Northern Illinois and Garrett Wolfe will have the college football stage to themselves at 7 p.m. Sunday in Oxford, Ohio. Miami University will be there, too, but ESPN is counting on Wolfe to pull in viewers.
The rare Sunday night game will have only the NFL’s Pittsburgh at San Diego game on TV to battle for football fans’ attention. Wolfe, the nation’s leading rusher, will get a chance again to validate his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy before a national audience.
“That’s great,” Northern coach Joe Novak said. “The national exposure is good for our football team, our program, our university. [It’s good] for Garrett to get a chance to be on national TV.
“I love Saturday college football, but when you play on other days, you’re the only game being played. Anybody who’s a college fan is watching you. It’s a great opportunity.”
The Huskies (3-2, 2-1 Mid-American) opened the season on national TV against No. 1 Ohio State as Wolfe ran for 171 yards and caught five passes for 114 more. The winless Redhawks (0-5, 0-1) will have to be at their best to hold Wolfe even to those totals. Wolfe, who averages 9.3 yards per carry, has averaged 236.2 yards rushing per game. He ran for 353 yards last week against Ball State in a 40-28 victory.
Wolfe, who has a school-sponsored Web site to promote his Heisman Trophy candidacy at www.watchwolfe.com, realizes the opportunity playing on Sunday gives him and his teammates. The fact that Miami is 102nd in the county against the run makes the prime-time appearance a chance to rack up more big numbers.
“In terms of exposure, [the value is] immeasurable,” Wolfe said. “Something you can’t put into words. . . . I think people’s perceptions outside the university and across the country are changing because of the things I’ve been fortunate enough to accomplish. But the most important stat last Saturday was that we went 1-0 that week.”
It will be homecoming at Miami, and Novak is a Miami graduate. But the proud football tradition at the Cradle of Coaches doesn’t include a 0-5 team.
The Redhawks have an overtime loss to Purdue and a two-point loss to Kent State, in addition to losses to Northwestern, Syracuse and Cincinnati. Miami’s streak of 12 straight winning seasons is in severe jeopardy.
The Redhawks are young after losing 16 senior starters from last season. The two-deep chart contains 17 freshmen, including redshirts.
Junior quarterback Mike Kokal is the MAC total-offense leader but is questionable because of headaches. Senior wide receiver Ryne Robinson is a dangerous player, especially on punt returns.
Miami is looking at Sunday night’s game as a second season opener with seven straight MAC games left on the schedule. How it handles Wolfe will determine how it starts the new season.
“It’s going to be a challenge not only for the defense to stop him but for the offense to keep the defense off the field and score enough points,” Miami coach Shane Montgomery said.
“How much can Garrett Wolfe be shut down? I don’t know. He’s going to get some yards. They’re going to get him the ball enough in that offense to make sure he gets his yards.”
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rhanley@tribune.com
