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2013 Northern Illinois

12–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Mid-American Conference), coached by Rod Carey.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2013, game by game: won at Iowa 30–27; won at Idaho 45–35; won vs. Eastern Illinois 43–39; won at Purdue 55–24; won at Kent State 38–24; won vs. Akron 27–20; won at Central Michigan 38–17; won vs. Eastern Michigan 59–20; won at Massachusetts 63–19; won vs. Ball State 48–27; won at Toledo 35–17; won vs. Western Michigan 33–14; lost vs. Bowling Green 27–47; lost vs. Utah State 14–21+44−20Won 30–27 at Iowa+3IowaWon 45–35 at Idaho+10IdahoWon 43–39 vs. Eastern Illinois+4Eastern IllinoisWon 55–24 at Purdue+31PurdueWon 38–24 at Kent State+14Kent StateWon 27–20 vs. Akron+7AkronWon 38–17 at Central Michigan+21Central MichiganWon 59–20 vs. Eastern Michigan+39Eastern MichiganWon 63–19 at Massachusetts+44MassachusettsWon 48–27 vs. Ball State+21Ball StateWon 35–17 at Toledo+18ToledoWon 33–14 vs. Western Michigan+19Western MichiganLost 27–47 vs. Bowling Green-20Bowling GreenLost 14–21 vs. Utah State-7Utah State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atIowaW 30–⁠2762%
Sep 14atIdahoW 45–⁠3584%
Sep 21vsEastern IllinoisW 43–⁠3984%
Sep 28atPurdueW 55–⁠2470%
Oct 5atKent StateW 38–⁠2462%
Oct 12vsAkronW 27–⁠2094%
Oct 19atCentral MichiganW 38–⁠1778%
Oct 26vsEastern MichiganW 59–⁠2094%
Nov 2atMassachusettsW 63–⁠1991%
Nov 13vsBall StateW 48–⁠2768%
Nov 20atToledoW 35–⁠1762%
Nov 26vsWestern MichiganW 33–⁠1496%
Dec 6vsBowling GreenMid-American Championship GameL 27–⁠4768%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsUtah StatePoinsettia BowlL 14–⁠2164%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Utah State 21–⁠14 in the Poinsettia Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 23
  2. Wk 8: 23
  3. Wk 9: 23
  4. Wk 10: 21
  5. Wk 11: 22
  6. Wk 12: 20
  7. Wk 13: 20
  8. Wk 14: 18
  9. Wk 15: 16
  10. Wk 16: 24

MAC West champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteJordan Lynch, third

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 16
Points
555–⁠351
Coach
Rod Carey
Elo
1680 +55 this season
SP+ rating
6.3 No. 56 of 125; offense No. 27, defense No. 76, special teams No. 79
SRS
4.5 No. 52 of 125 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 102
Offensive coordinator
Bob Cole
Defensive coordinator
Jay Niemann
Captains
Jamaal Bass, Jared Volk, Jordan Lynch and Jimmie Ward
Most valuable player
Jordan Lynch
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense17th of 125
  • Defense47th of 125
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted19th of 125
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted68th of 125
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1549%0.8917th of 125
Defense0.0643%0.8947th of 125
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.09 def		47% off
44% def		—19th off
68th 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 312% allowed
Defense-0.2own 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 yardsJordan Lynch QB2,892 yds
Passing touchdownsJordan Lynch QB24 TD
Rushing yardsJordan Lynch QB1,920 yds
Rushing touchdownsJordan Lynch QB23 TD
Receiving yardsDa’Ron Brown WR752 yds
Receiving touchdownsDa’Ron Brown WR9 TD
InterceptionsJimmie Ward S7 INT

Top recruits in the 2013 class

Aregeros Turner RB★★★No. 827
Ruben Dunbar WDE★★★No. 834
Mycial Allen WR★★★No. 1310
Blake Holder WR★★★No. 1344
Jordan Huff RB★★★No. 1636

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

The 2013 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.733
Running backs32.70.819
Receivers72.30.774
Offensive line32.00.733
Defensive line22.50.813
Linebackers32.00.752
Defensive backs52.00.744
Athletes and specialists12.00.733
Whole class252.20.766

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 2014

The 2014 draft
Rd 1Jimmie Ward SSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 7Ken Bishop DTDallas Cowboys

Roster 107

The 2013 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2013 line; 35 have a stat line. See the roster

2013 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Illinois8–⁠012–⁠2
Ball State7–⁠110–⁠3
Bowling Green7–⁠110–⁠4
Buffalo6–⁠28–⁠5
Toledo5–⁠37–⁠5
Central Michigan5–⁠36–⁠6
Ohio4–⁠47–⁠6
Akron4–⁠45–⁠7
Kent State3–⁠54–⁠8
Eastern Michigan1–⁠72–⁠10
Massachusetts1–⁠71–⁠11
Western Michigan1–⁠71–⁠11
Miami (OH)0–⁠80–⁠12

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