Well, Northern Illinois finally scored, on a 19-yard field goal by Matthew Sims. But the Huskies couldn't find the end zone after getting 1st down and goal at the two-yard line.
NIU then failed to capitalize on Austen Arnaud's second interception of the night as DeMarcus Grady followed up with his own second interception of the night.
The Huskies defense has been in bend-but-not-break mode, but they aren't getting much help from the Grady-led NIU offense. Grady began the half with completions of 13 and 22 yards but overthrew wide open receivers for would-be touchdowns twice.
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.
Iowa State 7, Northern Illinois 0, end of first quarter
Iowa State took the lead on quarterback Austen Arnaud's two-yard touchdown run with 2:27 left in the quarter to cap a 68-yard scoring drive. It would have been Arnaud's second touchdown run of the night but a 53-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the game was called back on an illegal procedure penalty.
The Northern Illinois defense has played well, for the most part, on first and second down but have given up three third-down conversions and one fourth-down conversion.
DeMarcus Grady was 6-of-7 passing on his first drive, but the coaches seem to be sticking to short routes to build up Grady's confidence, as the six completions went for 26 yards.
Jerry Kill showed some confidence in kicker Michael Cklamovski when he allowed the Illinois transfer to try a 49-yard field goal attempt. It had the distance but went wide right. We'll see if Kill continues to show that type of confidence in his kicking game later on.
AMES, Iowa - Northern Illinois football spokeswoman Donna Turner has told HuskieWire that junior DeMarcus Grady will start at quarterback tonight for the Huskies' season opener at Iowa State.
Grady won a three-way quarterback competition over incumbent starter Chandler Harnish, a junior, and redshirt freshman Jordan Lynch.
Harnish started nine games each in 2008 and 2009 but missed games due to injury both seasons. A knee injury kept him out of most of spring practices, though he did not need surgery.
NIU coach Jerry Kill said he's wanted durability and stability at the position, and Grady, who has a 5-0 record as a fill-in starter at NIU, has improved during his time as a first-stringer during the spring and the August training camp.
Daily Chronicle beat writer Jeremy Werner breaks down the Northern Illinois-Iowa State matchup position-by-position. The Huskies and Cyclones kickoff the season Thursday in Ames, Iowa, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.
Quarterback
NIU coach Jerry Kill still hasn't named a starter in its three-man race, but his decision would be easy if he had Austen Arnaud, Iowa State's dual-threat quarterback. Arnaud's passing production slipped last season (2,792 yards and 10 interceptions in 2008 to 2,015 yards and 13 interceptions last year), but his most important stat, wins, increased (from two to seven).
EDGE: Iowa State
Running back
Both teams have Doak Walker Award candidates. NIU's Chad Span rushed for 1,038 yards and 19 touchdowns last year. ISU's Alexander Robinson totaled 1,195 yards and six touchdowns. Both teams have depth as well.
EDGE: Tie
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
NIU senior Landon Cox will be the best receiver on the field and could play on Sundays, and Nathan Palmer shined during training camp. ISU has experienced and lengthy starters (all three are 6-foot-1 or taller).
EDGE: Northern Illinois
Offensive line
NIU will start three new starters on the offensive line and don't have much for depth. The Huskies average 308 pounds. ISU returns three starters – including second-team All-Big 12 performer Kelechi Osemele – and average 316 pounds.
EDGE: Iowa State
Defensive line
The Huskies feel comfortable rotating eight or nine defensive lineman and will need its smaller front to find ways to penetrate the massive Cyclones offensive line. The Cyclones are deep at defensive tackle but have questions at defensive end.
EDGE: Northern Illinois
Linebackers
NIU has two new starters, while ISU replaces all three starters. The smaller Huskies group could have troubles if the defensive line doesn't eat up blockers.
EDGE: Tie
Secondary
ISU junior Leonard Johnson could be the best defender on the field on Thursday, and Cyclones head coach Paul Rhoads touts his secondary as the strength of his young, but athletic, defense. NIU has the experience edge but are weakened with returning starter Patrick George doubtful (ankle).
EDGE: Iowa State
Special teams
Jerry Kill raves about ISU kicker Grant Mahoney. He probably wishes the ISU junior could solve his questions at kicker. NIU punter Josh Wilber had a strong camp, but this game could come down to extra points and field goals.
EDGE: Iowa State
Intangibles
Iowa State should have a raucous crowd of 55,000 behind them. And Cyclones fans are excited about the veteran duo of Arnaud and Robinson leading the offense. NIU has played composed in BCS environments recently and shouldn't be spooked by the Big-12 crowd.
EDGE: Tie
PREDICTION:
Iowa State 24, Northern Illinois 20
If the Huskies can keep a leash on Arnaud and Robinson, they could go blow for blow with Iowa State. But this could come down to kicking, and that's not a good thing for NIU.
(HuskieWire season record 0-0)
