Northern Illinois Huskies Cannot Lose Focus Against UMASS This Saturday

The Northern Illinois Huskies are hitting their peak entering the month of November, as the team has reeled off eight straight victories to start the season. The Huskies routed Eastern Michigan last week 59-20 and continued to pound teams with their lethal rushing attack.

The Huskies’ stiffest test may come in two weeks when the team squares off against the Ball State Cardinals. However, the team cannot afford to look past the 1-7  UMASS Minutemen this weekend. The Minutemen will be emotionally ready to knock off the Huskies and will give Northern Illinois their best shot on Saturday.

Northern Illinois was able to scorch the Eastern Michigan Eagles for 658 total yards in last week’s win. Over the last two weeks, the Huskies have been able to accumulate 764 total rushing yards in back to back victories over Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. The strength of the Huskies has been the play of the offensive line. Their ability to open up holes for quarterback Jordan Lynch and running back Cameron Stingily has been stellar.

Northern Illinois is averaging 229.6 passing yards per game (66th in the nation) and 307.5 rushing yards per game (6th in the nation). The Huskies are ranked 11th in the nation in scoring offense averaging 41.9 points per game, and they will look to continue to rush the football against a UMASS defense surrendering 227.1 rushing yards per game .

Defensively, the Huskies will look to stop a UMASS offense that is averaging 10.6 points per game. UMASS is ranked 109th in the nation in both passing (171.9 passing yards per game) and rushing offense (111.8 rushing yards per game).

Game time is set for 12:00 pm at UMASS.

Joseph Lisi is a writer for www.Rantsports.com, follow him on Twitter @GoForthe2, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.