The Daily Chronicle: Smith brothers reach dream together

Northern Illinois defensive backs and twin brother Donald Smith (left) and Chris Smith have taken a long and winding road to DeKalb. The two dropped out of high school before earning their GEDs and attended community colleges in Iowa and Kansas and now play for the Huskies and are excelling in the classroom. (Beck Diefenbach – bdiefenbach@daily-chronicle.com)

The Chicago Tribune: Me'co Brown coming on strong for Northern Illinois

The sophomore leads the MAC and ranks 14th nationally in rushing with 110.3 yards per game. He unleashed a career-long 67-yard touchdown run against Purdue.

"He moved his feet, saw the holes and I was really pleased with a couple of big blocks," said NIU coach Jerry Kill, whose Huskies (2-1) host Idaho (2-1) Saturday.

Rockford Register Star: NIU's fake punt call delivers real results

They challenged a play they shouldn’t have. If they don’t challenge, we don’t fake,” said Sawvel, also the defensive backs coach who came over with Kill from Southern Illinois. “During the challenge, I knew Purdue had the momentum, and I looked at all my guys who had played their butts off the entire game, and I was like: ‘You know what, we can get these two yards.’ I asked (upback) Justin Anderson if he felt good about it, and he said, ‘Oh yeah.’ ’’

At that point, Sawvel told Kill over the headset, saying: “Hey, I think we need to run the fake.” After what Sawvel called a power pause, Kill replied: “Do you really think we have it?” Sawvel answered: “Two yards; we can get two yards.”

Fanhouse: Big Ten suspends Zach Reckman- Sore loser gets suspended

With Progar already down, Reckman jumped on top of him -- and hit Progar's ribs with his right hand for good measure.

From The Daily Chronicle:
Progar said after Tuesday's practice. "We got the win so I just went down. I didn't even notice that guy hit me afterwards either until I watched the film the other day. I didn't even notice. I thought it was one of my own players jumping on me."

Asked if he thought it was a cheap hit, Progar said, "No. I mean, it was but I don't really care."

Idaho Press: Alger: Vandals continue ascent to respect

UI's coming opponent, Northern Illinois, may have looked like a prospective question mark before the season began, but now this team is an exclamation point after beating one Big-10 team and narrowly losing to another.

NIU Football: Huskies' Brown Named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week

Northern Illinois sophomore tailback Me'co Brown was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week Monday after rushing for a career-high 150 yards in 26 carries in the Huskies' 28-21 upset victory over Purdue.

Red and Black Attack: The Boilermakers enter the Boneyard

Just past the door the players normally enter is "The Boneyard." The white fixtures in the shape of bones are affixed to the walls complete with scores such as "NIU 19, Alabama 16" and "NIU 20, Maryland 13" from 2003 serve as reminders of the biggest wins of the program’s history.

The Rivalry: Hey Marshmallow: Purdue's Toughness Comes Under Question After NIU Loss

Two run plays sealed the fate of Purdue. The quarterback run off tackle and the zone read handoff to Me'Co Brown. Sophomore Chandler Harnisch, channeling his inner Tim Tebow, followed his blockers mostly to the right side of the Purdue defense and picked up five yards a pop Along with this same concept came Brown, the angry little scatback who refused to be tackled by the first tackler. Harnisch would read the defense and then stretch the play a little, allowing Brown to squirt through the freshly formed hole.

Breakfast Taco

We made this before the Purdue game. We cut the recipe in half and still had plenty to share with some other NIU tailgaters.

2 lbs spicy breakfast sausage (or chorizo)
2 cans diced potatoes
2 yellow onions (diced)
1 green pepper (diced)
1 clove garlic (minced)

12 eggs
1 jar salsa
salt & pepper
24 tortillas
1 pkg mexican blend cheese
hot sauce (Cholula & Tapatio)

Brown sausage in skillet. Then set meat to the side but keep grease in the skillet.

Add potatoes, onions and green pepper to skillet...salt and pepper to taste. Saute until almost done and then add the garlic. Cook an additional few minutes (test potatoes for doneness). Set the vegetables to the side.

Add eggs to the skillet to scramble...salt and pepper to taste. When eggs are about half done, add back the meat and vegetables. Then add the jar of salsa.

Wrap tortillas in foil and heat on grill.

Add Egg, sausage and vegetable mixture to tortilla. Top with cheese and hot sauce.

Purdue Game Highlights

Purdue Pictures

JB, 55 degrees and no sweatshirt
Breakfast of Champions
Tailgating neighbors
Huskie fans waiting for the curtain call

The Chicago Tribune: Northern Illinois stuns Purdue 28-21
-Huskies successful fake punt helps hold off the Boilermakers

They call them "boneyard" victories, triumphs over BCS conference schools, and Northern Illinois hasn't had many.

The Huskies parlayed a stout defense, enterprising offensive contributions and a gutsy fake punt in the fourth quarter to upset 13-point favorite Purdue 28-21 Saturday before a stunned crowd of 53,240 at Ross-Ade Stadium.

The Daily Herald: Forget moral victories ... NIU savors real thing

Northern Illinois doesn't have to say ''almost'' anymore.

The Huskies had competed but fallen just short against BCS teams Tennessee, Minnesota and Wisconsin the last two seasons, and NIU had grown tired of settling for moral victories against bigger programs. The Mid-American Conference school finally broke through Saturday, holding off a rally to beat Purdue for its first victory over a Big Ten school since 1988 and its first win against a BCS program since 2003.

The Daily Chronicle: Believe it: NIU pulls off big victory

A fake punt on fourth-and-1 from its 16-yard line with the game on the line; a call that Huskies’ coach Jerry Kill admits is the kind that gets coaches fired. But instead of worrying about polishing up his resume in the unemployment line, Kill gave the go ahead on the fake that sealed a 28-21 win at Purdue on Saturday

The Daily Chronicle: View: A gutsy call

"You really don't get nervous on it until they line up and you see 'Oh, [wow] we got the look we want.' That's when you get nervous on the whole thing," said NIU defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, who was in on the fake punt discussion with Sawvel and Jerry Kill.

Huskie Football: NIU posted its first win over a Big Ten foe since 1988

Northern Illinois (2-1) used a powerful rushing attack, a stalwart defense and a gutsy call to claim its first win over a Big Ten Conference team in 21 years with a 28-21 victory over Purdue (1-2) at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Rockford Register Star: Huskies' long drought against Big Ten teams is finally over

“What a hard-nosed football game. We were fortunate today to make the plays and get us a win,” NIU head coach Jerry Kill said. “Our kids up front took on the challenge this week. We knew if we wanted to win the football game, we’d have to run the football.” They did — to the tune of 280 yards on the ground.

The Rockford Register Star: NIU stuns Purdue

The nation’s leading rusher headed into Saturday, Ralph Bolden, had just 32 yards on the ground by the time NIU had grabbed a 3-touchdown lead. He finished with 64 yards on 12 carries, and did not finish the day as the country’s leading ground gainer.

“Our goal all week was to stop that guy. He’s a hard runner to catch, but we really bottled him up,” said D.J. Pirkle, the Huskies junior defensive tackle. “We did what we figured we needed to do to get a win. I’m just glad it worked out; it got scary near the end.”

Purdue Football: Purdue Falls To Northern Illinois 28-21

Me'co Brown ran for 150 yards, and Northern Illinois beat Purdue 28-21 Saturday for its first victory against a Big Ten school since 1988.

Boiler Station: Fake surprises Huskies, too

"It's really how they set up," [Justin] Anderson said. "If they set up in a formation that we like, then it is on me to call it. If it is something funky that we don't like (special teams coach Jay Sawvel) makes sure we kick the ball."

The Journal Gazette:A Kill-er Call

"A call like that a lot of times can get you fired," Kill said, according to a post-game transcript. "We have worked on that play for a few weeks now."

Purdue coach Danny Hope said he was surprised by the timing of the call but not the call itself. He said there was a player whose assignment was to watch for that play, but the player didn’t respond quickly enough.

The Chicago Tribune: Purdue taking N. Illinois seriously

"They've played well against some of the best teams in the country the last couple of years," Hope [Purdue coach] said. "Last year, they were a better football team than us because they went to a bowl game and we didn't. Certainly we weren't going to overlook them."

The Evansville Courier Press: Crider promises he'll play

"I'm actually 100 percent healthy and looking forward to playing this weekend," said Crider, who holds the career (6,356 yards) and single-season (2,478 yards) rushing records at Reitz High School while scoring 83 touchdowns. "I'm just looking forward to going back to my home state in front of my family and everything and redeem myself from this injury."

The Beacon News: Home calls back to Harnish

That doesn't mean Harnish heads to 62,500-seat Ross-Ade Stadium intent on showing the Boilermakers what they're missing.

"That kind of thinking can be dangerous," said Harnish, who has pleased second-year coach Jerry Kill with his improvement in NIU's first two games. "I could go out and try to do too much and end up hurting my team. It's definitely going to be fun with so many friends and family there, but I'm taking the same approach I would as if it was Wisconsin or Western Michigan."

The Exponent (Purdue): Boilers know Huskies present serious challenge

Last season the Huskies lost to Minnesota by four, Western Michigan by three, Tennessee by four, Central Michigan by three in overtime and Louisiana Tech by seven. They also had a three-point win against Bowling Green.

“They’re able to keep the game close and give themselves a chance to win,” Elliott [Purdue QB] said. “That’s what you want to do as a football team. Last year they played Tennessee down to the wire. They’ve had a lot of close games. I haven’t even watched a full game yet. I just looked at their media guide, but every game was within six points.”

The Daily Chronicle: Huskies must slow Bolden or lose

- keep an eye on #23

Two weeks into the season, it's hard to find a college football fan who doesn't know about the nation's leading rusher who will provide a tremendous challenge to the Northern Illinois defense Saturday at Purdue.

The numbers are staggering: Bolden has 50 carries, 357 rushing yards and four touchdowns, good for a 7.1 yards a carry average.

The Journal Gazette: Bluffton turning out to support QB

“I talked to my mom (Tuesday) morning, and she’s like, ‘I don’t mean to scare you, but we’ll probably have anywhere between 300 and 400 people, family and friends,’ ” Harnish said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

The Daily Chronicle: Homecoming weekend for Harnish

Harnish got a serious look from the Boilermakers under then-coach Joe Tiller, which was great news for Harnish, who grew up a fan of Purdue, although he said Tuesday he probably was more of a fan of Notre Dame in his youth.

"I was heavily recruited by [Purdue], and that's the school I felt like I was going to my whole high school career," Harnish said. "It just fell through and Northern gave me the opportunity and I don't regret it at all.

The Beacon News: Less is more for NIU offense

More isn't necessarily better when it comes to an offensive game plan, especially if you have a young team.

"Against Wisconsin, we probably had too much in there," Northern Illinois football coach Jerry Kill said during Monday's Mid-American Conference coaches teleconference.

Fox39 - Rockford: NIU to face Purdue

"We have a tremendous challenge ahead of us," said NIU coach Jerry Kill as his weekly press conference Tuesday. "We're going against probably, not probably he is, the best runningback in the nation at this point and time. Purdue has been a team in the past that has thrown it a little bit more, so I think it's caught some people off guard. They're very multiple on offense. Very explosive. It's led by a very, very good offensive line."

NIU Football: Weekly Football Press Conference Quotes

Jerry Kill: "We have a tremendous challenge ahead of us. We are going against the best running back in the nation at this point in time. Purdue's been a team in the past, under coach Tiller, that has thrown the ball a little more, so I think it's caught people off guard. They're very multiple on offense, and very explosive. Its led by a very good offensive line, very big and very talented. So we definitely have our work cut out for us on defense."

WREX - Rockford: Former NIU athletic director Phillips visits Rockford

"We played at 11 o'clock the last two Saturday's and Northern Illinois played in the evening, so I sat down and watched them play," Phillips said." [I was] screaming at the TV and cheering on coach Kill and the young men that represent that program."

NORTHERN ILLINOIS (1-1) at PURDUE (1-1)

When: Saturday, Sept 19 @ 11:00 a.m. CT

Where: Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: WMVP-AM 670 (The Score) and WLBK-AM 1360

TICKETS:

eBay or StubHub.

GAMEDAY:

Parking Map

Directions from DeKalb

Ross-Ade Stadium

Seating Chart

West Lafayette, IN Weather

NIU Weekly Release

Northern Illinois Depth Chart

Purdue Depth Chart

TAILGATING:

Alumni Association Purdue Pregame Reception.

9:00 - 11:30 est

It is $30 per person. The reception begins two and half hours before game time at the Boilermaker Tent City on the Rankin Track & Field on Purdue's campus.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS FACTS:

Location: DeKalb, IL

Founded: 1895

Enrollment: 25,313

Nickname: Huskies

Colors: Cardinal and Black

Conference: Mid-American Conference

Stadium: Huskie Stadium (1965)

Capacity: 24,000

First Year of Football: 1899

All Time Football Record: 495-452-51

All Time vs Purdue: 0-0

Last meeting: First meeting

Coach: Jerry Kill (7-8 at NIU)

PURDUE FACTS:

Location: West Lafayette, IN

Founded: 1869

Enrollment: 39,228

Nickname: Boilermakers

Colors: Old Gold and Black

Conference: Big Ten

Stadium: Ross-Ade (1924)

Capacity: 67,332

First Year of Football: 1887

All Time Football Record: 571-487-48

Coach: Danny Hope (1-1 at Purdue)

PURDUE LINKS:

Fan Message Board

Football Website

Roster

Schedule/Results

News