Carifio: Three Huskies who could have huge games at Ohio

Northern Illinois University will look for back-to-back wins for the first time this season when it plays Saturday at Ohio.

The Huskies (2-5, 1-2) will face the offensively-powered Bobcats (4-3, 2-1), and these three NIU players could be set for breakout games to help the team even its record in MAC play.

Michael Kennedy, senior defensive end

While tempting to go with a guy in the secondary here, I’m gonna go with Kennedy, who leads the team with three sacks and five tackles for losses. Facing the top passer in the MAC, Kurtis Rourke, the Huskies are going to need to make him uncomfortable. They got five sacks last week, including one by Kennedy.

Ohio has given up 15 sacks this season, while NIU is fourth in the MAC with 18 as a team. So someone can have a big day on the line, and if the Huskies are going to win someone has to. It seems like Kennedy is primed to continue his hot streak.

Justin Lynch, sophomore quarterback

Rocky Lombardi played some last week in a win over Eastern Michigan, handling obvious passing downs. But Lynch was the starter and ran an offense that featured a lot of Wildcat formations with either Harrison Waylee or Antario Brown at QB, with Lynch split out wide.

So assuming Lombardi and regular backup Ethan Hampton, who missed last week with an injury necessitating Lynch’s start, are both as available this week as they were last, Lynch probably is going to see a lot of playing time.

He’s attempted only one pass this year. He’s thrown the ball in the past when he was starting for Temple, but he’s been a runner with the Huskies. So no matter his usage Saturday, he’s going to need a big game, even if it’s only on the ground.

Harrison Waylee, sophomore running back

I’ll stop putting Waylee on the list when he stops approaching 200 yards rushing in a game or setting school records for catches by a running back. Last week, he ran 16 times for 158 yards. Two weeks ago, he caught 10 passes for 96 yards. He’s been a big part of this offense.

And against Ohio, that figures to happen again. While the defense is on a hot streak, the best way the Huskies can stop Rourke and the Bobcats is to keep them off the field. It worked last week with one of the MAC’s leading rushers, Samson Evans, and the EMU offense. NIU owned time of possession by a about a 2:1 margin in the win. They’ve had at least an 11-minute edge in time of possession in every conference game this season.

That doesn’t happen without Waylee making an impact Saturday.

Last week

We went with: Waylee, Cole Tucker and C.J. Brown

What they did: Brown and Tucker had relatively quiet games, with Brown making four tackles and Tucker hauling in five catches for 58 yards. Waylee topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the second time and scored his fifth touchdown of the season. He’s four yards behind Evans, the MAC’s third-leading rusher.