Northern Illinois @ Illinois preview
Memorial Stadium
Northern Illinois' players have had more on their mind this week than their game against Illinois on Saturday.
Huskies coach Jerry Kill was hospitalized Sunday for dehydration. The 49-year-old Kill had surgery on Sept. 3 for unspecified reasons. He was on the sidelines for the Huskies' 23-17 win at home over North Dakota a day before being admitted to the hospital.
Kill's family wanted to keep the reasons for the surgery private, but emphasized it's not related to his battle with kidney cancer in 2005.
The Huskies prepared for the game with Illinois with defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys being given the head coaching duties during the practice week.
The Huskies rebounded last week after losing their opener at Iowa State, 27-10. Northern Illinois (1-1) gained over 500 yards of total offense, but had to stop a late North Dakota drive to hang on for the win. Cornerback Tommie Davis intercepted a pass on North Dakota's last play to save the game.
Quarterback Chandler Harnish and running back Chad Spann had big days, combining to run for over 300 yards. Harnish gained 185 yards on 21 carries while running for a touchdown. Spann also ran for a score and gained 146 yards on 21 carries. Harnish completed 14-of-25 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown with one interception.
Illinois (1-1) is coming off a 35-3 win over Southern Illinois in its home opener. Freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase completed 14-of-18 passes for 229 yards. He threw touchdown passes of 54 and 33 yards. Mikel Leshoure gained 115 yards on 15 carries. He scored on touchdown runs of 1 and 8 yards.
While Illinois gained 407 yards, its defense held Southern Illinois, the then-No. 2 team in FCS, to 230 total yards. The win was a nice bounce back from the opener in which Illinois fell to Missouri 23-13 after blowing a 10-point lead.
Illinois has won all three games against its in-state foe, all of which have been played at Champaign. The most recent meeting came in 2001, with Ilinois winning 17-12. The Illini, picked near the bottom of the Big Ten, have more to lose in this game than the Huskies.
Northern Illinois has been picked to win the West Division of the Mid-American Conference and a victory would provide a big moment for the Huskies.
Illinois defensive end Michael Buchanan was suspended indefinitely after being arrested for DUI last week. He didn't play against Southern Illinois and it's unclear when he will return.