2006 Northern Illinois
7–6 (5–3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Joe Novak. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Indiana State 48–14Sep 23
By 34 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | at 1Ohio State | L 12–35 | 28% |
| Sep 9 | vs Ohio | L 23–35 | 75% |
| Sep 16 | vs Buffalo | W 31–13 | 80% |
| Sep 23 | vs Indiana State | W 48–14 | 94% |
| Sep 30 | at Ball State | W 40–28 | 59% |
| Oct 8 | at Miami (OH) | W 28–25 | 59% |
| Oct 14 | at Western Michigan | L 14–16 | 50% |
| Oct 21 | vs Temple | W 43–21 | 88% |
| Oct 28 | at Iowa | L 14–24 | 34% |
| Nov 7 | vs Toledo | L 13–17 | 69% |
| Nov 17 | vs Central Michigan | W 31–10 | 50% |
| Nov 24 | at Eastern Michigan | W 27–0 | 75% |
| Dec 19Bowls & playoff | vs TCUPoinsettia Bowl | L 7–37 | 33% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to TCU 37–7 in the Poinsettia Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mid-American Conference.
In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).
Led the nationGarrett Wolfe: rushing yards (1,928 yds)
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 331–275
- Coach
- Joe Novak
- Elo
- 1535 −31 this season
- SP+ rating
- -2.5 No. 69 of 119; offense No. 71, defense No. 71, special teams No. 60
- SRS
- −2.5 No. 67 of 119 in FBS
- Recruiting class
- No. 75
- Offensive coordinator
- John Bond
- Defensive coordinator
- Denny Doornbos
- Captains
- Doug Free, Dustin Utschig, Ken West and Garrett Wolfe
- Most valuable player
- Garrett Wolfe
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.03 | 38% | 1.06 | 61st of 119 |
| Defense | 0.07 | 42% | 0.89 | 83rd of 119 |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.2 | own 31 | 2% allowed |
| Defense | 0.0 | own 30 | 2% caused |
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.
Top recruits in the 2006 class
| James Jefferies CB | ★★★ | No. 1003 |
| Billy Lowe PRO | ★★★ | No. 1040 |
| Mike Lepper OLB | ★★★ | No. 1045 |
| Jason Onyebuagu OG | ★★★ | No. 1045 |
| Vernon Sims TE | ★★★ | No. 1045 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2006 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.812 |
| Running backs | 1 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Receivers | 4 | 2.3 | 0.767 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 2.5 | 0.755 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 2.5 | 0.751 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.811 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 2.7 | 0.780 |
| Whole class | 14 | 2.5 | 0.772 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Drafted in 2007
The 2007 draft| Rd 3 | Garrett Wolfe RB | Chicago Bears |
| Rd 4 | Doug Free OT | Dallas Cowboys |
2006 Mid-American Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan | 7–1 | 10–4 | |
| Ohio | 7–1 | 9–5 | |
| Western Michigan | 6–2 | 8–5 | |
 Northern Illinois | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
 Kent State | 5–3 | 6–6 | |
| Ball State | 5–3 | 5–7 | |
| Toledo | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
 Akron | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
 Bowling Green | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Miami (OH) | 2–6 | 2–10 | |
| Buffalo | 1–7 | 2–10 | |
| Eastern Michigan | 1–7 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.