CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2011 Northern Illinois

11–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Dave Doeren.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2011, game by game: won vs. Army 49–26; lost at Kansas 42–45; lost vs. No. 7 Wisconsin 7–49; won vs. Cal Poly 47–30; lost at Central Michigan 41–48; won vs. Kent State 40–10; won vs. Western Michigan 51–22; won at Buffalo 31–30; won at Toledo 63–60; won at Bowling Green 45–14; won vs. Ball State 41–38; won vs. Eastern Michigan 18–12; won vs. Ohio 23–20; won vs. Arkansas State 38–20+31−42Won 49–26 vs. Army+23ArmyLost 42–45 at Kansas-3KansasLost 7–49 vs. No. 7 Wisconsin-42No. 7 WisconsinWon 47–30 vs. Cal Poly+17Cal PolyLost 41–48 at Central Michigan-7Central MichiganWon 40–10 vs. Kent State+30Kent StateWon 51–22 vs. Western Michigan+29Western MichiganWon 31–30 at Buffalo+1BuffaloWon 63–60 at Toledo+3ToledoWon 45–14 at Bowling Green+31Bowling GreenWon 41–38 vs. Ball State+3Ball StateWon 18–12 vs. Eastern Michigan+6Eastern MichiganWon 23–20 vs. Ohio+3OhioWon 38–20 vs. Arkansas State+18Arkansas State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsArmyW 49–⁠2673%
Sep 10atKansasL 42–⁠4566%
Sep 17vs7WisconsinL 7–⁠4938%
Sep 24vsCal PolyW 47–⁠3082%
Oct 1atCentral MichiganL 41–⁠4863%
Oct 8vsKent StateW 40–⁠1077%
Oct 15vsWestern MichiganW 51–⁠2260%
Oct 22atBuffaloW 31–⁠3076%
Nov 1atToledoW 63–⁠6043%
Nov 8atBowling GreenW 45–⁠1469%
Nov 15vsBall StateW 41–⁠3879%
Nov 25vsEastern MichiganW 18–⁠1286%
Dec 2vsOhioMid-American Championship GameW 23–⁠2059%
Jan 8Bowls & playoffvsArkansas StateGoDaddy.com BowlW 38–⁠2058%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arkansas State 38–⁠20 in the GoDaddy.com Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Mid-American Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
536–⁠424
Coach
Dave Doeren
Elo
1664 +77 this season
SP+ rating
2.2 No. 58 of 120; offense No. 32, defense No. 72, special teams No. 90
SRS
3.0 No. 48 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 95
Offensive coordinator
Matt Canada
Defensive coordinator
Jay Niemann
Captains
Chandler Harnish, Trevor Olson, Sean Progar and Pat Schiller
Most valuable player
Chandler Harnish
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense10th of 120
  • Defense67th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted18th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted72nd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1343%0.9810th of 120
Defense0.0640%0.9967th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.05 def		42% off
40% def		—18th off
72nd 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 311% allowed
Defense-0.1own 333% 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 QB3,118 yds
Passing touchdownsChandler Harnish QB27 TD
Rushing yardsChandler Harnish QB1,231 yds
Rushing touchdownsJasmin Hopkins RB15 TD
Receiving yardsMartel Moore WR723 yds
Receiving touchdownsMartel Moore WR7 TD
InterceptionsDechane Durante S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2011 class

Mason Fuller DT★★No. 1577
A.J. Sebastiano WR★★No. 1654
Matt Killian OT★★No. 1990
Tre Moore S★★No. 1990
Khambrel Garland CB★★No. 2050

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

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.733
Receivers42.00.738
Offensive line32.00.744
Defensive line22.00.762
Linebackers32.00.733
Defensive backs52.00.746
Athletes and specialists12.00.758
Whole class192.00.744

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 2012

The 2012 draft
Rd 7Chandler Harnish QBIndianapolis Colts

Roster 107

The 2011 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 35 have a stat line. See the roster

2011 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Illinois7–⁠111–⁠3
Toledo7–⁠19–⁠4
Ohio6–⁠210–⁠4
Temple5–⁠39–⁠4
Western Michigan5–⁠37–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠46–⁠6
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠7
Bowling Green3–⁠55–⁠7
Miami (OH)3–⁠54–⁠8
Buffalo2–⁠63–⁠9
Central Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
Akron0–⁠81–⁠11

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