After throttling California 44-17 last week in its season opener, Illinois returns to Memorial Stadium on Saturday to face an in-state opponent–but an unfamiliar one. The Illini will play Northern Illinois for the first time since 1994 but for only the third time in history.
NIU coach Joe Novak doesn’t think that’s nearly often enough. Novak would like to see the Huskies and the Illini tangle on a semiregular basis. And Novak knows just the right place.
“I think Soldier Field would be a natural,” Novak said. “Would there be any kind of holdup to that? None from our end.”
Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner would like to see Illinois and NIU play more too.
“I think it would be good for the state,” Kittner said. “They’re a I-A team and we already play Northwestern. I don’t see why we couldn’t play Northern too. I also think it’d be great to play it at Soldier Field because a lot of guys from both teams grew up in the area.”
That’s two votes.
Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther didn’t return several phone calls seeking comment. When head coach Ron Turner was asked his feeling about playing in-state opponents such as NIU and Illinois State, an Illini opponent in 2003, he dodged the question as deftly as tailback Rocky Harvey sidesteps a 250-pound defensive lineman.
“I don’t know if I have a philosophy about that, to be honest with you,” Turner said. “A lot of these games were scheduled before I got here–and we’re playing them. I’ve got a lot of respect for these teams. I think Joe Novak has done a tremendous job there. … They’re light years ahead of where they were.”
Would Turner be interested in playing Northern more in the future?
“Possibly,” he said. “We’d have to look at our schedules, see where we are, see what we have and see what fits.”
On the surface the game appears bigger for Novak and his players than it is for Illinois, which meets Louisville and No. 11 Michigan the following two weeks. The Huskies see it as an opportunity to prove they’ve finally turned the corner after suffering through nine losing seasons in the last 10 years. NIU, which went 6-5 last year, won its opener 20-17 over South Florida on Steve Azar’s 42-yard field goal as time expired.
“If we’re going to get the respect we want as a conference [Mid-American], we’re going to have to go out and play these games and win them,” Novak said.
Lately, MAC teams are doing just that. Toledo whipped Penn State 24-7 last year and Minnesota 38-7 last week. Western Michigan upset Iowa 27-21 last year and Ohio beat Minnesota 23-17.
Losing to the Huskies would seriously damage the Illini’s bowl hopes.
“I’m very familiar with a lot of those [NIU] names,” Turner said. “A lot of those kids wanted to play here. I’m sure they’ve got a chip on their shoulder and we have to have the same thing. They’ve got a lot to prove and nothing to lose.”
With 69 players from the state wearing Illinois’ orange and blue and 68 wearing NIU’s red and black, emotions will be running high. But not just among the players.
Novak was the defensive line coach under Gary Moeller at Illinois from 1977-79. Current NIU offensive coordinator Dan Roushar coached quarterbacks, tackles and tight ends for Lou Tepper at Illinois in 1995-96. Mike Mallory, son of ex-NIU coach Bill Mallory, is Turner’s new secondary coach. NIU alum and former NIU assistant (1986-90) Robert Jackson is Illinois’ receivers coach. And former Illinois wide receiver George McDonald (1995-98) is Northern’s new wide receivers coach.
