyone has told me.”
Bielema certainly is not one to take the Huskies lightly. Former NIU coach Dave Doeren, now at North Carolina State, had been the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin for Bielema.
“And when we got together during the offseason and talked about things, one thing (Doeren) said was how much of an edge those (NIU) kids played with that was installed before he even got there,” Bielema said. “And it is very evident on film.
“They are very, very well coached. I’m not just saying that. I know several coaches on their staff, several of them used to work for me. On Sunday nights I like to take a big picture of the last two games (of the upcoming opponent) … and say: ‘I just can’t wait to expose (some glaring weaknesses). And you just don’t see it (with NIU).
“There is an edge to them in their play in every phase of the game. And even the naked eye can see that it is very, very real.
“And, without a doubt, their kids expect to have success. When they don’t convert on third down, they’re pissed. On defense, when they let up a first down, they are mad. I always call (some players) ‘aw shucks guys’ and we had some of that a year ago. Like, ‘Aw, shucks, I didn’t catch that.’ Well, ‘shucks’ don’t count, man. I need you to be upset about what is going on. And that is very evident all around the NIU film.”
NIU has beaten three Big Ten opponents on the road the last two seasons — Iowa, Purdue and now Northwestern. But a victory at an SEC opponent likely would attract even greater national attention.
“I know they have won seven of the last eight national championships, or something like that,” Carey said. “They probably get everything from the media they deserve because of the results they have had, but I can’t speak to as far as: ‘Is it the best (conference)?’ I don’t know that well enough.”
More Top Picks Best Smart Meat Thermometers For Grilling
He could find out Saturday.
Twitter @kicker34