Northern Illinois brings impressive streaks into Saturday’s game at UNLV

By Taylor Bern

Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014 | 2 a.m.

Bobby Hauck was trying to explain the sustained success of another program and couldn’t quite find the words. There’s nuance in individual games or even seasons, but when the UNLV coach tried to step back and look at the bigger picture of a program that’s been to a bowl game in eight of the last 10 years spanning three different coaching tenures, the most obvious answer felt the most appropriate.

“They’re just good,” Hauck said. “They’ve been good and they are good; they keep reloading.”

Northern Illinois (2-0) played in the 2013 Orange Bowl and had a chance for another BCS trip last season before losing in the MAC Championship game. While many expected those fortunes to change once quarterback Jordan Lynch graduated, the Huskies just went to Northwestern and scored all of their points in the second half of a 23-15 upset victory.

That was NIU’s 16th straight victory in a true road game, a streak that stretches back to 2011. That mark will be on the line again this weekend when the Huskies travel to Sam Boyd Stadium for a 4 p.m. kickoff that figures to be a hot one. The game will stream on the Mountain West Network and Campus Insiders.

While Lynch was the big name on last year’s team, he wasn’t the best player as far as the next level is concerned. That would be safety Jimmie Ward, who was picked in the first round. Ward was the second first round pick for NIU in the last six years.

“That’s not the end-all, certainly, but it’s a pretty good indicator that they’ve had some guys,” Hauck said.

Right now it’s probably more important for UNLV (1-1) to focus on its own personnel than the group it’s facing this week. The Rebels’ scoring offense is bottom five in the country after scoring 13 in back-to-back games and their turnover margin (minus-two) isn’t much better, ranking 111th.

“We haven’t played very well,” Hauck said.

The defense certainly looked better during Saturday’s 13-12 victory than it did in the opener, although that could have as much to do with difference in competition as anything else. Defensive back Mike Horsey, who had a key interception against Northern Colorado, said the defense could build on the focus and mechanics that the unit played with at home.

“We’ve just got to put it together,” Horsey said.

And while it’s not exactly clear what quarterback they’ll be facing, Hauck said he’s got a pretty good idea. The Huskies used three quarterbacks at Northwestern but it wasn’t until sophomore Jordan Hare stepped under center that things started going their way. Hare finished 6-for-10 with 109 yards through the air and three total touchdowns, two passing and one rushing.

“We’re going to prepare for Hare,” Hauck said.

On the other side of the ball the Rebels got into a nice rhythm running the ball that was stymied by four interceptions. First it was receiver Marcus Sullivan’s ill-advised toss on a trick play during UNLV’s second possession, then quarterback Blake Decker dug a deeper whole with three picks of his own. Of the Rebels’ 12 drives, 66 percent ended in turnovers or points, although one of those was points for Northern Colorado when Decker was sacked for a safety.

The point is UNLV was able to move the ball and get some positive plays but the mistakes were too many for those good things to make much of an impact. By the end the Rebels were lucky to get out with the victory.

A similar performance isn’t going to cut it against NIU and the Rebels know it. Despite the struggles, though, left tackle Brett Boyko said the group is just as confident as it was heading into the season.

“We think we can go out there and compete with everybody,” Boyko said.

They’re about to find out. NIU has established itself as one of the best programs outside the Big 5 leagues. The Huskies haven’t lost a regular season game since Sept. 1, 2012, and snapping that streak is going to take a performance much better than what UNLV has put forth thus far.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.