CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Northern Illinois

8–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Rod Carey.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2017, game by game: lost vs. Boston College 20–23; won vs. Eastern Illinois 38–10; won at Nebraska 21–17; lost at No. 19 San Diego State 28–34; won vs. Kent State 24–3; won at Buffalo 14–13; won at Bowling Green 48–17; won vs. Eastern Michigan 30–27; lost at Toledo 17–27; won vs. Ball State 63–17; won vs. Western Michigan 35–31; lost at Central Michigan 24–31; lost vs. Duke 14–36+46−22Lost 20–23 vs. Boston College-3Boston CollegeWon 38–10 vs. Eastern Illinois+28Eastern IllinoisWon 21–17 at Nebraska+4NebraskaLost 28–34 at No. 19 San Diego State-6No. 19 San Diego StateWon 24–3 vs. Kent State+21Kent StateWon 14–13 at Buffalo+1BuffaloWon 48–17 at Bowling Green+31Bowling GreenWon 30–27 vs. Eastern Michigan+3Eastern MichiganLost 17–27 at Toledo-10ToledoWon 63–17 vs. Ball State+46Ball StateWon 35–31 vs. Western Michigan+4Western MichiganLost 24–31 at Central Michigan-7Central MichiganLost 14–36 vs. Duke-22Duke
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsBoston CollegeL 20–⁠2358%
Sep 9vsEastern IllinoisW 38–⁠1077%
Sep 16atNebraskaW 21–⁠1734%
Sep 30at19San Diego StateL 28–⁠3425%
Oct 7vsKent StateW 24–⁠380%
Oct 14atBuffaloW 14–⁠1358%
Oct 21atBowling GreenW 48–⁠1766%
Oct 26vsEastern MichiganW 30–⁠2776%
Nov 2atToledoL 17–⁠2730%
Nov 9vsBall StateW 63–⁠1784%
Nov 15vsWestern MichiganW 35–⁠3152%
Nov 24atCentral MichiganL 24–⁠3151%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsDukeQuick Lane BowlL 14–⁠3652%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Duke 36–⁠14 in the Quick Lane Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Consensus All-AmericanSutton Smith, DL

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
376–⁠286
Coach
Rod Carey
Elo
1514 +15 this season
SP+ rating
-1.4 No. 75 of 128; offense No. 111, defense No. 26, special teams No. 114
SRS
−0.6 No. 68 of 130 in FBS
Returning
45% of last season’s EPA, No. 93 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 97 roster talent No. 93 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Uremovich
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Kane
Captains
Max Scharping, Mycial Allen, Christian Blake, Shane Wimann and Jackson Abresch
Most valuable player
Sutton Smith
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense108th of 130
  • Defense19th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted117th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted36th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0139%1.14108th of 130
Defense-0.0335%1.1919th of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.00 off
0.03 def		38% off
37% def		—117th off
36th 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
Offense3.1own 3215% allowed
Defense2.7own 3020% caused

CORE rating -0.5, 68th of 130 (offense -9.3, defense -8.8).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsMarcus Childers QB1,674 yds
Passing touchdownsMarcus Childers QB16 TD
Rushing yardsJordan Huff 740 yds
Rushing touchdownsMarcus Childers QB5 TD
Receiving yardsSpencer Tears WR528 yds
Receiving touchdownsShane Wimann TE7 TD
TacklesBobby Jones IV LB107 tkl
SacksSutton Smith DE14 sacks
InterceptionsJawuan Johnson LB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Isaac Hawn OT★★★No. 1085
Jordan Rowell ATH★★★No. 1262
Cole Tucker WR★★★No. 1600
Cole Webster OT★★★No. 1678
Liam Soraghan TE★★★No. 1759

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.784
Running backs22.50.783
Receivers43.00.811
Offensive line32.70.815
Defensive line12.00.761
Linebackers52.20.775
Defensive backs22.00.772
Athletes and specialists32.30.783
Whole class222.50.789

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 93

The 2017 roster

93 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo7–⁠111–⁠3
Northern Illinois6–⁠28–⁠5
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Akron6–⁠27–⁠7
Ohio5–⁠39–⁠4
Buffalo4–⁠46–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠46–⁠6
Miami (OH)4–⁠45–⁠7
Eastern Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Bowling Green2–⁠62–⁠10
Kent State1–⁠72–⁠10
Ball State0–⁠82–⁠10

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