Eastern Michigan Eagles @ Northern Illinois Huskies - Oct. 21, 2023 - Rocky Lombardi, Antario Brown

year long a big divisional rivalry Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois this afternoon here at Husky Stadium and with these two division Rivals they are about as even as you can get coming into this one both still vying to stay within Touch of first place in their division Toledo sets the pace and both the Eagles and the Huskies need a win today to stay over 500 in division play and welcome everybody along with Forest Connelly I'm dug Sherman so glad you're with us here today and truly we are at the midpoint of the season and both of these teams still have a lot to play for well both these teams come into this ball game on two game winning streaks both of these teams feel really good about where they are and both are still in the fight for a conference Championship albeit some things have to happen outside of their control they are still in it they just have to worry about what they can control and that is today's ball game today under windy conditions and ter Run game for NIU will be Key Well he does all the intangibles he's got the speed the balance the agility and the vision to take it to the house so Eastern Michigan will have to do a good job of keeping an eye on him and keeping a hat on a hat to not let him get out of control and do what he does best meanwhile one of the guys trying to keep him in check for Eastern Michigan Micah Coleman well Micah Coleman has extreme length at 6'5 250 lbs six tackles one sack one tackle for loss one back hurry last week he is a gamer he's a guy that the Northern Illinois offensive line has to do a good job of blocking on the outside and it'll be interesting to see how those tackles do if they can keep their shoulders Square to the line of scrimmage and not give up a short Corner because that is what he's looking for to get to the quarterback and as you can see it's going to be a challenge for the quarterbacks on the passing games today 62° feels much colder despite the sunshine because of that wind and so for the quarterbacks and for the kick ERS it won't be easy that's Austin Smith the quarterback for Eastern Michigan and Rocky Lombardi the starting quarterback for Northern Illinois Eastern Michigan won the coin toss and deferred and so will kick off from the 35 yd line left to right with the wind it carries all the way back into the end zone Billy doer made the catch but it'll come out to the 35 yd line and we are underway here at Husky Stadium well there's Rocky Lombardi the Michigan State grad transfer who spent three years in East Lancing and he is now a three-time captain of this team and he's got a really high ceiling he's a veteran who can get things done he definitely can and I think it all revolves again around antario Brown if he can get that rushing attack going he allows Lombardo to have man coverage on the outside one-on-one coverage and that's what every quarterback looks for and loves is the opportunity to go vertical with the passing game on the year he is completing 58% of his passes six touchdowns four interceptions but he has been solid the last 3 weeks they open up with a Jet Sweep keeping the ball on the ground a big hit at the 32 yd line and it is a first down run by Trayvon Rudolph we're going to see a lot of that and one of the things you'll see early with this Northern Illinois ball Club is they have many many formations so for the defense for Eastern Michigan you've got to play your Keys you can't get caught up with the eye candy all of the pre-nap movement you have to play your keys the single set back is antario brown third leading rusher in the MAC at nearly 93 yards per carry trying to find Brock lampy and that play was blown up by the man we highlighted off the top from the defensive end Micah Coleman and that do you see the athletic ability here the play is designed to allow m Coman to flash down towards the quarterback but he's athletic enough to recognize that this was a playaction pass and he got up the field to the quarterback so you have to get a hat on a hat you cannot trick him he's a very intelligent player and you saw it on that play both coaching staffs this week repeatedly pointed out how good Coleman is now and that he is just scratching the surface on third down Lombardi with time dumps it off over the middle a big hit after the first down is picked up nice job to hold on to the football by Gavin Williams out of the backfield for a 5yd pickup and my notes on Joe spasio is square chin and you see it right there that is a football play that is an old school line them up head on the hat good job almost could be considered targeting because he hit with the crown of his helmet so it'll be interesting to see if they take a look at that now whistles Blow from the officials and we will see well that man is the tackling leader in the ma he is fourth in the country at 11.6 tackles per game the previous play under a viw for a potential targeting foul and if indeed spasio is found guilty of targeting that will be a huge blow to this defense for emu definitely a huge blow when you look at the play I think what they're looking at one did he launch he did hit with the crown of his helmet and I think that is what they're looking at right now and from what I see the angle that I see it looks like targeting because of hitting with the crown of his helmet now he did hit him in the chest but once again this is for the safety of the players you want players to keep their head up with the when they're making a tackle you're rather see his face mask hit the chest as opposed to the crown of the helmet hit the chest of the uh offensive player so it's going to be interesting to see what the replay officials determine on this play but I think that crown of the helmet is what they're looking at right now and that will be be good final determination as to whether or not this is sched a targeting play El spasio is a second-year gred transfer he spent time at Boston College but his playing time declined after Steve adio was fired Joe is a coach's kid his dad Billy was a running back at Colgate University back in the day and Joe is a playmaker just a missile a fast aggressive competitive player and kind of a neck roll guy both of their linebackers bring that sort of mentality right from the start and you talk about if he gets kicked out of this game he's fourth in the country in tackles at 11.6 per game so that will be a huge loss and you can say see head coach Chris kraton hoping for that not to be the case but he and Chase Klein the two linebackers are one and two in the league and fourth and sixth nationally 11.6 tackles a game and 11.5 tackles per game and they are continuing to check to see if joose fasio is going to be called for targeting if you're Eastern Michigan that is not a good sign cuz I think we got our answer after it's been determined that there is aou targeting so 1 minute and 8 seconds into the game Eastern Michigan loses one of its heart and soul guys to targeting well they lose their leading tackler and once again he hit with the crown of his helmet and you basically got a defenseless player and so this is for the protection not only for the offensive player but for the defensive player as well because you can hurt yourself hitting someone like that with the clown of your helmet and so now Zach mochan Elijah Williams Luke Cameron the other backup linebackers will have to fill some huge shoes alongside Chase Klein for the rest of the afternoon with the penalty into Eastern Michigan territory the pass a little bit behind Trayvon Rudolph the leading receiver available today for the huskys and on that play I think if Lombardi calms down and I think when you look at quarterbacks sometimes when you see your guy wide open uh like he what Rudolph was on that play you get excited and you let the ball go but you've got to be able to gauge this win because it's a very strong wind out here and you need to lead your player so I think if he led Rudolph on that play he still be running because there was no defender in front of him well Northern Illinois is driving into this wind direct snap Brown keeps the play alive and gets dropped at about midfield for a loss of a yard once again number 11 in the back field making plays for Eastern Michigan and a good job by the interior defensive players Payton price uh Tim Grant Randall they did a good job of getting push in the middle of that offensive line forcing Browns to try and bounce it to the outside where Michael Coleman was waiting on [Applause] him previous play is under review I think on the previous play you had 12 men on the field Eastern Michigan had a player trying to run off the field and I was surprised we didn't see the flag because he was still on the field when the ball was snapped I agree saw the same thing and it appeared that he still had one more step to go to reach the far sideline when the ball was snapped [Music] and so another review Northern Illinois comes in having not turned the football over in its last two games just one penalty and the upset win against Ohio last week playing clean football they are three and four overall on the year two- one in the back West and head coach Thomas hammock in his fifth year truly bleeds Cardinal in Black former star running back himself now 42 years old now we've got another look watch the top of the [Music] screen certainly looked like the defensive player was still on the field when the ball was [Music] snapped I think right now for Eastern Michigan they just got to settle down you lose your top tackler uh and now affects your defense after defense so we have AAL sub defense that's a 5yd penalty from the previous spot second [Applause] down again will freeze it as the ball was snatched see at the 40 yard line the eagle is still clearly on the field and so a less than clean start to the game defensively for Eastern Michigan and is now second down and five Rudolph the motion man Lombardi hands it off running left tackle with lots of room and Tero Brown inside the 25 yd line and this is what makes him such a dangerous Runner he allows the blocks to develop he follows his blockers up the field and then when he gets to the open field he breaks tackles so you have to make sure you get a hat on the hat when antario Brown is running coming up through the hole after the 20yd pickup they get the ball into the hands of one of their other Playmakers Rudolph up the sideline inside the 10yd line he picks up 13 and it looks like it could be first and goal they're going to Mark him out of bounds right at the 10 and you see what noro is doing they're lining up on the football once again all the formations that they they keep the same Personnel in the ball game so the defense has to be able to react and be able to respond to what they see Northern Illinois wide Anderson able to pick his way down to the seven yd line well they're going to Mark him down at the eight but in this situation I think about the height for the receiving room for the Huskies you've got Davis Patterson at 64 Grayson Barnes at 65 the leading tight end Chris Carter 6' s you would think there might be mismatches on a jump ball the one thing that's difficult about that right now is the win yes so when you throw that jump ball the wind can get the ball and bring it down or can take the ball where you don't want it to go so you have to kind of be mindful of that if you're looking to throw that jump pass they did Mark it at the seven so second and goal Rudolph again the receiver in motion the running back Gavin Williams goes out into the flat takes the pass turns and meets a couple of Eagle Defenders who tackle him at the 5 yd line a gain of two that'll bring up third down and goal and a good job by the us the Michigan defense keeping everything in front of them being able to ID where the ball is going one of the guys I look for when they're down in the red zone is Brock lampy number 49 he does an excellent job of blocking at the point of attack and creating opportunities for his offensive teammates no doubt lampy is your guy although I don't see him on the field on Third and goal for this play Lombardi dropping straight back has plenty of time PPS still looking into the end zone throws and it's incomplete to bring up fourth down and five but there is a flag on the play and you see how the wind took the ball on that play and I think that's the difficulty you're going to see throughout the afternoon personal fouling the passer Defense number zero half the distance to the goal automatic first out and he made contact with the quarterback helmet and I think that is why they made that call you cannot make contact above the shoulders on the quarterback it's not a huge you know it's not a a a you know a just an out ABN normal contact but you cannot make that contact above the shoulders of a quarterback and once again that's to protect the players I know defensive players don't like it he's making kick a field goal with this wind out of the eye formation Brown spins off a tackling into the end zone touchdown Northern [Applause] Illinois and a good job by the offensive tackle excuse me offensive line getting pushed at the point of attack and once again that guy lampy the guy I was talking about earlier number 49 you see him coming through leading away bam he makes contact with the linebacker in the hole allowing Brown to cut off of that block and get to the end zone Elijah Williams did everything he could to try and stop the play but once again he made contact at the point of attack allowing Brown to bounce to the outside and get the [Applause] touchdown Northern Illinois in this big divisional game scores on a 76 yd Drive 7 nothing Huskies we love our house the outdoor space is great but we do have invasive weeds I think we got in the house I think you're right and particular rose bush stay away from my family why are you so strong at least Geo makes bundling my home in car insurance easy we save so much you want me to get the spray stuff get the spray stuff where is he he's up here for bundling Made Easy Go to g.com there's DNA then there's heavy duty DNA hdna it's what every GMC Sierra HD driver is born with and it's engineered into every aspect of the GMC Sierra HD with the pulling power to prove it the new 2024 GMC Sierra HD tow hitches of the world prepare for Glory [Music] jle jle Wile Wile jle jle jle jle Wile Wile Wile Wile jle [Music] jle fashion always came easy to me but when the fashion critics told me to play it safe I decided to call and audible does that make me a fashion icon sure but inspiration is everywhere if you're listening ignite your imagination audible hey deal lovers here's something new having good taste shouldn't cost you a good deal and in this Hut $7 get you both the allnew $7 deal lovers menu at Pizza Hut because it's only a deal if you love it I'm coming in hot back into calb Illinois where the Huskies get on the board first under the direction of Thomas Hammond who 13 years ago told then Deputy ad sha Frasier he would someday be niu's head coach well eight years later ad Shan Frasier made a profit and a head coach out of hammock has his team looking to get back to 500 on the season and moved to three and one in the division and on the flip side Chris kraton trying to fire up his troops after a sloppy start to the football game his two linebackers who they rely so much on one has been ejected for targeting Joe bar IO and the other Chase Klein on third down was the one who had roughing the quarterback that allowed for the drive to continue and for the huskys to punch it in both of those young men play with a lot of aggression and I don't think there was anything intentional on both plays they're just hard no football players trying to make a play for their ball club and for Klein losing his partner in the middle spasio he probably is thinking I've got to step it up a little bit more than I am already stepping ended up with over 11 tackles of ball game to make up for the loss of my Wrecking Crew partner in the middle big hit at the 35 yd line driving The Return Man backwards Dante McMillan one of the backup running backs was just absolutely drilled and that was a great play by number 37 Joey rtin uplifting and driving him and that's what you want to do to those returners youve got to remember this is a ball club that has three returns for touchdowns this season five since 2020 so you want to make sure you put a hat on the hat on that return team and let them know this is not going to be one of those ball games where you get another one of those returns well in a homecoming game for Samson Evans he gets the start at tailback alongside the quarterback Austin Smith first play from scrimmage for this offense is a pass play the pass is complete across the 35 yd line and a big hit by Jacob Finley on the tackle after a four- yd pickup and there is Austin Smith a dual threat quarterback a junior from Ellenwood Georgia who he needs to take care of the football here today definely does and I like what the coaching staff did early give him an Easy Pass start to build up confidence you want to get your quarterback into a rhythm so I like that early Quick Pass that they started this ball game off offensively with and now Jaylen Jackson is in there at running back ball comes loose Smith picks it back up and he fires again incomplete a good lucky bounce for Austin Smith that that football came right back to him it's interesting that theyve started out with two pass plays and they're trying to go with the play action pass on this play he tried to go with the pump fake but the ball got away from him he was able to not panic get possession of the football and throw it out of bounds but very interesting in a game with the wind that we're seeing out here that they come out and pass the ball on the first two [Applause] plays third down and six Smith looking left the whole way finds an open man and it's a first down and more inside the 40 yd line goes Blake Daniels and out of bounds on a big pass play from Austin Smith and this is one of the things that the Northern Illinois coaching staff talked to us about the tight ends for Eastern Michigan and being able to keep an eye on those guys because they've got two tight ends uh with great sides they do a good job of finding pockets in the zone and sitting down for their quarterback you see on that play Blake Daniels is able to squeeze the football and then he has athletic ability to turn to the outside and get up the field Samson Evans back in the back field the fourth leading touchdown maker among all active college football players rumbles ahead inside the 20yd line and nice Movement by the offensive line on that play everybody's firing out with the flatb guys are making contact on that second step and they're getting movement at the point of attack Samson Evans from nearby Crystal Lake Illinois it's about an hour from here he uh is said to have roughly 50 friends and family members who have come here to Husky Stadium to Rude on the former Iowa Hawkeye and they say he is much closer to 100% he's been dinged up this year keep giving it to the big man he's got that running style that will just keep those feet moving four touchdowns in his last three games and that'll bring up third down and manageable in the red zone and Samson Evans is one of those fall forward backs no matter how hard he gets hit no matter if there's nothing there he's going to fall forward and that's what you look for from your power backs interesting enough 34 career touchdowns all rushing the all time touchdown maker in the history of this Eastern Michigan program one of the legends to ever wear the Eastern Michigan football uniform former High School quarterback but a running quarterback at that they just keep feeding in the football and to positive results a first down for Eastern Michigan what Eastern Michigan is doing they're making Northern Illinois think because they're going to tights to the left side of the formation but they're running to the weak side of the formation with the running back so when You' got those two tights you make the defense react to that and load that side but they're running opposite of that and I would think now inside the 15 yd line you would just keep feeding it to number 22 he was asked to give his senior share to the team last night on this homecoming which is a weekly event for Chris kraton to pick out one of his seniors to tell the teammates what football means to him here goes number 22 again with those Square shoulders inside the 10 yd line big pickup on first down and right now this offensive line is doing a good job of settling in and continuing to win at the point of attack you see black jerseys going backwards watch the green and white jerseys watch the white jerseys with the green excuse me with the gr numbers watch how they fire off with flatbacks four carries for 17 yds on this drive for Samson [Applause] [Music] Evans Smith gives it to Evans inside the five Falls forward to the 2yd line going to be very near a first down and indeed it is a first and goal on the fifth run of this drive for Samson Evans how about this the active rushing touchdown leader in the country from Michigan Blake corm has 43 then Garrett Sher from Syracuse and Rasheen Ali from Marshall have 35 and Evans could join them for the second most if he punches it in here which I feel very confident he's going to get the football I would keep giving it to number 22 in white as well indeed they do Evans able to get close there's the signal touchdown Eastern Michigan career touchdown number 35 for Samson Evans see once again watch the offensive line firing off the football movement at the point of attack right where Evans is running the football you see black jerseys in in the end zone that is what you're looking for from your offensive line on the goal line you want to see those guys basically get on all fours and bear crawl and uproot those Defenders to get them pushed backwards Jesus Gomez with the pat it is good so a nine playay 65 yd Drive capped off by Samson Evans he's familiar with the endzones in the mac and he's gotten there one more [Music] time [Music] a L'Oreal group we support Innovative projects that help restore damaged ecosystems more than 2 million Acres of ecosystems will be restored by 2030 this is how we create the beauty that moves the world your first home sees a lot of Firsts from first loves to First Steps sure it can be a handful of times keeping you up at night come on now but with help from the Home Depot thank you very much you'll find the confidence to create the first place you call your own the Home Depot how doers get more done there's a saying in Louisiana that's been handed down for Generations pass a good time it means whenever friends and family get together good time s and good food is definitely on the table Tony sash's famous Creole seasoning has always been part of that celebration whether it's in the kitchen or at the table it adds authentic Louisiana flavor to your favorite foods and smiles to your favorite faces so remember to pass a good time and the Tony sasher Tony sasher makes everything taste great to some folks college football is a few humdrum hours on a Saturday to the rest of us it's sacred it's a yearly pilgrim to the hills of Rocky toop it's having your own Safe Haven deep Behind Enemy Lines a place to reunite with your actual family of five and your chosen family of 105,000 so go on then get together and turn all those away games into home games in a verbo all your own football away baby to know hockey is to love hockey the NHL on ESPN and ESPN plus super racing yes guys [Applause] 7 seven our score and you see the wrench on the shoulder of the player in the background there that is not just a prop that is a symbol of this Eastern Michigan football program better than 50 lbs and in game it never touches the ground it's also been to the top of Pike's Peak it's a big part of the camarad built by head coach Chris kraton that every one of his seniors and his new staff members go to color each July and Summit Pikes Peak that's 13/2 miles in altitude to 14,000 115 ft and that wrench goes along with it and I find it interesting hearing everybody's got a story in the program if you have been around coach kraton he's been doing this sort of thing for better than a quarter century and I love that his defensive coordinator Ben Needum told us this week yeah I like coach kraton but I was cursing him for the first eight hours and then I stopped cursing him because I passed out out those are big man problems and that is why I told Coach kraton I would not do that there are certain things that you have to understand as a big man are your limitations and climbing a mountain uh is one of those things that we just don't do and there is coach needam he said he woke up on the mountain with 20 people staring down at him he was quite proud of the fact though that he didn't need to be airlifted out he got himself back up and back down the mountain well that's Pride Pride will get you back down that mount because you'll never be able to live down them having to send a helicopter up there to get you well coach need him back in 2018 as a new coach went on that climb and he didn't quite make it all the way to the top and I don't think he asked coach kraton to say can I go again the second year I think one and done and that was plenty 526 remaining first quarter Northern Illinois with the football for the the second time here today andario Brown who a couple of weeks ago received a helmet sticker from the college football final guys on ESPN he was the M West offensive player of the week and why not he carried the football just 13 times against akan and rushed for 280 yards and four touchdowns and that was an amazing game because I was there to witness it and he did everything that you could ask for running back to do uh he showed all of the intangibles that you look for in great running backs vision uh an ability to uh break tackles strength uh speed when he got to the outside and that bounce out ability when the play wasn't there as it was drawn up four touchdowns that day and we will take a break with Timeout on the field 520 remaining in the [Applause] quarter imagine a lifetime spent waiting waiting for a family waiting to be loved older and special need shelter dogs wait the longest to find loving people that's why Subaru and our retailers have donated over $51 million to support over 420,000 animals Subaru more than a car company there's a saying in Louisiana that's been handed down for Generations pass a good time it means whenever friends and family get together good times and good food is definitely on the table Tony sash's famous Creole seasoning has always been part of that celebration whether it's in the kitchen or at the table it adds authentic Louisiana flavor to your favorite foods and smiles to your favorite faces so remember to pass a good time and the Tony sasher Tony sasher makes everything taste great this is not just a shot this is protection Made Easy for those who've got plans get your free flu and Co 19 vaccines in one trip [Music] [Music] ISE for we are State Side fantastic checko superb racing yes guys hey we different bre and I stand on it yeah we too yeah baby NBA opening week continues tonight on ESPN we've been living it since day one nothing held back all for the love of soccer there's a look up into the Press Box of this Stadium Husky Stadium that has been here since the mid 1960s on a Blustery Day inal Illinois with Forest connley I'm Doug Sherman this University is celebrating the anniversary 60 years ago Northern Illinois won a national championship for small colleges in football that was 60 years ago and that was kind of the Catalyst to getting this facility built within the couple of years after that in the mid 1960s Rocky Lombardi at quarterback and keep an eye on number 49 in Black again I think that's Forest favorite it's clearly your favorite husky is he your favorite Mac player this year they run the other way on second down a short pickup I would say so because of all the little things that he does he's just a football player when we talk about guys that want to do whatever it takes Eastern Michigan their second the half please put 55 at clock when you talk about guys that just do all of the little things to help your team win he can have a great game and not touch the ball the entire ball game and that's what I think makes him stand out I've seen plays where he's blocked two or three players at a time on a particular play and he does all of the Dirty Work you know you see guys nowadays they want to get all the shine they want to get the football they want to score the touchdowns of course I think he would love to do that and when opportunity presents itself he does but when opportunity is not there to score per se with him carrying the football he is just as excited to make that play happen for his teammates but he can make it for himself he had a touchdown at Boston College that gave NIU a 21-7 lead of course the Huskies went on to win that game in overtime taking down their ACC rival but lampy when he gets the football he's money on third down and short and as you say does all the little things that a former walk-on from Kenosha Wisconsin might do now on scholarship one of 21 former Walk-Ons now on scholar ship for Northern Illinois flag comes behind the play as the Eastern Michigan Defense loads up and pushes the ball carrier back to the 25 yd line and once again they are stout at the point of attack and not allowing the Defenders to get [Music] movement now the Eagles say they came away with the football and indeed Chase Klein is holding [Music] it [Applause] and if you look to the right side of your screen you're going to see a blocker engaged excuse me the left side of your screen you can't be engaged and have another blocker come and make contact with that individual yeah the right tackle Nolan Potter went low and Pete number 50 the center stayed high so that's your chop block and drop it to fourth down and a short six and that brings the punt team out Tom Foley boots it away and it lands at about the 35 yd line and will come to rest at about the 29 yd line as Hamel zah didn't want any part of that ESPN plus is the home for more than 40 MAC football games and plenty of women's soccer matches including these tomorrow akan host Miami Ohio and too host Kent State both at 1 Eastern and next Saturday the featured college football game is a Michigan Mac Trophy match up Western takes on Eastern at 1 Eastern if you're a Mac fan go to ESPN plus.com to sign up by the way that castle is altg Hall one of four at universities in this state built by the former Governor John elel he apparently liked Castle so one of the beautiful structures here in [Applause] dacal trying to run to the left side Austin Smith couldn't get to the edge able to pick up two yards and something to keep an eye on Austin Smith has a little hitch in his giddy right now so let's see if that's going to affect him being able to perform at the quarterback position but a good job of him getting to the outside getting as many yards as he can and getting out of bounds on a play that had nothing going for it Samson Evans the running back Tanner canoe their top receiver in motion he takes the pitch gets hit out of bounds and a flag comes just a terrible play defensively for the huskys and number two Javon B you have to know better than that he's out of bounds you've got to just let him go I know you want to make a play but you cannot make contact with the player once he's been established as being out of bounds well Northern Illinois rightly so makes a lot out of its former Walk-Ons here's a former walk on Tanner [Music] canoe automa first and I think for bird is teetering on the edge but you knew he was going out of bounds so I understand why the officials made that call there could be an argument made that he partially was in bounds but at the same time you knew he was going out of bounds so bird you can't cannot make those type of plays and give them you know better field position and it easy first down that moves the Eagles out to the 46 yd line and expect a heavy dose of can Tanner canoe number one of the Mac in catches per game he has caught a pass in 31 consecutive games Smith to the air goes the other way JB Mitchell thei Out of Bounds at about the 43 yd line that'll move the chains first down Eagles after pick up of nine especi those pretty comfortable passing the football in this win he came into this game last week he had nine uh who's n of 25 36% 118 yds and but he looks very comfortable right now passing the football the receivers is doing a good job of giving him good targets to throw to and it'll be interesting to see if next quarter Eastern Michigan is as wanting to throw the football because they are with the win here in the first Jackson nowhere to go and he gets d thrilled at the 46 yd line and that play was made by the defensive tackle James eser number one he got penetration into the back field allowing the linebackers and everyone else to flow downhill that's what you want from your interior Defenders to get push at the point of attack not allowing those guards or centers to climb up to your second level Defenders and the Eastern Michigan coaches said of the two defensive tackles for Northern Illinois Esther and Ali they're a problem [Music] [Applause] on second and 11 Smith Under Pressure gets rid of the football it's caught but no yards after the catch for Blake Daniels who was dropped right in place after just a three- yd pickup and you see what Northern Illinois is doing they walk Tyler Jackson number zero the linebacker up into the Gap but at the snap of the football he dropped back into coverage that's what you want to do then Lafayette as well so you want to walk those linebackers up you want to give the offense you know something different than what you're actually playing because you want to make it a guessing game you want those linemen to try and figure out and decide decipher who they're going to block and mess up their blocking schemes after the official gets the football back in place following the wind blowing it out of place we're ready for third down Smith has a clean pocket contct as the ball was getting there but no flag trying to find Terry Lockett Jr junior receiver from Minneapolis he went down as the pass was in flight but no flag and they brought the blitz on that play but I thought the offensive line did a pretty good job I thought Smith could have stepped up in the pocket the tackles need to do a better job of keeping the width of that pocket so that means they've got to keep their shoulders Square to the line of scrimmage get three kick steps backwards then you can turn and run those defensive ends past the level of the quarterback but if they get with in the pocket they allow him to have a little bit more time but I did think he had a little bit of space to step up in the pocket and make a better throw Mitchell thomask one of the better punters in the mat trying to angle it out of bounds able to get it down inside the 5 yd line Thomas saac has a huge leg but he's also got the touch and ability to do exactly that and I like what the offensive player did he waited and he got the football he didn't get a chance looked like it was going to bounce out of bounds but he made sure to get that down inside the five sometimes guys try to get it all the way down to the one or zero yard line right before it gets to the end zone and they lose it and the ball actually bounces into the end zone so you have to be careful so I like what he did down in that ball on the three yd line now Thomas saac was a record setting quarterback in Worthington kilborn High School in Columbus his great grandfather played football at Ohio State he is a punter and gives the football back after a 38 yd punt downed inside the 5yd line rocky Lombardi hands it off andario Brown forward progress out near the 10 yd line for the junior out of Beach High School from Savannah Georgia given five on the carry and you see the defense for Eastern Michigan showing that bear look they've got all the offensive lineman covered basically 11 players down in the Box the thing that's dangerous about that it's good to stop the run but if you get a player like antario brown to the second level and there's no one there you know now you have trouble so they have to be careful they have to make sure they get stopped at the point of attack because you don't want to allow him to get to the second level and there's no Defenders there to stop it Lombardi decides to run the football and gets crunched by a couple of Defenders Micah Coleman came in to finish him off but I thought that was a good job by Lombardi recognizing what he needed to get the first down he saw the yardage there he did not try and force it because once again he's throwing Against the Wind so you don't want to try and force a football your job is to get the first down get keep the drive moving and then when the second quarter comes you can focus on throwing the ball because you'll be throwing with the win and it seemed like he bobbled the snap at the start as well throw things off so he did the smart thing exactly a lot of times quarterbacks panic when they Bobble a snap he did a good job of ging control of the football and doing what he needed to do to get the first down so now the wild cat antario Brown waits for his blockers and that then allows the defensive players to come and take him down nicely well defended that'll be our final play of the quarter after a three- yd loss this is we will head to break and even first 15 minutes at Husky Stadium on a windy day in deal the ground games are dominating tied at seven Eagles and [Music] Huskies [Music] how easy is life in the new Buick Encore GX piece of cake I was going to say easy as pie but that's way better backing up with your Buick it's a walk in the park or you know a kayak in the park staying connected is a breeze with Wi-Fi and unlimited data what's the password you'll be hearing that a lot life's easier in the new 2024 Buick Encore GX at Belgard outdoor living and heartscape design are all about bringing you moments like these create your space create your moments with Bard rooms PR J in the night my man hand bu with my fried rice R what could you not love bu a slice on the side of the hot tub g r u b ESPN plus gets you ready for the NFL all season long get high likes every week with NFL Prime Time and live games return week 11 with a Super Bowl rematch stream the NFL all season long with ESPN [Music] plus we've been living it since day one glorious beautiful [Applause] true nothing held back all for the love of soccer the king of foxing the king of MMA Fury versus enanu Buy It Now on ESPN plus pay-per-view here's where Legends are born and every match is a spectacle celebration like no other for the love of football for the love of La [Music] Liga superb racing yes guys knowing how filthy Sid's rer is means knowing why goalies lose 10 lbs of sweat every game knowing it's overtime against Conor [Music] McDavid is knowing the game's as good as over knowing the taste of Victory is knowing it tastes best out of one particular cup knowing where The Season's biggest events can be seen means knowing you'll never miss one to know hockey is to love hockey the NHL on ESPN and ESPN plus nothing held back All For the Love of soccer start of the second quarter Eastern Michigan in Northern Illinois Chris Krate and his team is looking for its fifth win of the season but he told us this week we haven't had our moment yet we've got four wins yes but have yet to feel euphoric haven't played well in all phases meanwhile on the other side coach hammock says of Northern Illinois even though they're very much in the race for the division championship the dream is still alive of getting to Detroit he doesn't want to Broach that subject right now with his players that was a little bit shocking to me when you look around this Stadium you see all the championship banners this is a team that's 2 years removed from a conference Championship uh so they have those aspirations every season but one thing again coach hammock is you know everything that embodies NIU football and he gets it and I think what he's looking at is the New Age player and taking it one game at a time and not trying to look too far ahead because once again again you can only worry about what you can control and if you start looking ahead you start looking at what other teams are doing and what you need to happen outside of what you need to be doing yourselves as a football player yeah Thomas hammock and his wife Shena both were students here at Northern Illinois together that's where they met the middle name of their son is Douglas named for the dormatory coach hammock lived in back when he was a star running back Lombardi puts some air underneath it and has a man but just overthrew his intent receiver Jaylen Johnson so again as soon as Northern Illinois gets the wind at its back they're not afraid to take a deep shot and they caught him in that Barrel look you've got man coverage on the outside he ran away from the defender he just put a little bit too much on the football and once again when you haven't thrown with this win you cannot gauge how the wind is going to carry that football and you saw the ball start to carry as the receiver got closer to it Tom Foley with with the wind at his back hits a booming punt that sends the return that all the way back to the 10 and quite a break for Eastern that that football made it all the way to the end zone for a Touchback 79 yd punt just a remarkable boot for the Minnesota transfer well that flips the field could have turned out a lot better for Northern if anybody could have gotten there and covered it but it took an Eastern bounce into the end zone so it comes out to the 20 yd line and now into the wind I wonder how much they will ask Austin Smith to throw the football he threw it frequently and was fairly efficient with [Applause] it on first down Sam Evans straight ahead and he is hit almost immediately gets about to the 21 yd line for a pickup of one before being driven back by a host of husky Defenders and I think what you'll see from the Northern Illinois defense now is more aggressive up the field defense because they are not as afraid of the pass game because now you've got Eastern going into the wind so it be more difficult for them to try and pass the ball down the field so you'll see that box a little bit more crowded and and they'll focus on stopping the Run game that we saw Eastern Michigan have success with early in the first quarter and we have yet to see canoe who is in motion targeted with a pass comes in having caught 30 passes this year most per game in the league now they do find him on the screen and to just get the football into the hands out of the Speedy grad student from Mason Ohio who grew up primarily playing basketball he wears the deuce which for this program means a lot it usually requires a lot of lot of discussion among the coaching staff who's going to get to we the number two but this year it was a no-brainer that he gets the deuce and I want to highlight that was a great job by Brian douly number 77 to pick up that Blitz on the outside Samson Evans just bigger than some of the guys trying to tackle him Javon bird at 6286 looked like he had a good angle and he just bounced off the running back but once again what Eastern Michigan is doing a good job of is climbing to those second level Defenders the offensive tackle the offensive guards are getting up to that second level and covering up those linebackers and when you're playing against a 425 defense like both teams run you're going to have smaller quicker guys so when those Big Fellas get to the second level they allow for angles for those backs to cut off of nyd pick up for Evans keep it on the no the fake the hand off and the pass deflected and Falls [Music] incomplete Jaden dolphin the linebacker from Des Plains Illinois coming in to make the big play to deflect the pass from Austin Smith and dolphin is one of the more athletic linebackers He Walked on to this team as a safety so you had some of that quick twitch that you see from backend Defenders and you saw him be able to react and get up in the air and knock that football down well you might remember two years ago dolphin had a 59 yd pick six against Eastern Michigan off of a deflected pass he has those ball skills and the speed to take it to the house so now third down and one Evans lowers his shoulders and bruises his way for a first down and they ran behind number 68 and number 77 and that's the strong part of this offense line you've got Brian douer the preseason first team All-American and Alex Hoy a shot putter in high school so you know he's got strong legs he's got explosion shot Putters have to explode when they throw that shot put so you see the explosion firing off the football from the right side of that offensive line and duly number 77 two-time team captain who is tying City South's program record today for both games and game started by an Eastern Michigan offensive lineman City sou fourth round draft pick of the New England Patriots last year now playing for the PS Evans plows forward for again it's not Flash it's not sexy but it's positive yardage on first down and I tell you what it does as an offensive lineman one of the things we love to do is demoralize a defense and when you just go straight at him you know and you just run the football directly downhill between the tackles and you are successful with that and you're getting four and five yards a pop you start to demoralize that defense and get them on their heels and you see that so what that'll do is bring more players down into the box and give the quarterback aie Smith one-on-one opportunities on the outside pressure on the edge picked up Smith has another pass deflected and it winds up hitting the turf falling incomplete and what I did not like about that play Austin Smith is fading back when he's throwing the football you've got to step into that throw you've got to be able to realize where those Defenders are move side to side use the pocket to your advantage he had time in the pocket move side to side you've got to get the ball to your put a little bit more air under the the football you know where that pressure's coming from get away from that it'll be interesting to see if the Eastern Michigan coaches start to Sprint him outside the pocket to give him a little bit more Comfort I don't know if he's comfortable as he needs to be in the pocket right now that was dolphin with another tipped pass so it brings up third down Eastern three of four today on third sets up the screen make a man miss elot he's got room with a blocker inside the 30 it's punched out of bounds but goes out out of bounds a big break for Eastern Michigan but a bigger play puts them inside the Red Zone hamzi El and he did a good job of using the aggression of the Norland Illinois defense against them and a better job of el zot breaking that tackle to get to the outside Tyler Jackson had him tackled had him lined up but he was able to break to the outside and you saw the speed and once again he better be lucky he was running towards the out of bounds towards the sideline because they punched that ball out and if he wasn't running that way with that angle the ball would have still been in play yeah Javon bird punched it but out of bounds after a 36 yd pass and run Evans mat right around the line of scrimmage and tackled but again it's positive yardage dein Lafayette the linebacker making the Stop and I tell you what I'm looking for soon Austin Smith to pull that ball out the belly of the uh running back and get around the edge because if you watch the defensive ends Thomas and gums are crashing down because they've been successful running Evans between the tackles so I'd look for Smith to pull that ball out the belly eventually and get around the [Music] [Applause] edge now Jaylen Jackson the running back Smith looking to pass flushed and is tackled as he goes out of bounds by Roy Williams former High School wrestler at Allen B sheeper high school Crestwood Illinois he started the first five games of the year but he's been replaced by George gums but Williams still a key piece of that rotation up front on defense and a good job by Smith you know he got outside the pocket tried to allow the play to develop did not see what he liked did not see a safe throw got as many yards as he possibly could and got out of bounds that's what you want to see from your quarterback position if it's not there how it's drawn up either throw it away or get as many yards as you can and get down don't take any unnecessary NE contact from The Defenders now let's see if Williams 97 or Thomas number four the two ends or somebody else comes here comes the Blitz and Smith has to just get rid of the football to bring up fourth [Applause] down and they brought one too many Defenders for the offense to block and smithed all that he could with that football he got rid of it tried to get it to a receiver he saw it was not going to be able to get it to him so threw it out of bounds the saf play but what you have to do as a quarterback you have to recognize that because the defense will give it away they'll give you little keys that they're bringing that Blitz hold that snap count allow your offensive line to decipher where the blitz is coming from so they'll have a better opportunity to try and pick up all of those Defenders so a 34 yd field goal into the wind Jesus Gomez and it is good young man who goes by Zeus or Jesus see the way he's Godlike rips it right through the wind for a 107 Eastern Michigan lead we love our house it's on a great block Treeline streets the neighbors are observant and we're back at the Sullivan house it's Lae Sheila and the leaves are piling up a bit of an ey sore I'll say dry shave interesting technique that's going to come back to haunt him some people clean while they cook not these folks at least Geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy saves us a ton if only they'd bundled the leaves you know I wouldn't have pegged these two as yogis I still don't for bundling Made Easy Go to geo.com there's DNA then there's heavy duty DNA H DNA it's engineered into every aspect of the GMC Sierra HD with the pulling power to prove it tow hitches of the world prepare for Glory wow can luxury connoisseurus tell the difference between an expensive mascara and lash Paradise are you ready to put your makeup expertise to the test this one is is the more expensive one that one is lash Paradise I am sold it's confirmed you don't have to pay for Lux results you never know what the weather will bring rainex water repellency wiper blades apply the magic of rainex to your windshield so water beads up and flies away the improved water beading technology lasts longer so you see clearly season after season let the weather drive you inside never reex outsmart the elements find rainx water appellancy wiper blades at these [Music] retailers that looks really high it is high whenever you're ready are there any sticks NOP you sure here we go it's time to push your [Music] limits you're doing [Music] great w is that a buffalo bab that's a cow the all new Subaru cross Trek Wilderness Adventure on the edge the college football playoff semi-finals and the college football playoff national championship on [Music] ESPN back at Husky Stadium in dcal Illinois on a breezy October afternoon here's a best chance to win the title according to our All State Playoff predictor Oklahoma 22% Ohio State 19% Penn State down to 99.2% Florida State at 8.8 Michigan 8.5 entering week eight any thoughts on that I think uh Florida State should be at 22% maybe Oklahoma the way the Oklahoma look today against UCF you know there's some questions to be answered with that team but they are doing very well that was a great game against Texas Gabriel the kid you know uh he's a UCF transfer so it's interesting he got to play against his whole teammates and they were able to pull that out today uh but there's some quality ball clubs right now and we got a long way to go Florida State's got a tough ball game this evening against a Duke ball club with one loss it'll be interesting to see if the quarterback uh Leonard plays uh for Duke this evening but um there's a long way to go and there's a lot of great teams and there are some one lost teams that I think are still in it I think Texas is still in it I think uh Alabama's still in it uh so there's just a lot of opportunity left for ball clubs and we just got to let this thing play out he's former seals offensive lineman Forest Connelly I'm Doug Sherman and I thought that was very nicely done by the kick team going into the wind to keep the ball low but to keep it in bounds and not allow for either a penalty or for a return as we have a media timeout with 8/19 remaining in the second quarter will step away as well up by a field goal as Eastern Michigan I'm not infallible but my makeup is infallible freshwear Foundation by L'Oreal Paris natural breathable coverage resists transfer and heat with up to 24-Hour wear infallible freshwear Foundation by L'Oreal Paris you're worth it you never know what the weather will bring rainex water repellency wiper blades apply the magic of rainex to your wind Shield so water beads up and flies away the improved water beading technology lasts longer so you see clearly season after season let the weather drive you inside never rainex outsmart the elements find rainex water appellancy wiper blades at these [Music] retailers get ready for hosting at the Home Depot with free delivery on over 2 million items every day so you can refresh your space before Santa or the family comes to town get holiday ready with savings at the Home Depot hey wake up the words in your head you're the only one that can hear them say it yes I can move feel it hold on to this feeling yes I can yes I must watch [Music] me if you're making a to-do list today make it easy on yourself just write down Reese's then write down eat them and then you're kind of done for the day super racing Raiders Lions Monday at 8 on E ESPN and ABC Northern Illinois University is just about an hour west of Chicago that's where we are right now with the hometown huskys trailing the visiting Eagles of Eastern Michigan by a field goal on that last kickoff we went to break because Billy doer was a little slow to get up for Northern Illinois we're glad to see he did pop up and seems to be just fine the Junior from New Lennox Illinois fourth year husky still looking for his first touchdown but a key special teams player for Northern Illinois over the course of the last four years for Thomas hammock and so the huskys offense which has yet to really find its Rhythm All Season Rocky Lombardi their three-time Captain was a four-star recruit coming out of Clive Iowa chose Michigan State first he has his moments and can put up big numbers and again with a wind at his back perhaps this is the quarter where they try to open up the Playbook a little bit to the air on first down it's caught at about the 31 yd line a seven yd pickup to jayen Johnson and I think you'll see more of the Quick Pass game with the wind although they're playing with the wind because the wind will carry the football we saw that on the long vertical route the last drive that they had they had the receiver open uh but the wind picked the ball up and took it farther away from the receiver and he could not get to it so I think you'll see more of the Quick Pass game you want to be able to spin that football out of the quarterback's hands and get it to your receiver from under Center Lombardi Brown not a lot of room to run gets back to the line of scrimmage and nothing more and I thought Brown made a poor decision on that play should have went to the left side behind his fullback prop lamp he had an opportunity he had some space on that side I was surprised that you know with the vision that he has and the way that he runs the football effectively he chose to go to the right side away from his lead blocker on the left guard JJ Lippy number 79 was slow to get up fifth year husky third-year starter had a limp but he stays in the game those offensive linemen are tough for us absolutely Square CH guys that's just a part of what we do third down and four for Norther Lombardi flushed out of the pocket on the Run makes the pass is it a completion indeed it is first down and a nice job by Grayson Barnes to go down and secure the football above the turf but the right tackle Nolan Potter number 69 you've got to do a better job of sitting down he allowed the defender to get under him and push him into the quarterback you've got to sit down in your stance how about Gavin Williams making the first man miss able to get out to the 43 yd line and now the training staff for Eastern comes running out of the field with a eagle slow to get up ID timeout and we will take a break as well with the training staff doing its [Music] thing at belard outdoor living and heartscape design are all about bringing you moments like these create your space create your moments with belluard [Music] [Music] rooms [Applause] [Music] [Music] ESPN plus gets you ready for the NFL all season long get highlights every week with NFL Prime Time and live games return week 11 with a Super Bowl rematch stream the NFL all season long with ESPN plus knowing how filthy Sid's wrer is means knowing why lose 10 lb of sweat every game knowing where The Season's biggest events can be seen means knowing you'll never miss one to know hockey is the love hockey the NHL on ESPN and ESPN plus everyone is ready for Monday Night Football Devonte Adams is ready to lead the silver and black into the lions de Jared G and the pride are on the hunt to take control of the NFC North Raiders Lions Monday at 8 on ESPN and ABC and I stand on it yeah weing too NBA opening week continues tonight on ESPN nothing held back all for the love of soccer Eastern Michigan 10 Northern Illinois 7 620 remaining second quarter on that last tackle Barry Manning number 39 right there suffered what appeared to be a left arm injury he is in the medical tent right now he did get up and run off on his own but in a lot of pain and so the medical staff is taking a look at him hopefully we see number 39 in white back on the field here today second down and five for Northern Illinois three men in motion again keep your eye on number 49 the fullback and Lead Blocker on a lot of plays the Huskies like to do running behind him andario Brown tried to get the edge and how about that man shooting to make the tackle from out of nowhere after a three yd pickup there was nothing more to be gained well I showing that bear look you've got cover one one deep safety and they've got every other player in the box so You' got 10 players in the box so you are committed to stopping the run so when you've got a quarterback like Lombardi of Veteran he has to recognize that audible out of that and get something down the field you're going to get the match up very favorable when you see that but he's got to recognize that I think an audible out of that Elijah Williams playing because Jose verasio was ejected a minute into the game for targeting on that tackle Lombardi on third down incomplete it appeared that Jaylen Johnson had a shot at that but it just went through and it brings up fourth down and seven and that's one of those sideline conversations that receivers have their quarterback but they tell them hey man don't throw that ball to me again when I've got a Defender coming at me like that you don't want to set your receivers up and you have to wonder if Johnson heard footsteps because that looked like a ball that he should have been able to catch and try and make a play with but you've got to know a defender's coming so you got to expect that contact Foley's punt lands Out of Bounds at around the 10 yd line we'll see where they mark it well you never know Jaylen Johnson missed niu's last game hasn't played since Toledo back from injury a big part of the receiving Corp for Northern Illinois timeout here in deal thanks Jake from State Farm I really need to know uh go spicy or go home right what no what if I'm not sure I have the right coverage for my car oh your agent can help me make sure it's just what you need what if I accidentally hit a food truck and it gets covered in abadas you can file a claim on the app that's stay Farm we there for your what ifs thanks [Music] oh that is too spicy that's for you like a good neighbor State Farm is there call or click to get a quote today Nissan has a car every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more Electric at Nissan more is all we do there's DNA then there's heavy duty DNA hdna it's what every GMC Sierra HD driver is born with and it's engineered into every aspect of the GMC Sierra HD with the pulling power to prove it the new 2024 GMC Sierra HD tow hitches of the world prepare for Glory take your lashes to Paradise my outfit designer but my mascara drugstore I mean these results really speak for themselves is that not insane lash Paradise is that good I'm obsessed those new tiles are falling right into place until you run out of what are those called again oh right the Home Depot app is made for doing that doesn't miss a beat so you can find what you need fast and keep things moving in the right direction for doing that doesn't stop download The Home Depot app it's made for doing hey Bob I can't get the game oh you got to get that antenna Mike it's not just football it's Sports and news and all your favorite shows for free yes I got to get an antenna visit the free TV project.org [Music] late second quarter in Cal Illinois Eastern Michigan UP 107 on Northern Illinois and a windy day and depending on which way you are driving the football you either can utilize the passing game or you can't and right now Eastern Michigan gets the football back going into that win and I think we'll see a lot of Samson Evans on this drive like we have early in this ball game running the football between the tackles and so on the toss sweep they run on first down out of Bounds at about the 17 yd line on the carry Jaylen Jackson he picks up six yards terms of the passing though despite the conditions Austin Smith has been very good seven of 11 for 101 yd through the air and he looks very comfortable passing the football [Music] Smith gives to Jackson kicks it outside he is quick when he puts his foot in the ground he can make a Defender look bad but not that time Northern Illinois was ready for him Ray Thomas the team's leading tackler with the stop after a two-y pickup well that was a good job by Thomas and the other Defenders holding that edge and allowing for pursuit to get there you saw Jackson trying to bounce it to the outside but they did a good job of not allowing him to get to that edge and get North and South because we know what he's able to do when he gets in the open field with that speed yeah he averages 4.9 yds per carry this season so now Eastern third and short is four of six on third down this afternoon Samson back in there Samson Evans that [Applause] is and they go to their money man with with one man to beat able to roll off that initial hit and easily picks up an Eastern Michigan first down and once again you see that ball forward ability he gets in the hole and donon Gilbert is there number 23 but he puts his head down you've got to pick your head up you've got to get your feet chopping you've got to make a football play you cannot just put your head down when Samson Evans is coming in the hole because he is moving forward he's going to try to run you over I'm guessing Don Gilbert the last four years at Lafayette didn't run into as many guys like Samson Evans at that level Patriot league is a good FCS league but Samson Evans is a handful he picks up four first down give it back to Evans you're going to have to double and triple team him every time if you try to bring him down by yourself it's not going to work and that's not where I want to see Evans carrying the football he's not a bounc it out guy he's a guy between the T 30 second so I don't idea of having him bounc to the outside I think that's where you want to see Jaylen with that speed be able to bounce it and get North and South with Evans I want him getting the ball downhill between the tackles let's see you know what your manhood is about at the first and second level that's what he is great at that is where he excels and that's why I'd like to see him continue to carry the football I don't think he is as effective running outside of the tackles to the outside trying to bounce it well as mentioned he began his career at Iowa he was a three- star recruit out of Prairie Ridge High School here in Illinois picked Iowa over Iowa State Syracuse Minnesota Illinois but after red shirting in 2018 playing special teams in 2019 he wanted a new start wound up having his recruitment coincide with his younger brother Carter who is a reserve linebacker on the Eastern Michigan team although he is out for the season with injury and their older brother actually played here at Northern Illinois a few years ago again a homecoming for the Evans family some 50 friends and family members who' made the hour or so drive from Crystal Lake here's Smith on second down eludes the rush gets rid of the football and smartly throws it out of bounds on this play number 58 Skyler Gil Howard just ran through the offensive guard he just took him and manhandled him to the side and what you have to do as an offensive lineman you've got to be a to sit down in your hips and hunker down you cannot get caught on your heels you see what happens when a Defender is coming forward well the coaches say Gil Howard has a huge upside a quick twitch kind of guy and it was on display right there to the Chagrin of Zack pantti that's one of those plays that the offensive line coach will continue to rewind and slow slow down next week to tell you what not to do and on third down the rush gets to Smith Devonte om Ali the junior defensive tackle from Midlothian Illinois coming up with a sack give him three and a half now on the year and if you look both tackles opened up that outside shoulder at the snap of the football you've got to kick back three steps then open that outside shoulder because you give a short Corner when you open that shoulder and it's very difficult sometimes for linemen when they look out towards those defensive ends especially when you've got a wide pass rusher because it's natural for your body to open those shoulders so you almost have to kick back looking straight ahead using your peripheral vision for those Defenders and when you get to that third step then you open that outside shoulder because you're at the quarterback's level and you can run them past the quarterback when you open that shoulder like they did right there on the snap of the football you giving guys a direct line to the quarterback and you saw what happened both ends met at the quarterback so the tackles have to do a better job of sitting down kicking back having belief in what their technique is and getting those Defenders past that quarterback level a recruited walk- on former wide receiver now A Difference Maker up front defensively for Northern and now D back deep to return the punt Dane Partridge a local from right here in Deal whose family have been seasoned ticket holders for the Husky since the 1990s his dad was a husky star who had a brief cup of coffee in the NFL Dane however unable to get anything going on that return great coverage by Eastern to make sure that Josh mccardy with that short-handed tackle didn't allow anything more than maybe a yard and right now for Northern Illinois I think they need to kind of settle down a little bit resolv on their first drive going in this direction they had an opportunity with the vertical pass game but the win took the football it'll be interesting to see on this drive if they try to get vertical again with that pass game once again you've got to be very careful so you've got to really spin that football because of the wind and throw a direct shot as opposed to putting air under the football because of what we have right now Northern Illinois continues to play without one of its top receivers injured for the season Casper rut goitz there's lamp on the receiving end big number 49 with a flag behind the play barrels forward close to the first down marker we'll see if it stands and this is why I love this guy he falls down on the ground and gets right back up you know offensive linemen do that that's what I love about him he's a football player I'm going to get back I'm going to get back in this play a lot of guys would just lay there or pout or be angry because that was a play for them and they slipped but this guy got up got the football and got down the field you got to love him well he is Relentless he's got a high football IQ plays a lot of different positions for Coach hammock fullback tight end HB tail back even ineligible downfield offense number 79 5yd penalty first down another one of those those offensive linemen well on that play he's going to lead his back down the field but because lampy falls down I think that is what happens now he's going to be actually yeah he's going up 79 Lippy yeah he's on the opposite side of the field but I think what happens is he's expecting the back to have the ball by that time so it wouldn't be illegal for him to be down the field blocking so it's first down and 15 on the Jet Sweep Rudolph takes the handoff able to pick up seven yards before he's ushered out of bounds second down and [Applause] [Music] eight one thing I've been talking about is Micah Coleman star defensive end for Eastern Michigan he continues to crash down number 11 on that play once again he comes down and you see them able to get around the edge with that Jet Sweep I continue to expect to see the quarterback put the ball in the belly pull it out and get it around the edge with the RPO game so let's watch for that as this game progresses Rudolph has two carries for 22 yds now back to the air Lombardi down the left sideline has a man open it's caught inside the 25 yd line and out of bounds Chris Carter the 6' 7 in Howard University transfer with a huge reception but we have a flag down on the other side of the [Applause] field that's an interesting catch yeah did he have possession before that left foot went out of bounds Kempton shine was all over him again you know a lack of discipline from the offense right now you've got a big play you lose about what 40 or 50 yards on that play because you have to be disciplined with this ball club that they were playing disciplined football they weren't turning the ball all over they had one penalty the last ball game we've seen two penalties on this drive on plays where they've gotten positive yards on the play before with lampy getting about seven or eight yards and on that play about a 45 yd pass play you know because of discipline you cannot have a lack of discipline in the ball game like [Applause] this pass a little bit behind Rudolph who couldn't haul it in that'll bring out third down and 14 that's when you got to talk to your quarterback Lombardi settle down step into your throw don't put too much on it and once again when you're throwing with this win you as a quarterback you're trying to gauge how much to put on the football because you want to make sure it gets there you don't want to get caught in the win but you also have to make sure you put the ball where it needs to be for your receiver to be able to make a play on there's number zero for the day chase kleene the Mike linebacker the hard hat Defender for the week that's that's why he's got number zero on for the Eagles third down Lombardi swings it out Rudolph to the 40 little stop and go inside and do we have another flag indeed we do as Rudolph was tackled at the 46 yd line flag came from the other side of the [Music] field both these teams looking for their third consecutive win and as you mentioned Northern had been clean until now personal foul unnecessary roughness Defense number zero oh 15y pen automatic first out so Chase Klein your hard hack Defender now has two personal fouls and sometimes you can be overly aggressive and you know they had a stop they had a stop on third down that's exactly what you wanted your defense to do keep everything in front of you and incline you know your leader and tacklers right now with spasio not in the ball game illo to choose the option of having the clock start on the snap spasio ejected one minute into this game for targeting they're allc conference linebacker along with Klein both allconference guys Lombardi has a man Jaylen Johnson no gain after the catch thanks to tremendous coverage by [Music] shine 123 remaining in the half and a flag you got players moving in that Bunch formation false start offense number nine 5yd penalty second down that's Davis Patterson one of the wide receivers one of the things that makes this offense so versatile is they don't have to change Personnel for formation changes but when you're speed beating up the offense like they did on that play you've got guys moving you've got a lot of moving parts and you saw on that play in that Bunch formation to the left side of the formation they weren't set and you had a guy moving prior to the snap of the football both teams have been penalized four times so far today for for 30 yards for NIU now Lombardi Rudolph gets to the 35 yd line and again the offense has the wind at its back going this way after a 6-y pickup to make it third and manageable and with the way they're lining up at the when the ball is set they're looking for a matchup And when they see that matchup I think that's when you'll see Lombardi go with that vertical pass Gavin Williams and finally the whistle comes as he kept his legs moving the former Iowa Hawkeye with a big first down run for Northern 15 yds on the [Music] carry and once again they're going fast they're not allowing for Easter Michigan to make substitutions NIU has one timeout remaining as the clock [Music] stops and this is an opportunity for Eastern Michigan to get more defenders in the ball game you want to get fresh legs you want to get a fresh Rush up the field you want to put pressure on this offensive line Gavin Williams has been productive running the football three carries 30 yards the red Sher junr from eluna Iowa empty backfield five out and Rocky Lombardi whose father Tony named his son for Rocky liar former Pittsburgh Steelers great his pass is caught good job to get out of bounds after the reception by Jaylen Johnson and stopped the clock with 22 seconds to go in the half and what was interesting the football player in Johnson wanted to make a play you saw him go to the inside but then the reality of having to come over there and talk to coach hammock and the coaching staff if he didn't get out of bounds kind of set in and he got that foot out of bounds to stop the clock you know and I mentioned Rocky Lombard's dad Tony he is a football life for himself he was actually the uh running back at Arizona State and then was an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan and was the interim head coach for one game here at Northern his son Rocky makes a perfect pass that is dropped by Trayvon Rudolph and honestly that was probably a good drop I don't know if he was going to be able to get out of bounds they would have had to use that last timeout he definitely would not have been able to get to the end zone because they had Defenders uh ready to make the tackle and so now Canon Woodle and the field goal unit will come out with the wind at its back to attempt a 35 yd field goal the punter is also the holder Tom Foley Isaac Hatfield is the Long Snapper and the defense will call a timeout with 17 seconds to go my question for you still going sleeveless on a day that's just getting colder you think he's going to have a sweatshirt on when he comes out of the locker room for the third quarter absolutely the clouds have come in the sun has disappeared and if you've ever been here at this facility as the evening progresses it gets extremely colder now he's California guy he grew up in San Francisco also up in Seattle he was a quarterback you wouldn't think he's a tough guy out there but you know he's climbed killer inaro he he climbed yeah but clim mountain is much different than 40 mph winds and and high 40° temperatures when you're standing there climbing you know you're exerting energy you're bringing heat to yourself he's standing here Woodle 35 yd boot is good so a fruitful final drive of this first half for Northern Illinois ties the score at 10 AP piece Woodle is the reigning M West special teams player of the week he was a perfect five for five including field goals of 3137 and 32 yards last week after he took the starting job away from Jake cyber a couple of weeks ago and Thomas hammock seems to have found himself a good one and I will forever say that kickers matter people always you're not the only I mean I work with other analysts who used to be linemen they don't say that I say that kickers matter if it wasn't for Scott ly I would not have a national championship bring so I love my Kickers there you go you love them if they make the kick not so much if they miss I love my Kickers that Miss uh might talk about them a little bit but I still got well let me say I got I have love for them okay but I love my Kicker that makes it well cyber is no longer the place kicker but he continues to handle the kickoffs and so number 30 is teed up red shirt sophomore out of s in Cincinnati and once again watch with this return team we know what they are capable of three returns for touchdowns this season five since 2020 uh so they are very capable and that's one of the things and this staff talked to us about this week is making sure that they win the special not allow this return team to take one back on Jaylen Jackson has one of those three Eastern kick returns for Touchdown that came against Howard there have only been four kicks returned by all the max schools this year for touchdowns three of them by three different guys for the Eagles Amel Zak has another one that also came against Howard let's see if Jackson can make a play no it falls into the end zone and with 14 seconds left going into the wind I imagine the Eagles will just hold down to the football and head into the locker room you got to wonder why Jackson didn't try and you know get to that football get a return because it's only 14 seconds going into the win so the likelihood of getting a vertical pass down the field before the half is not very high um you know I think he missed out on an opportunity they kicked the ball deep something I didn't [Music] [Music] expect Jackson stays out there as running back behind Austin Smith the junior quarterback from Ellenwood Georgia and indeed Eastern content to run out the clock jackon and that will do it for the second [Music] quarter well just as we thought a competitive low-scoring football game well when you look at the weather the elements you see what's going on with this ball club and I think both teams will have to get that running game going to be successful in the second half the wind is Contin to up looking forward to it we'll take a break come back with our halftime report from daal Illinois it's a haunted Hockey Night in Toronto Von copar the Kings Austin Matthews and the Maple Leafs Matthew scor Kings and leafs Halloween night Tuesday at 8 on ESP private J in the night sky my man hand Glide by with my fried R what could you not love by the slice on the side of the hot tub g r u b h u nothing held back all for the love of soccer to know hockey is the love hockey the NHL on ESPN and ESPN Plus for the love of football for the love of La Liga superb racing yes guys Raiders Lions Monday at 8 on ESPN and ABC he is the most selfless teammate I've ever been associated with they're all in they go all out earned not given we talk about it all the time when a walk-on finds out that their talent and effort are being rewarded with a scholarship we've never had a walk on make that wall the moment is always made more memorable by the reaction from their teammates we still have him cuz he's going put on [Applause] St but this off seon on this campus it was the action of one teammate that made the moment possible if guys don't have each other's backs then I really don't think that you truly are a team everybody [Music] matters Eastern Michigan offensive lineman Zack Ki has spent the last four years as an eagles walkon but headed into the 2023 season he was getting first team reps and was the projected starter at left tackle he doesn't bring attention to himself he just goes about his work he's made a massive commitment to be here over the years Zach has come up with different ways to cover his college expenses and keep his football dreams alive hey here we go I've been working Landscaping ever since 2019 it's been like my most consistent income I also rip out tile for my father and then rip out carpet as well and uh I've also donated plasma before it was exhausting but I knew I wanted to play football so it was all this is what I got to do to do it we'd see him come home at night with wheelbarrows or you know mountains of dirt in the back end of his truck he was going to walk away and probably like jump in the transfer portal to see if like a smaller division would help him with scholarships two-time captain and right tackle Brian douly has been on scholarship and a starter for the Eagles since 2019 Zach is not the person to ask for help I told him I was a good things are going to come just keep working we're at 85 scholarships and no matter how many times or how many years I go to the NCAA and say yeah but man I'm just telling you we need 86 the answer is no you have 85 until Brian Dy comes into my office office Zach still having a walk on as her starting left tackle it just didn't sit well with me I knew I had to do something for him to help him out and he said coach I am willing to give up my scholarship and to give it to Zack hunt where are you dully yeah [Applause] see first thing I he said to me was love you brother and I said love you back it was an unbelievable moment I mean it wasn't you know a folded piece of paper that said surprise I mean it was it was the scholarship so it was awesome I just wanted to say I love all you guys Brian I appreciate you so much brother uh that's what a matter some people say why do it and it was because I know Zach I do it again for him he's a brother to me I just couldn't let him walk away from something that he's built here it's a great lot and the previous owner was really into DIY okay automatic CH stair slide at least we could bundle our home and car insurance with Geico true super slippery W is that a chinchilla yes way to see this a Murphy tub finding a perfect home is hard thankfully Geico makes it easy to bundle in safe what look at all that floor space Nissan has a car for everyone every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more electric at Nissan more is all we [Music] do just what you want to be you will be in the end and I love you yes I love [Music] [Applause] you Faith flowers wasn't living up to its name but now she's using Amazon [Music] business with B corders that work around her schedule plus easy ways to track spend which means faith has the time to make it well fantastic Amazon business your partner for smart business buying there's DNA then there's heavy duty DNA H DNA it's what every GMC Sierra HD driver is born with and it's engineered into every aspect of the GMC Sierra HD with the pulling power to prove it the new 2024 GMC Sierra HD tow hitches of the world prepare for Glory a L'Oreal group we support Innovative projects that help restore damaged ecosystems more than 2 million Acres of ecosystems will be restored by 2030 this is how we create the beauty that moves the world okay get this right and you get my free ticket to tonight's game right who is my alltime favorite receiver lar yes Larry Fitz Larry Fitz I heard you got an extra ticket to the game tonight I would love to go yeah sure it's it's all yours Larry thanks Billy I'll meet you out front what oh yeah okay it's Bob but okay yeah even know your name dude I guess I'm Bill now with Vivid Seats when you buy 10 tickets you can get your 11th free hit [Music] it stay two nights and get 5,000 bonus points book direct at bestwestern.com Stadium on the campus of Northern Illinois University that's the castle that we can see from the football field here 1010 couple of touchdown runs one for Samson Evans for the Eagles one for antario brown for the Huskies no surprise in either of those when we come back forestry joins me we'll have our first half highlights and stats [Music] next to some folks college football is a few hum drum hours on a Saturday to the rest of us it's sacred it's a yearly pilgrimage to the hills of Rocky it's having your own Safe Haven deep Behind Enemy Lines a place to reunite with your actual family of five and your chosen 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didn't see many explosive plays either just kind of what we thought a lot of ground game and a lot of tough defense well the weather has kind of dictated what both teams have been able to do the passing game has not been there at times because of the wind but the backs have carried the ball effectively between the tackles not a lot outside of the tackles on the edge but between the tackles that's when both teams has been very successful running the football and let's give you a taste of that defense as both teams played really well well the player we talked about coming into this game for Eastern Michigan was Michael Coleman number 11 with his length and you see it's been the Michael Coleman show early making tackles all over the field maintaining the edge of that defense on the other side of the football for Northern Illinois they've gotten pressure in the quarterback's face been able to jump up and knock balls down they've been Stout at the point of attack not allowing for a lot of push and they've done what they needed to do to be successful in keeping their running game from Eastern Michigan contained and not letting it be as explosive as they want it to be and there is the summary couple of first quarter touchdowns couple of second quarter field goals what's to come in the third we'll have the start of the second half when we come back 10 10 our score a little metion here on ESPN plus thanks Jake from State Farm I really need to know uh go spicy or go home right what no what if I'm not sure I have the right coverage for my car oh your agent can help me make sure it's just what you need what if I accidentally hit a food truck and it gets covered in a banadas you can file a claim on the app stay Farm we there for your what ifs thanks [Music] oh to spicy that's for you like a good neighbor State Farm is there call or click to get a quote today Nissan has a car for everyone wo every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more electric at Nissan more is all we do there's DNA then there's heavy duty DNA hdna it's what every GMC Sierra HD driver is born with and it's engineered into every aspect of the GMC Sierra HD with the pulling power to prove it the new 2024 GMC Sierra HD tow hitches of the world prepare for Glory the Sonic 2 for7 deal lets you choose from the Sonic cheeseburger chicken sandwich or foot long chili Che cheese Cony any two for seven bucks because that friend that says they only want one bite never just wants one bite Sonic 2 for S deal you never know what the weather will bring rainex water repellency wiper blades apply the magic of rainex to your windshield so water beads up and flies away the improved water beaing technology lasts longer so you see clearly season after season let the weather drive you inside never rainex outsmart the elements find rainx water appellancy wiper blades at these [Music] [Music] retailers just what you want to be you will be in the end and I love you yes I love you [Music] [Applause] at L'Oreal group we support Innovative projects that help restore damaged ecosystems more than 2 million Acres of ecosystems will be restored by 2030 this is how we create the beauty that moves the world uhhuh no sweat hit it 1 2 stay two nights and get 5,000 bonus points book direct at bestwestern.com you watch the back on ESPN young ladies rooting for their huskys as we head to the third quarter tie at ten aie Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois that husky is warm in spite of the wind that is Relentless at the back of the kicker as we get underway here in the third quarter and easily Jake cybert able to boot it into the end [Music] zone well passing the football in that first half was not easy for either side Northern Illinois just 53 yds that man actually did pretty well seven of 13 101 yds through the air for Austin Smith on the ground Samson Evans leads everybody 46 yds and a touchdown and Ontario Brown nine carries only 28 yards in that one touchdown we'll see if either one of them can really get going we know Brown can get going more than that two weeks ago against akan he was Unstoppable but it's eastern with the football first after deferring to start the football game Smith made the first man miss and eventually goes down no chance with the three-time Captain James eser out of C in Detroit and Smith looked a little bit confused on that play he went with the ball fake it looked like he wanted to go down the field with the football but the defender stepped in the way and I think that was a good play by Smith not trying to force it because the defender had a break on that and there would be nobody in front of him if he was able to get to that football so I thought that was a good decision by Smith to take the sack on that play yeah Jaden dolphin the linebacker was the first one in the backfield and then Esther got the sack keep it on the ground to Jaylen Jackson at 5' 6 in he is lightning quick a Lamar transfer who is said to be the fastest player on this Eastern Michigan offense and this is a guy that nine of the 19 games that he has played for Eastern Michigan he's had over 100 allpurpose yards so he has the ability they just need to get him the ball in space and allow him to operate and again he is a gamebreaking kick returner as well to pick up a lot of those yards an 89 yd touchdown return against Buffalo last year another one this year week one against Howard University he picked up four yards so it's third down and six empty backfield for Austin Smith looking right throwing right has a man it's number one hamzi El Zion former forom Ram picks up a first down for emu after a 12yd gain and a good job by El zot to know where the sticks are and get beyond the sticks to get the first down had a game-winning 50-yard touchdown reception from Austin Smith laid against Massachusetts a few weeks ago Samson Evans into the game for the first time here in the third quarter and the first half's leading rusher Falls forward for a gain of at least eight yards and again you make contact at the line of scrimmage unless you wrap him up he's going to keep going and you're seeing push at the point of attack by the offensive line for Eastern Michigan once [Applause] again elzion spins but uh was not fooling the defensive back Jon profit Junior safety from PPO Beach Florida with a secure tackle after three yd gain but El Zia once again knows where the sticks are and is able to help his team move the chains and now play is stopped with 1220 remaining in the third quarter perhaps the ball blew off of its Mark again we've seen that a couple of times this wind is relentless [Applause] and once again as the day continues to progress the sun has disappeared the clouds have taken over so it's getting colder as well Evans lowers his shoulder gain of three yeah the big question going into the halftime locker room is wood Eastern Michigan head coach Chris kraton come back out in short sleeves for the second half you said there's no way he's not coming out with a long sleeve sweater or sweatshirt for the third quarter we'll have to see what the head coach decided there you go sleeves on those arms smart [Applause] man Hansen came from his safety position flaged down on an incomplete pass intended for Tanner [Applause] [Music] [Applause] canoe and I think they're going to get late hit on the safety coming across on the defenseless player Jordan Hansen came on a safety Blitz and that left Nate Bel carel who you see there back in coverage he's been a real big playmaker for this defense once again they're trying to protect the offensive player and the officials are discussing this right now [Music] there are two fouls on the pl both against the defense passer defense personal foul targeting defense for the review there you go from our referee Rich Edwards you saw the officials discussing [Applause] that first you going to to see the holding down at the bottom of the screen so that's your pass interference right there he's Contin to hold on to the the player in question is number nine from targeting yeah so Javon bird was the one called for holding and Nate Bel carel number nine with the targeting call he hit him above the shoulders I don't think that's going to be targeting when they look at it it looked like he got more of the shoulder pad and the helmet pop back we can see a little better with this angle the goal post gets in the way I think it's more of a late hit than a targeting penalty because the play is over right now there's no reason for him to make contact with the offensive player well no I think that's going to be targetting because he hit him in his neck so that's above the shoulder pads with the forearm and once again it's a play that he did not have to make because the play was over at that point you knew he was not going to be able to make the reception but because he hit him above the shoulders in the neck area I am assuming this is going to be deemed the targeting because he was defenses as well yeah we had a targeting to start the ball game that eliminated Joe baraso the allc conference linebacker for Eastern Michigan and we may be on the verge of losing a tremendous safety Nate velc carel but the question also question also is he's coming in with his forearm and the receiver's falling down now so that as well kind of plays into it I think that's why we've got the officials replay officials kind of looking at this again because when the the player's falling down you're not necessarily you know going for that area but you kind of fall into it as a offensive player but I think the defenseless part is what sticks out now carsel was a South Dakota Coyote as we get the call after review the ruling of targeting on the field is confirmed number nine was been disqualified for both penalties will be enforced the pass interference was a spot foul followed by a dead ball targeting foul 15 yds automatic first out I think what makes it targeting is it's a play that didn't necessarily have to happen uh I think if he was uh still had an opportunity to possess the football they may not have called targeting because he was going down as a Defender hit him but it's a play that the defender did not have to make contact with him at all because the play was basically over at that point and so a huge sequence and let's see if Eastern Michigan can take advantage they've got the football at the northern 25 yd line Jackson takes the sweep gets inside the 20 yd line after a 6yd gain and that is where I think Jackson's most effective getting him out of space and allowing him to use that speed and that quickness and quick twitch as opposed to sson Evans going out on the edge I like Evans between the tackles Jack Jackson out of Centennial High School Burleson Texas has one touchdown so far this year that came against UMass in ipsilanti on second and four give it back to the 5'6 in tailback and he shoots through the hole for a first down five more yards for number 28 in White in that right side of the offensive line once again hoe and dulie are doing an excellent job of firing off the football and the thing that they're doing that's being that's helping that running game be so successful they're keeping their feet moving they're just not melting on contact a lot of times offensive linemen make contact and it becomes a stalemate but what those guys are doing they're rolling their hips up and they're getting movement at the point of attack allowing for the those backs to have scams to get up the field you saw dly the sixth year Eagle at right tackle Alex Howie the Right Guard a grad student from Canton Michigan Samson Evans trying to get around the corner he is stopped at the 10 yd Line This quite a one-w punch running back as good as any combo in the ma Evans gets the majority of the claim because of all the touchdowns but the reality is Jaylen Jackson was first team All Conference last year well it's kind of like thunder and lightning you've got Thunder with Evans you know the power back that wants to run over people in between the tackles and you've got lightning and Jackson Who cap quick can get to the outside and bouncing in the speed to get to the end zone and Evans stays in after gaining four yds on first down he is The Game's leading rusher he stays in pass block pass goes into the end zone and it is incomplete nicely done on defense to break that up by profet tried to find Blake Daniels who had a big height Advantage but profit was not going to give up and Propet did a good job of not panicking he watched the receiver and waited for him to put his hands up now when you look at Daniels he's got a height advantage of about 6 in so profet did what he needed to do waited for the ball to get there and was able to get his hands up and knock it down Austin Smith needs to put a little bit more air on the football I thought he waited a tad bit too late to throw that football but you want to put air under and allow your big tight end to High Point that football emu six of n on third down today here comes the blitz Smith takes a hit puts it up it's caught touchdown Eastern Michigan hamzi El zat although we have three flags back in the back field they went low on the quarterback I think there's going to be a penalty against the defense for hitting the quarterback below the knees uh but a good job by Smith staying in there when that pressure is coming in his face and delivering the ball where El Zak can make a play [Applause] line there is no no foul for roughing the passer the player was blocked into him we have personal foul tripping offense number 68 15yd penalty third down it's Alex Howie the Right [Applause] Guard a huge mistake to take six points off the board and what happens once again you know quarterbacks you have to recognize that Blitz and you have to hold that snap count and allow your offensive lineman to identify the Mike linebacker and identify your blocking assignments often offensive linemen when they're facing a blitz like that and you get a tripping call it's because they are out of place and they see someone coming free and you see right there he tries to slightly stick his leg out and trip the free rusher coming directly in the middle of the offensive line to make a hit on the quarterback the line to gain is the four yd line on Third and a mile Smith has a man El out not going to get away from the clutches of the defender tackled at the 19 yd line by Jon profit only a 6yd gain and so with the wind blowing into their face the field goal unit will come out well I think that play was more so to get in better field goal range get the ball to the left hash probably where the kicker wants the football uh where it's more favorable for him to try and make this kick Gomez one for one on field goals here today this from 37 yds and the Southpaw puts his foot into it and you can see that wind just taking it from left to right but it did go through the upright and Eastern Michigan retakes the lead on the field goal by Jesus Gomez the Junior from pbla [Music] Mexico hey Jak from St Mark you know it's really scary popcorn with no butter no getting insurance I mean what if the jargon makes me feel alone and in the dark hey at State Farm we're there for your Whata ifs sorry is that se taken get on up here buddy let's go let's oh this water yeah for my up you like a good neighbor State Farm is there call or click to get a quote today Nissan has a car for everyone every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more electric at Nissan more Is All We Do there's DNA then there's heavy duty DNA H DNA it's what every GMC Sierra HD driver is born with and it's engineered into every aspect of the GMC Sierra HD with the pulling power to prove it the new 2024 GMC Sierra HD tow hitches of the world prepare for Glory tourists tourists that turn into scientists tourists photographing thousands of miles of remote coral reefs that can be analyzed by AI in real time so researchers can identify which areas are at risk and help life underwater flourish back into Cal Illinois with Eastern Michigan retaking the lead we really can't overstate the job Chris kraton has done in his decade in IPS Salan you know he took over a football program that was more of him it was historically bad at a computer school where there was a lot of talk about potentially either disbanding the football program or dropping it down to division two or a low level and he came into a position where a lot of people wouldn't have gone and not only has he survived a decade they went 9 and three last fall second highest win total in program history won their bowl game for the first time since 1987 and here he has them once again a win today would make them three and one in League Play and in the mix for a league championship well unlike after halftime coming out with the sleeves he accepted the challenge I mean he is a uh 54y old from San Francisco still a huge Las Vegas Raiders fan he was an Oakland Raiders fan as a kid Kenny Stabler was his guy John matusak Arthur Whittington and then actually when his guy Max Crosby got drafted by the Raiders he said I Flatline and when you talk to him you see him in his office he's got a Raiders helmet right behind his desk well he's great to talk to I mean uh great conversation um I'm still not climbing that mountain uh in spite of all the greatness got there are three fouls on the play All by the kicking team offside kicking team number 81 personal foul block below the waist number seven sideline warning Eastern Michigan that's their first warning of the game the de defensive off sides will be declined will enforce the block below the waste first down Northern Illinois the London craft the block below the waist and uh I want to know who the get back coaches he didn't do his job there making sure people stay on the sideline where they're supposed to and for people that don't understand what that is that's the coess out there screaming get back get back get off the [Applause] field well after a fairly clean first half the penalties to begin this third quarter have been the story Eastern Michigan shoots itself in the foot again it should have had a touchdown or could have had a touchdown had a six-point score taken off the board because of a penalty now confusion in the back field Lombardi just cuts his losses and goes down with a two- yd loss well they ran some misdirection on that play but they got the hand hand off Bobble a good job from Lombardi just to hold on to the football you got the action coming back you want to turn around and hand it off to Brown so you want to have the defense looking and get their eyes caught up in the eye candy but once again when you've got all that movement and all those moving Parts you have situations like that so a good job by Lombardi just to squeeze and hold on to the football he is 25 years old has as much experience playing college quarterback as anybody in the country makes a smart safe throw on time and On Target and then Rudolph is put P [Music] back arachi Lombard's great-grandfather Walter hos was Captain in the star halfback in Minnesota back in the 1930s his grandfather Bob Lombardi was a high school coaching legend in the state of Illinois as we mentioned before Rocky's dad Tony grew up in the suburbs of Chicago went on to be a very good running back at Arizona State in the early 80s and named his son Rocky after Vietnam veteran and former Steelers running back Rocky BL great name great football family third down and five Lombardi steps up fires a bullet and it's caught at the 30 yd line nicely done to move the chains for the Huskies a 10yd pickup Grayson Barnes Standing Tall at 65 and a good job by Lombardi spotting his tight end in the middle of the field the tight end did a good job of sitting down excuse me the wide receiver Grayson Barnes of sitting down and making himself a big Target that's what you want your receivers to do fine holes in that zone defense and make yourself a target for your quarterback especially in windy conditions like this you want to make sure that you give your quarterback a solid Target to throw the football to on first down play action Lombardi after a hesitation unloads it incomplete trying to find Grayson Barnes for a second consecutive play and a good job by antario Brown trying to get in front of Chase Klein the big linebacker coming in on the blitz giving Lombardi just a bit more time to try and get that ball down the field once again what I want to see these quarterbacks do is a better job of recognizing that Blitz because the defense they're showing that Blitz hold the snap count the line has to be disciplined but you've got to hold that snap count because on the back end that helps offensive linemen decipher what their blocking assign are here's Brown upended and a flag on the [Music] play I think he going to get holding holding offense number 79 10-yard penalty second down that is the left guard from Milwaukee JJ Lippy out of Whitefish Bay High School called for the hold and that'll push the huskys back to the 40 yd line and if you look on the left side of your screen often when interior linemen get caught for holding you see he took an outside step and the defensive tackle took an inside move you got to be able to power step when that happens and you just want to drive block those guys take them where they're going allow your back to try and cut off of that block when you've got Dynamic backs they can make a play off of that on second and 20 Lombardi may have had his arm hit as he reared back to throw and then the wind took that ball flying away from the intended receiver Jaylen Johnson and now this is what Eastern Michigan wants you want third and long obvious passing down and you want to release your pass rushers but he got a piece of Lombard's arm right there and you see the ball kind of flutter out right there but a good job by Justin Jefferson getting around the edge and once again at 511 228 he's very difficult to block because it's not that tall and for the taller offensive linemen those guys can get under you Northern has converted four times in nine tries on third down today this is third and 20 Lombardi little tall for the intended receiver that's hard to do Chris Carter is 6'7 that'll bring up fourth down and 20 interesting play call cuz I thought this was four down territory where you just try and get a little bit not all of it at one time fourth and 20 maybe get seven to eight yards make it you know excuse me third and 20 maybe get seven to eight yards and then make it fourth and 10 or [Music] 12 and they give the appearance of going for it on Fourth and 20 I would think with the wind at their back you could have even considered trying to kick a field goal here but they will try to get well it is a pooch punt I just learned something as the ball reaches the end zone Lombardi's a left footed kicker how about that we'll take a break Eastern gets the football back on top by three we love our house it's on a great block Tree Line streets the neighbors are observant and we're back at the Sullivan house it's La Sheila and the leaves are piling up at least Geico makes bundling our home and car insurance easy nothing but air hate to see that Geico bundling made easy Nissan has a car for everyone every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more electric at Nissan more is all we do there's DNA then there's 's heavy duty DNA H DNA it's engineered into every aspect of the GMC Sierra HD with the pulling power to prove it tow hitches of the world prepare for Glory how easy is life in the new Buick Encore GX piece of cake I was going to say easy as pie but that's way better backing at with your Buick it's a walk in the park or you know a kayak in the park staying connected is a breeze with Wi-Fi and unlimited data what's the password you'll be hearing that a lot life's easier in the new 2024 Buick Encore GX I don't think it's any one thing that's memorable the whole experience is memorable you've been somewhere else that's fine go Disney you're not going to go back it's just as simple as that hey deal lovers here's something new having good taste shouldn't cost you a good deal and in this Hut $7 get you both the allnew $7 deal lovers menu at Pizza Hut because it's only a deal if you love it I'm coming in hot Eastern Michigan 13 Northern Illinois 10 on a busy day around the Mid-American Conference couple of final scores Ohio at home a tough game from Western Michigan but the Bobcat survived 20 to 17 Bowling Green no trouble with aan at home 41 14 and a couple of games of real interest in the division for these two teams Toledo and Central Michigan the teams that they are competing with for the top of the division the chipa was Trail Ball State 17 to1 in the third quarter then the big game over on ESPNU the Rockets with a big lead 213 over Miami those are the two hottest teams in the league both riding long winning streaks and that's a bit of a surprise that it's not closer than that but Toledo trying to improve to 4-0 in conference play Miami also undefeated in League Play a talk the East Division coming into the week no gain on first [Music] down Tyler Jackson Clark the red shirt senior from aite Texas in his third star in college played 10 games as a true freshman in 2018 at Incarnate Word then the last four years at Lamar [Music] Smith fakes the handoff now finds on a Crossing route a receiver who was wide open that's hamzi El Zat and a good job by Smith being patient and allowing El zat to clear the Defenders before he delivered the football which allowed him to get the reception plant and get north and south to get positive yards a big third down third and three as the former forom ran number one in white looks to do more damage he's a Dearborn Michigan kid who after his years at forom got his degree transferred back to the state of Michigan he goes in motion Smith trying to dump it off and it's incomplete off the hands of the intended receiver tight end Jerry Ginger who is more of a blocking tight end don't see him very often targeted and he's unable to make the catch that brings up fourth down and the punt team will come out and a good idea I thought Smith should have did that play fake held that play fake a tad bit longer to keep the linebacker eyes on him I think he pulled that ball a bit early on that play fake allowing the linebacker to see it and react and get to the [Music] [Applause] outside Thomas from his own 15 yd line Partridge lets it bounce and it'll come to a stop at the 34 yd line that's where the Huskies will have the football when we come back late in the third quarter Eagles up three [Music] how easy is life in the new Buick Encore GX piece of cake I was going to say easy as pie but that's way better backing up with your Buick it's a walk in the park or you know a kayak in the park staying connected is a breeze with Wi-Fi and unlimited data what's the password you'll be hearing that a lot life's easier in the new 2024 Buick Encore GX on three you can open your eyes and tell us where you think you're going one 2 3 we're going to Disney World we are about to start pecking I'm wait wait [Music] wa try what will you try on your first visit ESPN plus gets you ready for the NFL all season long get highlights every week with NFL Prime Time and live games return week 11 with a Super Bowl rematch stream the NFL all season long with ESPN [Music] [Applause] [Music] Plus for Love Is Free forever you and [Music] me we are State Side fantastic Cheo superb racing yes guys private J in the night sky my man hand Glide by with my fried R what could you not love by the slice on the side of the hot tub g r u b h you everyone is ready for Monday Night Football Devonte Adams is ready to lead the silver and black into the lions de Jared G and the pride are on the hunt to take control of the NFC North Raiders Lions Monday at 8 on ESPN and ABC Raiders Lions Monday at 8 on ESPN and ABC ESPN plus is the home for more than 40 MAC football games and plenty of women's soccer matches including these tomorrow akan hosting Miami and Toledo host Kent State both at one Eastern and next Saturday the featured college football game is a Michigan Mac trophy matchup Western takes on Eastern at one eastern time if you're a Mac fan go to ESPN plus.com to sign up and you're watching us now on ESPN plus we appreciate it Force Conley Doug Sherman our entire crew from Dalal Illinois and the Huskies with a football B nicely designed nicely executed Rocky Lombardi to Trayvon Rudolph and Lombardi if he looks down the F he's got Chris Carter streaking wide open nobody went with him good job by Lombardi finding the open receiver but he needs to scan the field because they had a busted coverage on that play and number 11 was streaking down the sideline nobody ran with him as it is a first down pickup from Lombardi to Rudolph who again is the the number one receiver with the injury to Casper rut goitz who is out for the [Applause] season receiver screen is caught it's a first down and then some Dane Partridge out of marmian Academy right here inal with his first reception and it goes for 13 yds and right now it's almost like you see Northern Illinois realizing okay we've got just a couple of more minutes with the wind at our back we've got to take advantage of it and pass this football and get that passing game [Applause] [Music] going well Roy Lombardi certainly can throw the football he broke the max single game passing record at Kent State a couple of years ago 532 yards against the golden flashes that [Music] day Rudolph after a Stutter Step tries to get to the edge nothing doing tremendous Pursuit defensively to make sure he couldn't get there and string that play out that's Joey zalinski the Hudson Valley Community College transfer that's in Troy New York who wound up keeping up with a very Speedy ball carry and how impressive is that 6'3 250 lbs to be able to have the lateral movement to keep up with him and not allow him to get to the edge great play on the outside by the defensive end Joy zinski John uh Joe J John zalinski II forcing a three yd loss on the play take the handoff Lombardi trying to find Johnson who had been in motion what is it about the Northern Illinois offense where they throw so many different looks at you why is that hard for a defense at least at times because you think you know what you're looking at and it's totally different than what you're expect it to be one of the things that coach hav talked about is you know breaking Tendencies and when the defense looks at film of what they do out of certain formations doing something totally different out of that formation so it's a game of cat and mouse with this offense Johnson Patterson and Partridge the receivers to the top of your screen the running back is Gavin Williams on third down and [Music] long [Music] whistles before the game offense number 12 5yd penalty third down and it all goes back to that play by the game clock to 146 big stop not allowing the receiver to get to the edge to get North and South putting them behind the sticks which made them try to get vertical on second down now you've got a delay of game so you go from first and 10 now to Third and 18 and they're in a similar spot to their last Drive third and long from just about this part of the football field with the wind at their back a minute 46 remaining in the quarter do you make this four down territory and look not to get a first down just get some yardage back well when you can get a first down on a wonderful hands catch why not do it Davis Patterson the James Madison transfer with a marvelous adjustment to the football and Davis Patterson was open for a while but had to get away from the pressure and he delivered the ball and a good job by Patterson contorting his body to turn around and be able to squeeze that football 21 yds on the pass play play still alive and it's Gavin Williams making something out of nothing that's a nyd carry for the red shirt Jr from Altuna Iowa and that's what's so difficult about this offense because you got antario brown and you know what he's capable of so you come in with a game plan wi to slow him down but then a guy like Gavin Williams gets going with his ability his stopp go ability and his breaking tackle ability well he played 26 games over three years with the Iowa hawkey carried the football 116 times that's of course in Big 10 competition he's a really good back as well as brown Lombardi passing to Brown and he is swallowed up by a sea of white jerseys the man who was in coverage was London craft to make sure that the elusive number one couldn't get away and I think that's where Northern Illinois gets into trouble with the East West passing game you've got to get North and South that passing game The Defenders for Eastern Michigan do a really good job with lateral movement and playing laterally defensively and with their Pursuit so I think you need to look at passing the ball North and South as opposed to East and West well with third down and three the job is going to get a little bit tougher for Northern Illinois as the quarter of the Third they will head to the other end of the football field and they will try to complete the drive into the wind on a windy day inal a competitive football game should be a tremendous finish back with a fourth quarter after [Music] this how easy is life in the new Buick Encore GX piece of cake I was going to say easy as pie but that's way better backing up with your Buick it's a walk in the park or you know a kayak in the park staying connected is a breeze with Wi-Fi and unlimited data what's the password you'll be hearing that a lot life's easier in the new 2024 Buick Encore GX [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] this house is a Generac house and you're just the person to keep it running because a proud homeowner has a protective Instinct and frankly the brains to know the Grid it's going to let you down sometimes that's why when the rest of the block is lighting candles and looking for flashlights you're ready to rock and roll it's not just a generator it's power move request a free quote today big Corporation not quite 96% of the farms in Illinois are actually owned and operated by families Illinois family Farmers we are the 96% knowing how filthy Sid's wrer is means knowing why goalies lose 10 lbs of sweat every game knowing it's overtime against Conor McDavid knowing the game's as good as over knowing the taste of Victory is knowing it tastes best out of one particular cup knowing where The Season's biggest events can be seen means knowing you'll never miss one Maple Leafs Bruins Thursday 7:30 on ESPN Plus L's know's Black Friday savings should be more than just one day that's why we're giving you Black Friday deals every day where you can find the best value all November long buy now pay later with Lowe's pay superb racing yes guys we've been leaving it since day one on the pitch and in the [Music] streets CH and score glorious beautiful true would you believe it the thrill of every [Music] win the devastation of every loss nothing held back all for the love of [Music] soccer Northern Illinois University on a Brisk October evening trying to come from behind as we head the fourth quarter they've got the football deep in Eastern Michigan territory as we start the fourth quarter now into the wind and third down for Rocky Lombardi and the [Applause] [Music] Huskies alongside foris Connelly I'm Doug Sherman and the first play of the fourth quarter don't know if there was miscommunication or just a badly thrown football but there was no chance for the receiver intended Trayvon Rudolph to make a play on the football what's interesting about this play is is this the hash that's more favorable for their kicker because you have to think about that as well when you're down on this end of the field going against the wind you want to make sure that you have the ball on the correct hash for your kicker or the more comfortable hash it's a field goal from 39 yds into the wind is long on the year as 49 plenty of distance and it is good well this young man who is a member of niu's rooc program has been quite the Revelation a red shirt sophomore from Playfield Illinois ties the ball game with a challenging [Music] kick you see everyone kind of breathing ins side relief because that was not a good snap the holder did a good job of getting the ball and getting it where the kicker make the kick but every play counts at this point right now now it'll be interesting to see what kind of offensive philosophy Eastern Michigan comes out with in this fourth quarter now that they will be going will we see a heavy dose of Samson Evans and Jaylen Jackson or will they try to get Austin Smith uh passing the football and I think with Austin Smith I think you if you want to pass the football him outside the pocket give him more space to operate keep in mind emu has a record three kickoff returns for Touchdown after Kendrick ning's stunner versus Kent State to open the game last year number one in the country and so the kick comes to one of the upmen El zot who has one of those three touchdown returns he is able to bring the football out across the 30yd line it's a good starting position for the Eagles offense trying to retake the lead those numbers are starting to pop you know we talk about the silver numbers on the white uniform in the sunlight can't see them as well but now that the uh evening is settling in and the stadium lights those uh kind of seem reflective so number four in white Austin Smith out there with Samson Evans Evans has scored five touchdowns in his last four games including one here today Evans on first down picks his way across the 35 again on first down give the football to the big man and you get six yds most every time and now this allows you to be a diversified offense you can either pass the ball or run the ball because of the amount of yards that he got on first down so you keep the defense on their heels and keep them guessing the the middle of Nancy and Matthew Evans three boys does not get the hand off instead SM Smith keeps and he's got himself a first down give him five yds on the carry one of the uh the themes for Eastern Michigan for us this year is that they need for Austin Smith Their quarterback to be consistent with everything how do you feel he has been today through three quarters in that regard I think he's done a pretty good job uh with being consistent I think the thing that he needs to continue to work on is being a little bit more patient but also I think the offensive line needs to work on giving him the time that he needs the guards in the center have to be Stout at the point of attack and not allow pressure to come in his face and the tackles need to work on keeping that width of the pocket but I think he's done a pretty good job handles the snap he's had three different centers this year that's been a part of the issue as well Ginger made the catch but then went down Carson Lee the Colorado transfer started again today he's the third starting center after Demitri Douglas and bradick Roman so that could be part of the issue how do you find consistency as a quarterback if you're constantly breaking in in a new center yeah but what I'm talking about you look at that play right there to ging You' got to put the ball where he can catch it and make a play he's leaning out and he falls and loses his footing because of where the ball's delivered he didn't have pressure just dro the ball off to him those are the little intangibles I think he needs to continue to work on mhm but it does make a difference when you've got a different Center because that's one of the most important parts of the offensive game plan is the center quarterback exchange and when you don't have consistency at that position it takes away from your level of comfort as a quarterback as you mentioned number 75 Carson Lee the former Colorado Buffalo took over in this position early against Kent State out of Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village rodri Roman missed the Kent State game he's getting healthier and Demitri Douglas was their starting center to begin the year transfer from Michigan State play clock down to five on third down and nine Smith over the middle and it is intercepted pass was a bit behind the intended receiver and Cyrus mcgarrell with his second interception of the [Music] year and you saw the effects of the wind carried that football he had time and you see the ball is slightly behind the receiver it bounces off his shoulder packs right into the defender's hands the girl did a good job of concentrating on that football and squeezing it and bringing it to his body but that's the dangers when you're throwing With the Wind as hard as this wind is blowing the ball can carry at times so you have to try and lead your receiver because the ball is not going to go where you think it is you have to throw it where you think it will end up not where you want it to be because of the win fourth interception of the Year thrown by Smith and now antario brown who is looked to get it going has his biggest run of the day well ask you this with a flag down see if this play stands I can't help but wonder why two weeks ago antario Brown is able to run for 280 yards but then last week against Ohio held to 34 yards and until that run we hadn't seen much of him in the 30s as well on the play both against offense holding offense number 40 that penalty is declined correction holding offense number 85 that penalty is declined the hold on number 40 will be enforced 10 yds from the previous spot first down so Izzy oo will be the one whose penalty is held but I get back to is it play calling is it something the defense is doing so you can't go to antario Brown like you did two weeks ago or is it just that the akan defense was so incapable of stopping him that's why he had such a big game well one of the things that coach HCK talked about with antario brown is he's been frustrated because he has not had the type of production that he thought he would this season and it's about consistency and I think one of the things that he has to understand is defenses are concentrating in game planning for him so you have to find creative ways to get him the football I don't think just handing the football off to him you know 10 or 15 times a game out of the back field is going to get it done because of the game planning that takes place to stop him so you have to find creative ways to get him the ball on the outside and allow him player on the offense Chase Klein Tim Grant Randall Alex Merritt all over him as brown requires some medical assistance Nissan has a car for everyone every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more electric at Nissan more is all we [Music] do just what you want to be you will be in the end and I love you yes I love [Music] [Applause] you okay get this right and you get my free ticket to tonight's game who is my all-time favorite receiver lar yes Larry Fitz Larry Fitz I heard you got an extra ticket to the game tonight I would love to go yeah sure it's it's all yours Larry thanks Billy I'll meet you out front what oh yeah okay it's Bob but okay yeah didn't know your name dude I guess I'm Bill now with Vivid Seats when you buy 10 tickets you can get your 11th free at L'Oreal group we support Innovative projects that help restore damaged ecosystems more than 2 million Acres of ecosystems will be restored by 2030 this is how we create the beauty that moves the world well the max third leading rusher antario Brown who were just talking about averaging 93 yards per game but has been held in check the last couple of weeks just just walked off the field under his own power with a slight limp but you said you noticed something a little hitch in his giddy up the play before yes it looked like he toked that ankle on that long Rush that got called back because of the holding penalty so I was surprised that they gave him the ball once again and he probably toked it again so I hope he's going to be okay so Brown is on the sideline for this second and [Music] 22 Gavin Williams out of Dowling Catholic High School in Iowa is the running back and the slot receiver the tight end Chris Carter jumped and that'll push him back some more start offense number 11 5yd penalty second down and he just ran on off the field I don't think I've ever seen that in all of my years of college football you know a guy jump off Sid and just go ahead and keep on running and going off I'm good I know what's coming well if you jump earlier and you're an interior lineman maybe you can hide but when you do it right there yeah I'm just going to head to the sideline yeah just takes a light job going off the field coach you don't have to remove me I'll remove myself Lombardi gets hit keeps the Play Alive checks it down finds Williams out of the back field and he is tackled at the 27 yd line that's a 9yd gain and all the defense wants to do is keep them behind his sticks keep everything in front of him and make the tackle one of the things that makes this drive very difficult for Northern Illinois they're going against the wind so you also have to look at field position at this point and secure Tackle by Elijah Williams one of the backup linebackers getting more reps today with the disqualification of Joe spasio for targeting a minute into the ball game Lombardi on a designed run with we've got a flag down as Lombardi just slides to a stop at the 28 holding offense number 50 that penalty is decline fourth down that's the center from Indianapolis Pete and that'll bring the punt team for Northern Illinois onto the [Music] field There's Tom Foley number 98 64 who was a Minnesota Golden Gopher in 2019 he didn't appear in a game as a red shirt and then transferred to Northern Illinois low punt takes a northern bounce finally grabbed at the 28 yd line just to make sure that the punt didn't keep going nicely done good hands by El Zat and that is where the Eagles will take over here in the fourth you know it's really scary popcorn with no butter no getting insurance I mean what if the jargon makes me feel alone and in the dark hey that State Farm we're there for your what ifs sorry it's that c get on up here buddy let's go let's oh water yeah thr make up at you I saw like a good neighbor State Farm is there call or click to get a quote today bo bo boom Nissan has a car for everyone every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more electric at Nissan more is all we do wow can luxury connoisseurus tell the difference between an expensive mascara and lash Paradise are you ready to put your makeup expertise to the test this one is the more expensive one that one is L Paradise I am sold it's confirmed you don't have to pay for Lux results when disaster strikes what really [Music] matters it's not walls pipes or sheet rock it's not rugs or Furniture what matters most is getting you back on your feet and you deserve a company that knows what matters belf for restoring more than property got a price to Pia on my LIC last year put me on put me on put me on [Music] it is a chilly day in daal Illinois I'm working with a pseudo meteorologist again today Forest Connelly loves keeping track of the weather our guys that guy is standing facing a Brisk wind that has had the flags stiff for the entire time we've been out here today camera's shaking although we did just see one guy 55° currently wind chill 49 which I'm not buying no I would say 3 we just saw a guy walking in gym shorts in a t-shirt leisurely through the stands which I'll never figure out you know cold weather's big man weather but this is a bit extreme with the wind it's not the coldest the wind w we appreciate all of our tremendous crew for being out and braving that win we are in a Press Box yes with the windows open but uh those guys are really earning their pay today that gives you sense thank you very much offense number 76 10yd penalty John champ the guilty party from his right guard position check that Chris Mayo excuse [Applause] me Easter oh what you saying once again as offensive lineman getting beat to the inside and panicking and grabing you've just got to power step and take that Defender where he wants to go and hope that your back is dynamic to cut off of you Dynamic enough to cut off of your hip Smith incomplete good coverage elot could not haul it in and once again that's your safety out of blanch elely High School in Florida J sha profit and Propet did a good job of keeping that back hand off of the back of elot too often you see defenders in that position in that trail position get their hands on the back to try and Propel themselves forward to be able to knock that football down so a good job by profet not to get his hands on the back of the receiver and be able to reach around him and knock the ball down Smith in the second half has not been as accurate with the football now for the game 12 of 22 for 127 yds and he is drilled dropped at about the line of scrimmage and once again the left tackle you're giving up that short Corner you've got to kick back you see how those outside shoulders open on the initial kick that outside shoulder is open so you've given a short corner to that defensive end if he kicks straight back now he's given the width of the pocket because you saw Smith trying to climb the pocket which is what you want your quarterback to do in that position but he had nowhere to climb because the pocket was shrunk because he didn't have the width and James eser got home third down 20 yds to go screen pass to try and get some of that back good job by Jaylen Jackson to pick up 12 yds on the [Music] screen but that will bring up fourth down and bring out the punt [Music] team and one of the things you talked about with Austin Smith not being as successful passing the ball in the second half it's been because of that pass rush and we I've talked about it often with those tackles and the guards being Stout so you know you've got to give your quarterback time and I think that's the thing that he has not had and when he has had time they've had coverage on the backside but for the most part he hasn't had the time that was necessary to get the to get the ball down the field what a punt that covered about 80 yards in the air from thomasc With the Wind we have just received word that an Curry o' Brown will not be back today we'll talk more about that when we return Geico makes car insurance as easy as loving parmesan say when say when say when when with 24/7 emergency roadside service it's easy to Geico fresh ground pepper yes please Nissan has a car for everyone W every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more electric at Nissan more Is All We [Music] Do just what you want to be you will be in the end and I love you yes I love [Music] [Applause] [Music] you w huh okay uh you glitzy glamy super SN a real Saucy boy Dynamite don't know it style mro thanks it's Old Navy okay get this right and you get my free ticket to tonight's game who is my alltime favorite receiver larar yes Larry Fitz Larry Fitz I heard you got an extra ticket to the game tonight I would love to go yeah sure it's it's all yours Larry thanks Billy I'll meet you out front what yeah okay it's Bob but but okay yeah do know your name dude I guess I'm Bill now with Vivid Seats when you buy 10 tickets you can get your 11th [Music] free putter Mitchell Thomas is quite a weapon for Eastern Michigan he already has two punts this year of 70 yards or more so what he just did was 68 yards no big deal yeah it it made me lose my whole trle I saw the ball in the air like oh my goodness in mid and all of a sudden huh well you have to acknowledge something like that but uh he would have preferred it had been 67 yds in covered but it made it into the end zone with the wind at his back and so it's first and 10 from the 20 yd line and how about those tough yards by the backup running back Gavin Williams in there now for antario brown who will not return and we'll get to that antario brown inury but I tell you what as an offensive line when your running back runs the ball like he just did on that play it kind of fires you up a little bit and you know get you to going and I think that's what you're going to see with Coach hammock and this offensive coordinator Eric Eis they're going to challenge the offensive line now to drive the ball down the field running the ball between the tackles I mentioned the success he had during his three years as an Iowa Hawkeye his best game was against then number 22 Kentucky for nearly 100 yd Lombardi nowhere to run and I don't like that play right there you need to hand the ball off to your back you see right here good penetration up the field by the defender breaking up that play and that's what stopped the play a good job by number 47 Justin Jefferson to get penetration early and then Elijah Williams coming in to make that tackle and so that'll bring up third down five yds to go they've got to get across the 30 yd line to keep the football every yard counts here in the fourth quarter with the clock running tied at 13 NIU five of 13 on third Downs today Lombardi decisive has his top receiver near the line to gain it's going to be a first down with Trayvon Rudolph on the receiving end one more time and that's what I like to see North and South I don't like the East and West once again you've got really good Pursuit you've got great lateral Movement by both defensive lines so I think you need to be North and South with your play calling as opposed to trying to get the ball out in the flat Rudolph six catches for 53 yards he's also rushed four times for 10 yards Williams bottled up for a short gain on first down it's another tackle for Micah Coleman who got off to such a good start to this football game today and you you look the defense of alignment on that play you had five down defensive linemen lined up covering up all of the offensive Lin this is when you have opportunities to get the matchups on the [Applause] outside let's see if they go back to Williams went into fall Camp last year as the number one running back for the Iowa hawkey got hurt lost to spot transferred to Northern Illinois Lombardi still on his feet and still fighting but finally he goes down the pursuit was relentless by Eastern Michigan Payton price the nose tackle finally got him to the ground andard has to recognize that they're playing cover one one deep safety they've got everybody in the Box five down defensive linemen you've got to be able to recognize that and understand you've got to go to that Quick Pass game once again being a veteran player like bombardi you expect him to recognize that hold the snap count audible out of that and put a play in motion that is effective against everyone being in that box because if you get an an offensive player at the second level there's no one there because everybody's coming down hill I got to mention Adrien Gonzalez as well was actually the first one to get Lombardi down to the ground tight coverage by Kempton shine as the ball was delivered Jaylen Johnson it's a catch at the 40 yd line and this is going to be an interesting field as a completed pass short of the line of game fourth down I think you go for it uh you know this is a point in the game you've got three minutes left the clock is running your defense is playing well I think you definitely go for it but once again you've got to challenge that offensive line you know you run behind Brock lampy number 49 we haven't said his name lately but he's a guy guy on plays like this that you run behind from under Center Lombardi straight up the middle and The Surge will give the Huskies a first [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] down and a good job by the offensive line you see the surge you see black helmets going forward you see white jerseys moving backwards you cannot play high on situations like this the defensive line the defensive lineman for Eastern Michigan were high on that play you've got to basically get on all fours and bear crawl to uproot those linemen and now if you're Eastern Michigan the clock is a problem under three minutes to go can this defense get off the field flag comes I think he going to get a holding peny once again I don't like running outside of the tackles I think they're more effective in between the tack number 79 10yd penalty first out when you run outside the tackles what you're asking your offensive lineman to do is drop step and get reach blocks and often the defensive linemen are better athletes than the offensive linemen or those linebackers are better athletes that you're asking those linemen to get to the edge on so as an offensive lineman when you're trying to reach those guys you tend to reach out and grab those jerseys and that is why they're getting these holding penalties when they're trying to get to the outside with that rushing attack so they get push back 10 yards redo first down first and 20 screen pass Rudolph short gain maybe got three or four yards second down and long now what I look for at this point if they're able to get a stop on second down then I'll look for Eastern Michigan to start using those timeouts to preserve time and hopefully get the ball back with an opportunity to either get a field goal or get in scoring position and I us been penalized 10 times for 85 yds today and again they're behind the chains second down and long Lombardi shuel pass didn't fool anybody Eastern Michigan was ready to make the [Music] play Tim Grant Randall a senior from Conroe Texas with a huge defensive play and just as for as thought timeout called by Eastern Michigan with a precious 147 on the clock Geico makes car insurance as easi as loving parmesan say when say when say when when with 24/7 emergency roadside service it's easy to guide fresh ground pepper yes please Nissan has a car for everyone every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more electric at Nissan more Is All We Do at L'Oreal group we support Innovative projects that help restore damaged ecosystems more than 2 million Acres of ecosystems will be restored by 2030 this is how we create the beauty that moves the world rainex water appellancy wiper blades apply the magic of rainx to your windshield so water beads up and flies away the improved water beaing technology lasts longer so you see clearly reix outsmart the elements tourists tourists that turn into scientists tourists photographing thousands of miles of remote coral reefs that can be analyzed by AI in real time so researchers can identify which areas are at risk and help life underwater flourish the holidays are coming to the Home Depot with free delivery on over 2 million items so let the prepping Begin by dreaming a little bigger and lighting up your home with a lot more joy this season get holiday ready at the Home Depot okay get this right and you get my free ticket to tonight's game who is my all-time favorite receiver larar fitd yes Larry Fitz Larry true I heard you got an extra ticket to the game tonight I would love to go yeah sure it's it's all yours Larry thanks Billy I'll meet you out front what yeah okay it's Bob but okay yeah do even know your name dude I guess I'm Bill now with Vivid Seats when you buy 10 tickets you can get your 11th free think somebody should tell that guy he spilled mustard down the front of himself well I guess that's a hot dog costume got to stay warm any way you can today that is my creative outfit she's a smart young lady wrap yourself in a blanket and have somebody Hold On Tight the wind continues to whip with under two minutes remaining and a key third down with Rocky Lombardi and the Huskies offense trying to get across Midfield they've got to get to the 48 yd line Lombardi throws has the distance What A Catch Grayson bars going up and coming down with a football and they decided to play Man coverage the defender never turned around to locate the football awesome job Cameron Smith you've got to turn around and locate that football to not try and make a defensive play 21 yards on a well delivered football right on the money from Lombardi that could be a game-winning play that pass incomplete off the hands of Trayvon Rudolph so now with a minute 27 to go nor Northern is very much in control of things and if you're Northern you don't have to get it all right now get 8 nine yards you've got three timeouts left you've got a minute and 27 seconds you've got time to throw the ball all over the field don't try and get too much you need to be looking at field goal uh range right now as opposed to touchdown of course you would love to get a touchdown you don't want to put it on the kicker but you want to get at least into field goal range well they are pretty close right now despite the win Woodle already has a 39 yd field goal in this direction and he is confident Williams cuts it out now they're well within range can he get to the end zone knocked out of Bounds at the 2yd line as Gavin Williams has Northern Illinois knocking on the door and once again the right side of that offensive line has done an excellent job of giving him the space that he needed Potter and champ all afternoon have done their job firing off the football and you see Gavin Williams and the ability to get to the edge plant that foot getting North and South get those shoulders square and the speed to get up the field and now if you're the Eastern Michigan defense do you just get out of the way and let him score uh I've never liked that but understand right now I mean you're in a really bad [Applause] position Lombardi just goes down to a knee they want to exhaust the clock as they should and leave it to their kicker to win this football game and I don't know if you necessarily want to leave to the kicker but what you second 30 seconds in length what you want to do is make them use those timeouts I think you still want to get the touchdown but now you leave them with one timeout so you want to make them use those timeouts so just in case you do score and they get the ball back they don't have any timeouts so that makes their off offense very predictive at that point they have to either go with that long vertical game hoping to get a pass interference or to the outside so you kind of keep everything in front of you so I'd like the idea of kneeling right there making them use that timeout even if they score on this play you'll leave them one timeout as opposed to two good point good point Northern Illinois has three timeouts remaining so no matter what comes in the next minute 16 they will have options but the the big run by Gavin Williams sets them up 34 yds he picked up he's got 80 yards on only seven carries for the day will Lombardi take a knee again or will they try to punch it in with Williams behind [Applause] [Music] [Applause] him Lombardi again takes a knee could have scored there but chose not [Applause] to I don't know man you're playing with a little bit here Eastern Michigan they're third and final of the half please reset the game you have now exhausted Eastern Michigan of its timeouts now coach hamy trying to I'm telling my offensive line this is what we do summer workouts for this is the off season training this is why we hit the sled right here this is that sled work we do on Tuesdays on full pad days you need to fire off with the flat back you know when that second foot comes down that is when contact needs to be made no holding penalties if you can't block the guy don't try and trip him don't grab him just let him go get a chicken wing out there something but don't hold you don't want any penalties moving the ball B you want to fire off basically get an off all fours in a four-point stance and uproot those Defenders and push those white jerseys backwards I think we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that coach hammock is going with short sleeves here in the second half his quarterback tiptoes into the end zone for a touchdown not sure he wanted to but he did Rocky Lombardi puts his team up by six with a minute 11 to go that had to be the easiest touchdown rushing out ever ever seen by a quarterback we understand that they wanted to let him [Music] score but the way he was tiptoeing into the end zone almost like you said do I score here do I not what boots it through to make it a seven-point ball [Applause] [Music] game once again watch him he's kind of tip to like going looking [Music] yeah might as well well he had the game-winning walk-off touchdown run in overtime to start the season against Boston College he may have just had his second game-winning touchdown run of the year the Huskies with a bite here late in the fourth quarter but now again we need to point out Eastern Michigan will get the football back with the wind at its back what do you do well first you've got to secure the football on the kick but what are you thinking with no timeouts well you got to be careful if you're Northern Illinois cuz once again this is a team that has three returns for touchdowns this season five since 2020 so this is something that they do something that coach hammock talked to us about during our coaches meetings that theyve got to win special team they cannot allow this team to have a big special teams play so that's the first thing you do then you think about what you want to do defensively but you've got to make the play right here a low kick taken by by one of the upman across the 30 McMillan out of bounds it'll be good starting field position with a minute six on the clock and again the Eagles are out of timeouts so what you want to do as a defense you want to keep everything in front of you you want to keep two deep safeties but you also want to keep all of the players you give up you know the the the side I mean you give up the middle of the field you don't want to give up anything on the sideline to allow the offense to get out of bounds and stop the clock you want them to catch the ball in the middle middle of the field Jaylen Jackson is the running back standing alongside Austin Smith at the snap you expect the safeties to back up keep everything in front of them they've got to go 65 yds to try and force overtime that would have been a good start no Flags incomplete trying to find JB Mitchell coverage by Cyrus mcgarel who has an interception already here tonight and I'm surprised they're playing man coverage they've got two deep safeties but they're playing man coverage right now but if you're going to play man you've got to be able to get pressure on the quarterback can he get pressure with four pass rushers here's Smith under heavy pressure the ball comes out picked up by Eastern Michigan Mayo's got it still no whistle clock running under 50 seconds they've got a hurry Eastern gets a big break to pick up six yds and keep possession but down to 40 seconds and they can't clock it they've got to try and get the first down and they get that first down now they've got to hurry again and once again a defense for Northern Illinois you've got to keep everything in front of you El Zak the 8yd pickup Smith flag he is sacked ball comes loose Northern has the football 20 seconds to go and I think they're going to get a holding penalty so I think this is going to be northern's ball and they're going to win this football game but that's the pressure when you can get pressure with four pass rushes against five blockers you're going to win every time because they've got everything covered up you've got seven people back in coverage and I agree with you I think this is going to be a holding penalty that's going to be declined the field as a fumble recovered by the defense holding offense number 76 that penalty is declined first down nor Illinois and there you go that'll be a game-winning play for the huskys defense and once again you've got to expect your five offensive lineman being able to block four defensive lineman because they've got seven back in the coverage the quart has to find somewhere to go with the football they had two deep safeties and they had five guys in man coverage and the quarterback had nowhere to go with the football he had immediate pressure a good job by this Northern Illinois defense that was George gums and James eser who got after the quarterback and I think that might be an interception Smith just flipped it and Devonte Ali comes up with a football and whether it's a fumble recovery or an interception at this point for coach coach hammock is immaterial his team is about to win its third consecutive game and what a great win for this program the way that they gutted it out with this weather you see coach hammock extremely [Applause] excited you got to love that for this program tough hard fought ball game by both teams you hate to see a team lose but you know one team has to lose great win for North from Illinois well Rocky Lombardi was not sure he wanted to score the game-winning touchdown as he tiptoed across the goal line but uh now as the clock runs down everybody here in husky nation is happy that he did your final score Northern Illinois 20 Eastern Michigan [Music] 13 we have coach Hamm it coming over to join us so don't go anywhere the Huskies get the win to improve to three and one in League Play with their third straight win now 4-4 on the year coach hammock congratulations you told us this week that your defense was your team's backbone again here today how about that finish no they play they play I mean for four quarters we knew it was going to be a four quarter battle uh M West game uh couldn't be more proud of those guys couldn't be more proud of our coaches uh what a what a fantastic game coach talk about that third down play you had a timeout huge play Third and I think 21 and you were able to get the ball and and get you know that first down talk about that play no that was a big play by Grayson bnes uh just understand this uh you know he took a visit to Easter Michigan before us and they didn't want him and we wanted him he made the biggest play of the game but Grayson bnes is a tremendous player uh for us and uh that that that won the game I mean what I mean I'm speechless speechless and then what were you telling Rocky Lombardi on first and goal second and goal third and goal do you go in when do you go in he tiptoed in for the winning touchdown what was the thought process that was like that was like a a sneak Turtle we wanted to get a half a yard take a knee with the understanding that they had timeouts we wanted to get their timeouts out um and what a that's great management by Rocky by Officer staff uh and and obviously the defense made a play to win the game at the end well congratulations now three and one you keep Pace in the west a huge win three wins in a row we'll see you next week hey go Huskies with his alma mater like we said at the top of this broadcast that man bleeds Cardinal in Black well you got to love it for Coach hammock and and we talked about that it's it it it's him he embodies everything about Northern Illinois University football and you see the joy and exuberance on on his face and you see the energy him jumping up and down with those players I'm sure that locker room is going to be ecstatic and they're going to have a great postgame conversation but a great win for this program a tough gritty win for this program and here is the last drive that led up to the Oney game winning touchdown run by Rocky Lombardi well what I like about this first of all that third down snatch right there great catch and then the run right there by Willams to get down to the one yd line and we talked about this the easiest touchdown we probably ever seen and you know it's almost like nobody didn't want to score this got to get these seven points to put that pressure on because remember this Doug if you only to get three now you put Eastern Michigan in a position where all they need is a field goal to tie the game so you wanted to put that pressure on them by scoring that touchdown job well done for the Huskies of Northern Illinois they get the win for Forest Connelly I'm Doug Sherman saying so long from deal our final score 20 to 13 Huskies all games airing on the ESPN networks are streaming live and archived on the ESPN app this has been a presentation of ESPN Geo makes car insurance easy enjoy your flight you too as easy as saying the wrong thing dad why would you say that why would you say that are we leaving or I thought I knew you with an app that puts your policy in your pocket it's easy to GEICO how airports work man Nissan has a car for everyone every driver who wants more more turbo more freedom more electric at Nissan more Is All We Do the holidays are coming to the Home Depot with free delivery on over 2 million items so let the prepping Begin by dreaming a little bigger and lighting up your home with a lot more joy this season get holiday ready at the Home Depot you are not related there's no ancestry connecting you but look how similar you are you work at it you keep going you may not be brothers and sisters but if tough were a jean you would be