Tag: Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois’ kicker pulled off a 32-yard touchdown run on a perfect trick play in the Camellia Bowl

Arkansas State wasn’t ready for MACtion

There are few more chaotic forces in the universe than MACtion and college football bowl season.

So when you tune in to watch a postseason game featuring a team from the Mid-American Conference, you should be ready for some trickery at any given moment.

Unfortunately for Arkansas State, the Red Wolves were not prepared on Saturday in the Camellia Bowl against Northern Illinois.

The Huskies came out in field goal formation at the Arkansas State 32-yard line in the first half only for holder Tom Foley — team’s punter — to toss a shovel pass to kicker Kanon Woodill, who bolted up the field untouched for the touchdown.

It’s was a weird day for the kicker as NIU won, 21-19.

Woodill accounted for more touchdowns than he has field goals after missing from 36 yards and 23 yards later in the game.

That probably doesn’t matter as much when he’s pulling off house calls from outside the red zone. Just chalk it up to the unpredictability of bowl season — and MACtion, of course.

Northern Illinois kicker scores touchdown on brilliant fake field goal

Trick play worked to perfection for Northern Illinois in the Camellia Bowl

Time to pull out every trick now that it is bowl season.

Northern Illinois did just that on Saturday in the Camellia Bowl against Arkansas State.

A wonderful fake field goal turned into a TD for the Huskies.

The play went for 32 yards as Tom Foley gets credit for the TD pass to kicker Kanon Woodill.

The trick play made it 21-7 in the second quarter en route to a 21-13 lead for NIU at the half.

Notre Dame’s Maddy Westbeld named to preseason award watch list

Another player who figures to be key this season.

Notre Dame is racking up representation on preseason watch lists. Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron already have been named to watch lists for awards given to the country’s best point guard and shooting guard respectively. Now, you can add Maddy Westbeld to the list.

Westbeld has been named to the watch list for the Katrina McClain Award. This award is given to the top power forward in the country. Given that the All-ACC Team has seen Westbeld become a member each of the past two seasons, that shouldn’t be a surprise.

Westbeld has started all 86 games in the three seasons that have spanned her Irish career so far. In 2022-23, she led the Irish with 1.2 blocks a game while also averaging 11.2 points and 6.6 rebounds and shooting 44.9% from the field. She tied her career scoring high with 25 points against Wake Forest. She also set career highs in blocks (four against Northern Illinois) and steals (four against Louisville).

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Big Game Boomer: Notre Dame biggest college brand in…Illinois?

Not sure we agree with this.

It’s no secret that a large portion of Notre Dame’s fan base is in the Chicago area. That’s reflected by the fact that every writer on this site is based there. But is that reflective of the state of Illinois as a whole?

Big Game Boomer, a top college sports list and graph aficionado on social media, has been mentioned on here many times before. His latest entry as of this writing is a U.S. map that lists the biggest college brand by state. Notre Dame is listed for Illinois and the only school not located in the state it represents:

Inevitably, someone asked about this, and he was quick to respond:

And when asked why Indiana doesn’t have Notre Dame, he said this:

The first event I covered on location for this site was the now-defunct Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis. Even though the Irish were the designated home team, the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse was heavily for the Hoosiers. So the statement about the Hoosiers owning the Hoosier State is not wrong.

Still, as nice as it is to see Notre Dame represented on this map, it’s hard to call it the best college brand in the Land of Lincoln. Sure, Northern Illinois is too small for consideration, and everyone is distancing themselves from Northwestern right now, but what about Illinois? While the Illini football program has done little to help the brand lately, it’s a little unfair to discount those fans.

Anyone who lives in Illinois knows that the further south you go, the more you’ll find people who don’t care for Chicago. I won’t go into the reasons for that here, but this is one case where Chicago probably shouldn’t represent the whole state.

Illini fans reign supreme throughout Illinois, and one merely needs to travel throughout to find them. They are proud, and they are passionate about their team. Many of them still are mourning the loss of Chief Illiniwek as an official university symbol.

So as nice as it is to have Notre Dame as Illinois’ representative on this map, it really should be a school from Illinois. And Illini fans probably are most deserving to represent the state. After all, Chicago is a pro sports town first, so it should not be taken into account when making a map like this. Consider the rest of the state please next time, Big Game Boomer.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Saints sign former XFL defensive tackle Jack Heflin after minicamp tryout

The Saints signed former XFL defensive tackle Jack Heflin after his minicamp tryout. He’s won a spot on an NFL roster before:

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Here’s another solid depth signing: NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the New Orleans Saints are signing defensive tackle Jack Heflin after he tried out at their recent rookie minicamp, adding more pro experience to a group that could use it. Heflin played for the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks this year after previously appearing in games for the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants.

Heflin, 25, played college football for three years at Northern Illinois before transferring to Iowa — from there he signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent, and played well enough in preseason to earn a spot on their roster, though he was later bumped down to the practice squad. He’s totaled just 40 defensive snaps in five career NFL games, though he put up over 300 snaps on tape in the XFL this season.

He’ll be competing for the fourth defensive tackle spot with Malcolm Roach, Prince Emili (returning from last year’s practice squad), and Jerron Cage (an undrafted rookie out of Ohio State), with the top three spots secured by Bryan Bresee, Khalen Saunders, and Nathan Shepherd.

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Saints invite Northern Illinois DE Izayah Green-May to rookie minicamp

The New Orleans Saints invited Northern Illinois defensive end Izayah Green-May to their rookie minicamp:

The New Orleans Saints invited Northern Illinois defensive end Izayah Green-May to their rookie minicamp, per KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson, where he’ll have the opportunity to compete for a contract offer. He’s light by their standards at just 248 pounds, but Green-May’s frame (6-foot-5 with 33.1-inch arms) suggests he can bulk up if he shows enough to warrant a longer look.

He’s coming off a career year with 34 tackles (5 tackles for loss), 3 sacks, and a pair of fumble recoveries in 2022 after transferring from Wisconsin, where he was a backup from 2018 to 2021. The Saints made a big investment at defensive end by drafting Notre Dame’s Isaiah Foskey in the second round and may be looking to sign a free agent, but there’s room for one more if Green-May shows he belongs.

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Perfect late-round, undrafted free-agent QB fits for the Eagles in 2023 NFL draft

We’re looking at the perfect late-round, undrafted free-agent quarterback fit for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 NFL draft.

The Eagles’ 2023 NFL offseason is in full swing, and as Howie Roseman retools a roster that’ll look entirely different on defense, we’re looking at a potential backup quarterback.

After two years of uncertainty, Jalen Hurts is the man in Philadelphia and the NFC after leading the franchise to its second Super Bowl appearance in the past five years.

An All-Pro and MVP Runner up, Hurts reset the market after agreeing to a five-year, $255 million contract extension.

Still, Philadelphia is in the business of developing quarterbacks, and with Marcus Mariota aging, Howie Roseman could look to add a young signal-caller to groom under Hurts.

With the first wave of NFL free agency now complete, and the draft just one week away, we’re looking at the potential late-round, undrafted free agent fits at quarterback.

Miami University vs Northern Illinois Prediction Game Preview

Miami University vs Northern Illinois game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 12 game on Wednesday, November 16

Miami University vs Northern Illinois prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 12, Wednesday, November 16

Miami University vs Northern Illinois Prediction, Game Preview

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Miami University vs Northern Illinois How To Watch

Date: Wednesday, November 16
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Huskies Stadium, DeKalb, IL
How To Watch: CBS Sports Network
Record: Miami University (4-6), Northern Illinois (3-7)
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Why Miami University Will Win

Desperation can be a positive.

Miami University is out of the MAC title hunt, but it’s still alive for a bowl game if it can win this and take out Ball State next week. To do that, it has to stop the Northern Illinois running game.

The Huskies offensive line has the ability to take over at times for a ground attack that averaging close to 200 yards per game. Miami University wins when it holds up against the run, it has to get the passing game going, and it takes games over when it’s able to get its own rushing attack rolling, too.

The RedHawks are 3-1 when they run for 200 yards or more, but …

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Why Northern Illinois Will Win

For all of NIU’s problems, it’s okay against the run. It only allowed more than 200 yards on the ground once.

Miami has been winging it around over the last few weeks with limited success. The running game has gone bye-bye with fewer than 100 yards in each of the last four games as the O has totally stalled against a slew of mediocre defenses.

It’s been a struggle to score, there aren’t any third down conversions on a consistent basis, and …

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What’s Going To Happen

Can Northern Illinois actually win a home game? It’s 0-3 against FBS teams in DeKalb with the running game not doing enough and the defense struggling.

This isn’t the final home game – that’s Akron next week – but it’ll grind it out with ground game and the defense will hold up against the suddenly dead RedHawk attack to come up with a second win in a row.

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Miami University vs Northern Illinois Prediction, Line

Northern Illinois 24, Miami University 21
Line: Northern Illinois -1.5, o/u: 45.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Miami University vs Northern Illinois Must See Rating (out of 5): 2
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Notre Dame prepares to face California in Citi Shamrock Classic

The Irish will be part of history in St. Louis.

It could be argued that [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] is looking forward to this game more than any other in which she’s been Notre Dame’s head coach. She’ll be coaching the Irish in her hometown of St. Louis for the Citi Shamrock Classic against California, which is coached by fellow St. Louis native Charmin Smith. This also is the city where Ivey won the 2001 national championship with the Irish as a player.

There are many reasons to be excited about this game. The Irish will enter it with confidence after their season-opening win over Northern Illinois. This will be the first time a women’s basketball game is broadcast live on NBC, so you can flip over to this after the football team’s contest with Navy is finished.

Most importantly for us, we will be on location to cover this game. Our thanks to Ashton Pollard of Fighting Irish Media for making this possible. We look forward to being part of what should be a great day.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Northern Illinois vs Western Michigan Prediction Game Preview

Northern Illinois vs Western Michigan game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 11 game on Wednesday, November 9

Northern Illinois vs Western Michigan prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 11, Wednesday, November 9

Northern Illinois vs Western Michigan How To Watch

Date: Wednesday, November 9
Game Time: 7:00 ET
Venue: Waldo Stadium, Kalamazoo, MI
How To Watch: ESPNU
Record: Northern Illinois (2-7), Western Michigan (3-6)
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Northern Illinois vs Western Michigan Game Preview

Why Northern Illinois Will Win

Run, run, and run some more.

It’s not like there was a ton of pressure on Northern Illinois as the season started to slide away, but now there’s nothing to worry about. It’s ensured of a losing season and it’s not going bowling, so it can let it all loose.

For all the problems and issues. the ground game is still rocking and rolling averaging five yards per pop and close to 200 yards per game.

The Western Michigan run defense hasn’t been bad, but it hasn’t faced the MAC’s leading ground game – Kent State – and most teams throw and don’t commit to the run.

That won’t be the case with the Huskies.

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Why Western Michigan Will Win

So how did it all go wrong for Northern Illinois? The defense can’t get off the field.

The time of possession battle isn’t a problem because the running game is so dominant, but opposing offense have no problems moving the chains with a whole lot of third down conversions.

Western Michigan is brutally inconsistent and can’t get the offense rolling, but the defense is good at taking the ball away and …

– Schedules, Predictions College | NFL

What’s Going To Happen

The Broncos are way, way, way overdue to create a little of its own luck.

They’ve been totally miserable in Kalamazoo. They beat New Hampshire from the FCS, but they’re 0-3 against the FBS teams getting blown out 21 or more in each game.

Northern Illinois can’t win anywhere, but it’ll grind its way through to ruin Western Michigan’s hope of staying alive for a bowl game.

– Expert Picks College Week 11 | NFL Week 10

Northern Illinois vs Western Michigan Prediction, Line

Northern Illinois 27, Western Michigan 24
Line: Western Michigan -1.5, o/u: 50.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Northern Illinois vs Western Michigan Must See Rating (out of 5): 2
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