Time to start thinking about Northern Illinois

On Monday the Football team officially starts practice. Like all summer camps, there will be plenty of installations, scrimmages and position battles. But the team will also do some work getting ready for Week 1: Northern Illinois.

Don't take a MAC game for granted
In case you forgot, the whole set up against Northern Illinois is a little off and not in BC's favor. We're on the road and the game is a Friday night with a 9:30 PM kickoff. Because it is the first game, the team won't be breaking set routine, but those little schedule issues add up. It makes adjusting that much harder. Remember we had unexpectedly tough MAC road games to start the 2006 and 2004 season. BC is only a slight favorite now.

They have a QB battle too
While the enter the season with more experience at QB than BC, none of it is all that good. Ryan Graham has more experience and ok-ish stats. Daniel Santacaterina has youth and upside. Neither has faced the sort of pressure BC can bring. BC needs to attack these guys early.

BC should be able to run against them
We have an advantage on the OLine and need to ease our QBs into the game and season. The plan should be to run the ball and run some more. Sounds just like Addazio, right? I just hope that there is a bit of creativity in the approach as BC doesn't want to challenge NIU's respectable secondary.

In a season low on cupcakes, BC needs a win to start the year. NIU is a very winnable game. Let's hope the guys start thinking and preparing for that Monday.