It's a Black Friday matchup with big implications in the MAC conference, as the Northern Illinois Huskies (7-3, 6-1 MAC) host the Eastern Michigan Eagles (6-5, 4-3 MAC). The Huskies are 6-1 in MAC play, and control their own destiny heading into this game because they hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Toledo Rockets, so a win would mean a conference division title for NIU.
The Huskies offense should be fun to watch, as they are looking to made a few marks in the record books on Friday, as noted by HuskieWire:
With seven sacks allowed through 11 games, the Huskies are on pace to surrender fewer than 10 this season. No Mid-American Conference team has done that since 2004, the first year the statistic was kept. Since 2007, only eight programs have done it nationally. Two were service academies that mostly run the football.
"We've got a quarterback who's got a chance to do some things no quarterbacks have ever done statistically," NIU coach Dave Doeren said of Chandler Harnish's quest to become the first player in college football history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,500. "That starts with his protection and the holes the offensive line opens up for him. So you can't say enough about what they do."
Stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for updates throughout the day on all the action.
Game date, time: 10:00 am CST, Friday, Nov. 25th, 2011
Location: Huskie Stadium, DeKalb, IL
TV channel: ESPNU
Radio: WSCR-AM 670
Spread: Northern Illinois favored by 19.5 points
Series history: Northern Illinois leads, 17-5-2
For updates on this matchup, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of NIU, head over to Red And Black Attack. For more from around college football, visit SB Nation's NCAA football news hub.