The Eastern Michigan Eagles play host to the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday in a crucial MAC showdown from Rynearson Stadium. The Huskies come in with only a single win on the season and are losers of five straight coming into this one. For Eastern Michigan, a 4-2 record has their eyes set on making a run toward the top of the conference. NIU won last year's meeting and has won eight of the last ten meetings overall between the two teams, though grabbing the win this weekend might be tougher.
Northern Illinois has had some success over the last few seasons but so far in 2022, the wins have been difficult to come y. Their lone win came in the opener against Eastern Illinois, an FCS foe, while they've struggled to overcome the hump over the last five weeks. All but one of those losses have come by ten points or less though, showing this group's ability to at least compete. With single-score losses to Kentucky and Tulsa, there's little doubt that this team has some talent. Putting everything together and not letting the losing get to them is the question that they'll be looking to answer this weekend though.
Rocky Lombardi (knee) was supposed to be the signal caller this season but after battling a knee injury, it'll be interesting to see if he gets back into the mix this weekend. Trayvon Rudolph (knee) is the only other injury ruled out already and the Huskies are hoping that they'll be able to overcome this one.
The Dogs are back in action this Saturday up in Ypsilanti. ??
EMU ?? | 2:30CT ? | ESPN+ ?? #TheClimb ????| #TheHardWay pic.twitter.com/AgombFxYdY
— NIU Football (@NIU_Football) October 11, 2022
NIU's offense comes into this one in the middle of the pack nationally and against a defense that is far from elite for Eastern Michigan, they'll like their chances to find some success moving the ball. The key has been their ability to take care of the ball and considering the lack of difference-makers on the other side, the Huskies should be able to avoid at least giving up field position. Ethan Hampton (7 touchdowns) has stepped in nicely at quarterback but with Justin Lynch (4.7 yards per carry) adding in a nice running dimension at quarterback, the Huskies will try to hit the Eagles with a balanced attack in this one.
The defensive side of the ball has been what has let down the Huskies so far this season. They rank 105th nationally in total defense and 125th nationally in scoring defense. The lone bright spot has come against the run though and the hope is that their ability to dictate the ground game on both sides will le ad to them dictating how this one goes overall. Daveren Rayner (60 tackles, 2 sacks) has been a force in the middle of the defense and the more his name is called, the better the Huskies liekly will be playing.
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