N. Illinois vs. OSU Preview Part 1

Northern Illinois vs. OSU, September 2, 3:30 ABC

 

Series History

This is the first matchup between these two schools. The Big Ten has added a lot of games against the Mid-American Conference, since the regular season has been expanded to 12 games. Every Big Ten school plays at least one MAC team, with seven teams playing two teams. OSU will have two games against the MAC, with a game on October 7th against Bowling Green. OSU is 20-1 against teams in the MAC with the only loss being Akron in 1895.

 

Coaches

Jim Tressel returns for his sixth year at Ohio State with a record of 50-13. That record ranks highly and it compares well to the first five years of legends Joe Paterno at Penn State, Tom Osborne at Nebraska, Bobby Bowden at Florida State and Barry Switzer at Oklahoma.

Joe Novak is entering his 11th year at Northern Illinois, where he has spent his entire head coaching career. He has compiled a record of 54-60 over those years. Under his direction they have had six straight winning seasons and four of the last five MAC West Division Crowns. Novak is product of Ohio, having played football at Mentor High School. He coached at Western Reserve High School (OH) and won the state title in 1972. He went to Miami (OH) to earn his bachelor and master's degrees. As an assistant at Indiana and Illinois he made eight trips to Ohio Stadium.