NIU and MU

[hammb]

I don't think Wolfe would gain more than 450-500 on us if we played them, really. I mean he was barely over 200 in the second half last year. Double it, and add a little just based on his improvement, and we come out at about 450 yards.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure we could hold him under 500...I don't see why ya'll would be so worried to play NIU!

[BelieveNBG]

The reason I believe we will be fine against the run is based on the following quotes. For the first time, Brandon has finally admitted that the run defense is a problem that needs fixing. You have to admit it to fix it. Against Wisky, they wrote it off on being due to the larger line, but Boise shed alot of light on the real problems. Even last year, they blamed NIU on not be prepared for Wolf, because he was the 3rd back and he surprised us. Well, we finally are willing to admit that things need fixing. I believe we run the table in the MAC, regardless of who we face. We are still the team to beat.

"We faced two pretty strong running football teams in Wisconsin and Boise, but even against weaker running teams on our schedule, we're still giving up too many yards," Brandon said. "We just need to keep working on that area of our defense. It's no secret, we're well aware of the problems and the issues. We're going to keep working on that and try to shore that up."

"We were finally making stops on third-and-5, third-and-2, making the big plays and getting off the field," Piepkow said. "This is what we need to do for the rest of the season."

Piepkow said a new defensive coordinator and scheme slowed its progress, but the defense has bettered its technique against the run since the season started.

"I think we're making a lot less mistakes and improving," he said. "If we continue to make the strides we've made so far, as far as being assignment-sharp, it'll work."