NIU-ISU Halftime

The highly touted Northern Illinois defense is being picked apart by Austen Arnaud as Iowa State claimed a 17-0 halftime lead. The Huskies have gotten little pressure on the Iowa State quarterback, whose receivers are being given a 5-10 yard cushion by the NIU defensive backs.

Arnaud was 17 of 22 passing for 169 yards and rushed for 43 yards. NIU kept Alexander Robinson in check for eight of his nine carries, but the Doak Walker Award candidate broke a 63-yard touchdown run.

Kicking is going to be a sore spot for NIU all season if it doesn't improve its snapper-holder-kicker chemistry soon. Michael Cklamovski was 0-for-2. His last miss from 33 yards came after he had two warm-up attempts, both misses, due to Iowa State timeouts.

The Huskies offense hasn't been on the field long. The NIU coaches seem to be playing it safe with quarterback DeMarcus Grady who was 10 of 15 passing for 49 yards. That's 3.3 yards per passing attempt.