CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Northern Illinois

7–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jerry Kill.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2009, game by game: lost at Wisconsin 20–28; won vs. Western Illinois 41–7; won at Purdue 28–21; lost vs. Idaho 31–34; won vs. Western Michigan 38–3; lost at Toledo 19–20; won at Miami (OH) 27–22; won vs. Akron 27–10; won vs. Eastern Michigan 50–6; won vs. Ball State 26–20; lost at Ohio 31–38; lost at Central Michigan 31–45; lost vs. South Florida 3–27+44−24Lost 20–28 at Wisconsin-8WisconsinWon 41–7 vs. Western Illinois+34Western IllinoisWon 28–21 at Purdue+7PurdueLost 31–34 vs. Idaho-3IdahoWon 38–3 vs. Western Michigan+35Western MichiganLost 19–20 at Toledo-1ToledoWon 27–22 at Miami (OH)+5Miami (OH)Won 27–10 vs. Akron+17AkronWon 50–6 vs. Eastern Michigan+44Eastern MichiganWon 26–20 vs. Ball State+6Ball StateLost 31–38 at Ohio-7OhioLost 31–45 at Central Michigan-14Central MichiganLost 3–27 vs. South Florida-24South Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atWisconsinL 20–⁠2829%
Sep 12vsWestern IllinoisW 41–⁠768%
Sep 19atPurdueW 28–⁠2138%
Sep 26vsIdahoL 31–⁠3474%
Oct 3vsWestern MichiganW 38–⁠354%
Oct 17atToledoL 19–⁠2055%
Oct 24atMiami (OH)W 27–⁠2273%
Oct 31vsAkronW 27–⁠1079%
Nov 5vsEastern MichiganW 50–⁠686%
Nov 12vsBall StateW 26–⁠2076%
Nov 21atOhioL 31–⁠3848%
Nov 27atCentral MichiganL 31–⁠4529%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsSouth FloridaInternational BowlL 3–⁠2742%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Florida 27–⁠3 in the International Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 5th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
372–⁠281
Coach
Jerry Kill
Elo
1466 +16 this season
SP+ rating
-4.6 No. 79 of 120; offense No. 78, defense No. 76, special teams No. 52
SRS
−4.3 No. 79 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 102
Offensive coordinator
Matt Limegrover
Defensive coordinator
Tracy Claeys
Captains
Eddie Adamski, Brandon Bice, David Bryant, Jake Coffman, Landon Cox and Cory Hanson
Most valuable player
Chad Spann and Jake Coffman

How good, play by play

  • Offense44th of 120
  • Defense47th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted55th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted45th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0642%0.8944th of 120
Defense0.0339%0.9547th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.03 def		41% off
40% def		—55th off
45th def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 342% allowed
Defense-0.4own 312% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsChandler Harnish QB1,670 yds
Passing touchdownsChandler Harnish QB11 TD
Rushing yardsChad Spann 1,038 yds
Rushing touchdownsChad Spann 19 TD
Receiving yardsLandon Cox WR535 yds
Receiving touchdownsLandon Cox WR4 TD
InterceptionsCory Hanson LB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Perez Ashford WR★★★No. 1388
Jordan Lynch DUAL★★★No. 1388
Jared Volk OT★★★No. 1395
A.J. Hill DUAL★★★No. 1639
Zach Anderson DT★★★No. 1647

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.816
Running backs12.00.776
Receivers42.30.781
Offensive line22.50.796
Defensive line52.20.754
Linebackers32.00.770
Defensive backs22.00.722
Whole class192.30.771

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.

Roster 106

The 2009 roster

106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 34 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan8–⁠012–⁠223
Temple7–⁠19–⁠4
Ohio7–⁠19–⁠5
Bowling Green6–⁠27–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠37–⁠6
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠7
Western Michigan4–⁠45–⁠7
Toledo3–⁠55–⁠7
Buffalo3–⁠55–⁠7
Akron2–⁠63–⁠9
Ball State2–⁠62–⁠10
Miami (OH)1–⁠71–⁠11
Eastern Michigan0–⁠80–⁠12

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.