NIU vs EMU - Kill's Class Act

Many thanks go out to Sidepockets in Lee's Summit for setting aside a table and in 80 inch flatscreen for 1/2 of the Kansas City Chapter of the NIU Alumni Association (that is, umm, me - the other guy couldn't make it). Matt had a great time as well, and NIU's Coach Kill offered a great teaching point on sportsmanship.

NIU was up 50-6 with a little under two minutes to go witha first down on Eastern Michigan's 1 yard line. Had it been Oklahoma or Florida or some school like that, they would have gone for the TD for no reason other than racking up an even bigger score. And it's not like NIU would have had a problem scoring - they pretty much walked over Eastern for the entire game. NIU had already put in their third-string quarterback and pulled most of their starters, and still was having an easy go of it. But rather than go for another TD when they were already up by 44 points, Kill had his offense take a knee and run out the clock - on the Eastern Michigan one yard line. Class act.

Here's the play by play for the last 1:25 of the game:

3rd and 5 at EMU 6Justin Anderson rush for 5 yards to the EMich 1 for a 1ST down.
1st and Goal at EMU 1Timeout NORTHERN ILLINOIS, clock 1:25.
1st and Goal at EMU 1Team rush for a loss of 3 yards to the EMich 4.
2nd and Goal at EMU 4Team rush for a loss of 5 yards to the EMich 9.
End of 4th Quarter


Northern Illinois routs Eastern Michigan 50-6
Chad Spann scores 2 TDs on runs of 65 and 79 yards
By Fred Mitchell, Tribune reporter

DeKALB, Ill. -- Jerry Kill dreaded having his team play on a weeknight.

"I like playing at 11 o'clock, I like playing at 12 and I like playing at 1. And I don't like playing at night," the colorful Northern Illinois coach said before Thursday night's game. "High school football ought to be played on Friday night, college on Saturday, pros on Sunday.

"I'm a traditional dude."

Turns out his Huskies probably could beat winless Eastern Michigan any day of the week. They dispatched the Eagles 50-6 at Huskie Stadium.

Kill wondered before the game if his team would have any "juice" after playing five days ago against Akron. The answer came on the opening kickoff as the Huskies (6-3, 4-1 MAC) became bowl eligible with their sixth victory.

Chad Spann scored two touchdowns and had 151 of his career-best 174 rushing yards in the first half. Quarterback DeMarcus Grady rushed for 104 yards and one touchdown and passed for two touchdowns.

"I thought we played fast coming off the short week," Kill said.

Tommy Davis returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. Davis, a redshirt freshman from East St. Louis, appeared to be bottled up around the Eastern Michigan 28-yard line before breaking loose.

"I ran up in there and it was kind of cloudy," Davis said. "But I broke through a tackle and I was able to break free."

It was the first NIU kickoff return for a touchdown since Aug. 29, 2002, when Michael Turner, now with the Falcons, ran one back 93 yards against Wake Forest.

The Huskies' 50 points tied their fourth-highest total in a MAC game and marked the first time NIU has scored 50 or more since Oct. 23, 2004, when it beat Western Michigan 59-38.

Eastern Michigan (0-9, 0-5) kicked a 21-yard field goal for its first score after NIU muffed a punt and the Eagles recovered.

The Huskies responded with a six-play, 73-yard drive that was capped by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Grady to Landon Cox.

Joe Carithers kicked his second field goal, but that was it for the Eagles.

Spann ripped off a 65-yard touchdown run 17 seconds later. Mike Salerno added a 26-yard field goal early in the second quarter as NIU increased its lead to 23-6.

Spann's second carry of the night was a 79-yard touchdown sprint, a career long and the 10th-longest in NIU history. It was his 16th touchdown of the season.

"The front line did a great job, as always," Spann said. "It's my job to get to the second level. I have to make a play there. I just had to turn on the speed and try to beat them to the end zone."

Grady hooked up with Cox again with 47 seconds left in the half. The 31-yard touchdown pass made it 37-6 at halftime.