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2010 Northern Illinois

11–⁠3 (8–⁠0 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jerry Kill, then Tom Matukewicz (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2010, game by game: lost at Iowa State 10–27; won vs. North Dakota 23–17; lost at Illinois 22–28; won at Minnesota 34–23; won at Akron 50–14; won vs. Temple 31–17; won vs. Buffalo 45–14; won vs. Central Michigan 33–7; won at Western Michigan 28–21; won vs. Toledo 65–30; won at Ball State 59–21; won at Eastern Michigan 71–3; lost vs. Miami (OH) 21–26; won vs. Fresno State 40–17+68−17Lost 10–27 at Iowa State-17Iowa StateWon 23–17 vs. North Dakota+6North DakotaLost 22–28 at Illinois-6IllinoisWon 34–23 at Minnesota+11MinnesotaWon 50–14 at Akron+36AkronWon 31–17 vs. Temple+14TempleWon 45–14 vs. Buffalo+31BuffaloWon 33–7 vs. Central Michigan+26Central MichiganWon 28–21 at Western Michigan+7Western MichiganWon 65–30 vs. Toledo+35ToledoWon 59–21 at Ball State+38Ball StateWon 71–3 at Eastern Michigan+68Eastern MichiganLost 21–26 vs. Miami (OH)-5Miami (OH)Won 40–17 vs. Fresno State+23Fresno State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atIowa StateL 10–⁠2744%
Sep 11vsNorth DakotaW 23–⁠1780%
Sep 18atIllinoisL 22–⁠2840%
Sep 25atMinnesotaW 34–⁠2338%
Oct 2atAkronW 50–⁠1465%
Oct 9vsTempleW 31–⁠1747%
Oct 16vsBuffaloW 45–⁠1472%
Oct 23vsCentral MichiganW 33–⁠766%
Oct 30atWestern MichiganW 28–⁠2161%
Nov 9vsToledoW 65–⁠3070%
Nov 20atBall StateW 59–⁠2173%
Nov 26atEastern MichiganW 71–⁠387%
Dec 3vsMiami (OH)Mid-American Championship GameL 21–⁠2672%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvsFresno StateHumanitarian BowlW 40–⁠1757%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Fresno State 40–⁠17 in the Humanitarian Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 14: 24

MAC West champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationChad Spann: rushing touchdowns (22 TD)

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 24
Points
532–⁠265
Coach
Jerry Kill, then Tom Matukewicz (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1631 +154 this season
SP+ rating
7.6 No. 46 of 120; offense No. 28, defense No. 55, special teams No. 95
SRS
4.1 No. 45 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 98
Offensive coordinator
Matt Limegrover
Defensive coordinator
Tracy Claeys
Captains
Jake Coffman, Landon Cox, Ricky Crider, Chandler Harnish, Alex Kube and Trevor Olson
Most valuable player
Chandler Harnish

How good, play by play

  • Offense28th of 120
  • Defense34th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted28th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted73rd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0946%0.9128th of 120
Defense0.0137%0.9934th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.05 def		45% off
40% def		—28th off
73rd 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
Defense0.0own 292% 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 QB2,530 yds
Passing touchdownsChandler Harnish QB21 TD
Rushing yardsChad Spann 1,388 yds
Rushing touchdownsChad Spann 22 TD
Receiving yardsWillie Clark WR602 yds
Receiving touchdownsWillie Clark WR7 TD
InterceptionsTyrone Clark LB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2010 class

Mike Hellams OLB★★★No. 1052
Jamaal Bass ILB★★★No. 1103
Greg Barksdale ILB★★★No. 1123
Frank Boenzi DT★★★No. 1394
Cameron Stingily ILB★★★No. 1441

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

The 2010 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers32.30.789
Offensive line42.30.783
Defensive line23.00.820
Linebackers43.00.850
Defensive backs42.30.783
Athletes and specialists32.70.794
Whole class202.50.803

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 113

The 2010 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2010 line; 33 have a stat line. See the roster

2010 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Illinois8–⁠011–⁠3
Miami (OH)7–⁠110–⁠4
Toledo7–⁠18–⁠5
Ohio6–⁠28–⁠5
Temple5–⁠38–⁠4
Western Michigan5–⁠36–⁠6
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠7
Ball State3–⁠54–⁠8
Central Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
Eastern Michigan2–⁠62–⁠10
Buffalo1–⁠72–⁠10
Bowling Green1–⁠72–⁠10
Akron1–⁠71–⁠11

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