2007 Northern Illinois
2–10 (1–6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Joe Novak. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Idaho 42–35Sep 22
By 7 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs Iowa | L 3–16 | 50% |
| Sep 8 | vs Southern Illinois | L 31–34 | 67% |
| Sep 15 | vs Eastern Michigan | L 19–21 | 78% |
| Sep 22 | at Idaho | W 42–35 | 54% |
| Sep 29 | at Central Michigan | L 10–35 | 43% |
| Oct 6 | at Temple | L 15–16 | 70% |
| Oct 13 | vs Western Michigan | L 13–17 | 52% |
| Oct 20 | at Wisconsin | L 3–44 | 17% |
| Oct 27 | at Toledo | L 21–70 | 46% |
| Nov 10 | vs Kent State | W 27–20 | 57% |
| Nov 17 | at Navy | L 24–35 | 25% |
| Nov 24 | vs Ball State | L 21–27 | 43% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Ball State 27–21; unranked in the final AP poll; 12th in the Mid-American Conference.
In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).
- Record
- 2–10
- Conference
- 1–6 12th in Mid-American Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 229–370
- Coach
- Joe Novak
- Elo
- 1365 −158 this season
- SP+ rating
- -17.0 No. 105 of 120; offense No. 104, defense No. 91, special teams No. 80
- SRS
- −17.7 No. 115 of 119 in FBS
- Recruiting class
- No. 96
- Offensive coordinator
- Roy Wittke
- Defensive coordinator
- Denny Doornbos
- Captains
- Britt Davis, Larry English, Tim McCarthy and Dan Nicholson
- Most valuable player
- Justin Anderson and Larry English
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.03 | 39% | 0.79 | 101st of 119 |
| Defense | 0.13 | 45% | 0.89 | 113th 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 | 0.0 | own 32 | 4% allowed |
| Defense | 0.0 | own 32 | 1% 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 2007 class
| DeMarcus Grady DUAL | ★★★ | No. 1108 |
| John Hopkins SDE | ★★★ | No. 1167 |
| Adam Kiel OT | ★★★ | No. 1167 |
| Patrick George CB | ★★★ | No. 1167 |
| Keith Otis OG | ★★★ | No. 1278 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2007 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 3 | 2.3 | 0.777 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.802 |
| Receivers | 3 | 2.0 | 0.756 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 2.7 | 0.797 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 2.5 | 0.800 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 2.0 | 0.741 |
| Defensive backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.811 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 2.0 | 0.722 |
| Whole class | 18 | 2.3 | 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.
2007 Mid-American Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan | 6–1 | 8–6 | |
 Bowling Green | 6–2 | 8–5 | |
| Ball State | 5–2 | 7–6 | |
 Miami (OH) | 5–2 | 6–7 | |
 Buffalo | 5–3 | 5–7 | |
 Ohio | 4–4 | 6–6 | |
| Temple | 4–4 | 4–8 | |
| Western Michigan | 3–4 | 5–7 | |
| Eastern Michigan | 3–4 | 4–8 | |
| Toledo | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
 Akron | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
 Northern Illinois | 1–6 | 2–10 | |
| Kent State | 1–7 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.