Utes Ready To Face Northern Illinois In Morning Kickoff Of Home Opener
Sep 6, 2019, 6:19 PM
Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley (1) leans back to pass during the first half of the Utah-BYU football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. (Colter Peterson, Deseret News)
(Colter Peterson, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Utah will open their 2019 home slate on Saturday against the Northern Illinois Huskies.
It’s the second ever meeting between the two schools in program history with Utah taking the first win on the road last season, 17-6.
The Utes had to grind out the win after Northern Illinois held their offense to just 68 rushing yards.
The Crimson Corner podcast previewed the game against NIU with their radio sideline reporter Andy Garcia.
The 2018 Meeting
NIU scored first in the opening quarter with a 49-yard field goal by Andrew Gantz to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead. Neither team scored in the second quarter, Utah finally scored for the first time in the third quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by Zack Moss.
Gantz nailed a 27-yard field goal with 6:51 remaining in the game to put NIU within one point. Utah kicker Matt Gay hit a 40-yard field goal with 4:38 left in the game to give the Utes a small cushion.
Utah linebacker Chase Hansen returned an interception 40-yards for a touchdown to seal the win for the Utes.
Tyler Huntley finished with 286 passing yards, while Moss was held to just 66 yards on 16 carries. The bright spot on Utah’s offense was Britain Covey, who had 8 receptions for 129 yards.
For NIU, quarterback Marcus Childers threw for 111 yards and one interception, running back Tre Harbison had 13 carries for 63 yards on the ground.
TOMORROW pic.twitter.com/BEObYYAhNI
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 6, 2019
About Northern Illinois
The Huskies finished the 2018 season with an 8-6 record, including a 30-29 comeback win in the MAC Championship game and a 37-13 loss to UAB in the Boca Raton Bowl. Following the season, head coach Rod Carey left the program to take over as the head coach of Temple.
Northern Illinois brought back alum Thomas Hammock to be the head coach, who was an assistant with the Baltimore Ravens from 2014-18. He has ties to Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig when both were on the coaching staff in Wisconsin with Utah State head coach Gary Andersen in 2013. Hammock was the assistant head coach and running backs coach, while Ludwig was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Badgers.
The offense for Northern Illinois runs through California graduate transfer quarterback Ross Bowers and Virginia transfer running back Tre Harbison.
This season, NIU is 1-0 after a 24-10 win over Illinois State in their home opener. The Huskies defense held the Redbirds to 187 passing yards and 51 yards on the ground.
The Utes and Huskies will kickoff at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Kyle Whittingham and the Utes are 8-2 in games that start in the morning since Whittingham as been the head coach.
