WIU at Northern Illinois (9/24/2016)

[letsgonecks]

Interesting.

Veloz...made me wonder if he's any relation to NIU's Veloz. Looks like they're brothers.

Nathan was recruited as an OL but moved to DL this year.

http://www.niuhuskies.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=381

Didn't know he moved to DL. Checked your last 2 deep the other day and was hoping he might be listed and the 2 bros would get to go against each other.

[wiu712]

Veloz...made me wonder if he's any relation to NIU's Veloz. Looks like they're brothers.

Looks like Jordan Veloz and Nathan Veloz are brothers:
http://www.goleathernecks.com/roster.as ... h=football

[ST_Lawson]

Veloz...made me wonder if he's any relation to NIU's Veloz. Looks like they're brothers.

Looks like Jordan Veloz and Nathan Veloz are brothers:
http://www.goleathernecks.com/roster.as ... h=football

Um...isn't that just what he said?

[Western_101]

Doesn't seem to be much interest in this game over on the NIU message board. If that translates into NIU fans not showing up this Saturday, combined with maybe 1,000 'Neck fans in attendance that would go a long way to neutralize home field advantage for the Huskies.

[rocki]

Doesn't seem to be much interest in this game over on the NIU message board. If that translates into NIU fans not showing up this Saturday, combined with maybe 1,000 'Neck fans in attendance that would go a long way to neutralize home field advantage for the Huskies.

Many of them are convinced they are going to pound us into the ground, that we can't stick with them. Others are convinced they suck eggs and we will win. I guess it's "all or nothing" in NIU land.

Hard for me to think what will happen - if they're as bad as the fan boards say they are, it looks really good for us.

Guess we'll know Saturday.

[niu007]

The “big” stadium isn’t quite so big (holds about 23,500 fans.

Huskie Stadium opened in 1965.

NIU is implementing a $138 million overhaul to the athletic facilities.

NIU plans to renovate Huskie Stadium. Following its renovation, the stadium will have a horseshoe shape, with end zone seating added to the south side of the stadium. The seating capacity will be raised to between 30,000 and 35,000, with the potential to expand it further to 42,000 in the future.

I can't imagine that that'll be happening any time soon. Attendance is down, enrollment is down, funding is...well...you know the state situation. If they had been able to capitalize on their success over the previous 5 or so years and kept the ball rolling for another year or two, they might have been able to work in an invite to the AAC if the Big 12 snags Houston, Cincinnati, or someone. At this point though, that's looking less and less likely.

There is a master plan to upgrade the stadium, and naturally it would have to be done with private donations. Word is, we have a bunch of money for it but it looks bad to upgrade the stadium when the school is struggling with the state's budget issues. And of course, the athletic department is subsidized some by student fees. The stadium does need updating, and I think one of the first priorities is some premium seating as that seems to sell fairly well. Any additional seating I believe would be a lower priority for obvious reasons.

[ST_Lawson]

There is a master plan to upgrade the stadium, and naturally it would have to be done with private donations. Word is, we have a bunch of money for it but it looks bad to upgrade the stadium when the school is struggling with the state's budget issues. And of course, the athletic department is subsidized some by student fees. The stadium does need updating, and I think one of the first priorities is some premium seating as that seems to sell fairly well. Any additional seating I believe would be a lower priority for obvious reasons.

That makes sense, thanks for the update. We're in pretty sore need of updating the west side of our stadium too, something that athletics and the university is well aware of, but I don't know that we have the money right now, and like you said, it probably wouldn't look all that good to spend that kind of money on a stadium upgrade when faculty are being laid off due to lack of funding from the state.

[niu007]

I think we're starting to get things going a little on offense, defensively we seem to be in the wrong place far too often, though we had some nice plays here and there against SDSU. Far too many penalties though.

I know I've been to a game or 2 against WIU in the past and have watched Western win. I expect a close game again.

[Western_101]

This isn't a predictions thread per say. So I'm not going to go there. I feel like it will be high scoring.

If one were to have told me a month ago the 'Necks would be heading into conference play 2-1 I would have thought that to be outstanding. I still do. So if we pull off the upset this Saturday that is just a bonus I wasn't expecting.

Provided NIU can win 3 or 4 games this season a loss for the 'Necks this week on the road at an FBS won't hurt come post season selection time.

The 'Necks have nothing to lose and don't have to be tentative with play calling. When a team is playing loose and having fun that can be special.

On the other hand NIU really needs this win. They will have a huge sense of urgency as a loss would be further demoralizing and really could throw the rest of the season into a tail spin. I still can't get a good idea of what to expect for attendance/support for the Huskies this Sat.

[rocki]

Wonder where YokedNeck and LN57 are? They've got a good ear on the program, would like to see their insights/information/predictions.