DEKALB, Ill. — It’s perfectly fair to presume that Northern Illinois would operate on a higher level than Western Illinois.
The Huskies are quite literally on a higher level than their Football Championship Series opponent, after all, and it’s likely none of the Leathernecks’ home-state players would have chosen Western if Northern had come calling.
What should have been a cure for what ailed the winless Huskies on Saturday instead made their situation much worse.
Extending streaks of six straight Mid-American West titles and eight straight bowl games seemed like a pipe dream in the final seconds of Western Illinois’ 28-23 victory over NIU (0-4) at Huskie Stadium.
Never mind that backup quarterback Anthony Maddie led the Huskies to three fourth-quarter scores after they were behind 28-7; there still would be reason for concern if NIU had not come up short inside the 20 twice in the final minutes with a chance to take the lead.
As it stands, they have lost seven in a row dating to last season, and the Jordan Lynch glory years have completely faded.
Rod Carey, your team is cold but your seat is warming up. What say you?
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“They made one or two more plays than we did,” NIU’s fourth-year coach said. “We got off to an awful, horrendous start again. That bled into the second half and by the time we did get going we didn’t have enough time to complete the comeback.
“We were down there twice. Those fourth-down calls we mine, and they were obviously bad calls. I’ll take that. I’ll take all this (but) we’re not going to flinch.”
The Huskies outgained Western (3-0) 552-446, but Carey blamed the offense for keeping the defense on the field for much of the first three quarters before Maddie replaced Ryan Graham at quarterback with 2 minutes, 48 seconds left in the third.
Under Maddie’s direction, NIU came up with a field goal and two touchdowns in a six-minute span, including a 39-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Golladay that cut the Leathernecks lead to five with 8:15 left.
But Maddie was denied on two key fourth downs, a fourth-and-2 run from the Western 20 with 2:50 left and an incomplete pass on fourth-and-3 from the 9 with 36 seconds showing.
Carey did not make his players available to the media afterward. He did receive a measure of support from NIU athletic director Sean Frazier.
“This is a disappointing loss and we are going to evaluate everything,” Frazier said. “He has my full support. We just have to figure this thing out. To think we would make massive changes in the middle of the season, it’s not my style.
“… We have a lot of talent on this team and a lot of season left. It is four games. For me to make a judgment call this early is unrealistic, and quite frankly to the detriment of this program and its history.
“We have to pull ourselves out of this funk and make changes. I know the coaching staff and the players are going to do that, and we’ll monitor as necessary.”
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
Huskies 2-minute drill
Play of the game: Nine yards away from the go-ahead touchdowns and three yards from a critical first down on a fourth down in the final minute, NIU quarterback Anthony Maddie attempted a jump pass over the mass of bodies at the line of scrimmage. It was knocked down, and one victory-formation snap later, the game was over.
Player personnel: NIU coach Rod Carey did not commit to Maddie as his quarterback going forward, but Maddie (11-of-17, 142 yards, one TD, no INTs) outshined Ryan Graham (14-of-21, 109 yards, TD, INT) over the game’s final 18 minutes. “I saw a guy who ignited our team,” coach Rod Carey said. “He operated faster, he processed faster, he made plays. He took some chances and they were needed at the time and we made plays for him. He gave us a shot in that game.”
Breakout star: Western Illinois senior receiver Joey Borsellino, a former Montini star, caught nine passes for 148 yards in the victory. “If they talk to you for a while and stop, they are telling you that you are not good enough to play (for them),” Borsellino said of the recruiting process. “That is the chip on the shoulder that we all carry.”
Looking ahead: At least the Huskies are unbeaten in conference play. They open their MAC schedule Saturday at Ball State. The Cardinals lost 30-20 at Indiana in Week 2.