FSU Football: Why Northern Illinois could be sneaky threat to Noles in 2018
By Jason Parker
FSU football is going to have their work cut out for them with a 2018 schedule that has plenty of tough games and a couple that people aren’t thinking about.
When the 2018 schedule came out for the FSU football team, there were plenty of opponents that made fans of the Seminoles take a step back – from the contests at home against Clemson and Virginia Tech to road games against Miami and Notre Dame, the Noles know that they have their work cut out for them.
Of course, the entire schedule is not going to be a cakewalk considering that fact that Syracuse is the only team that didn’t make the postseason last year (even Samford made the FCS playoffs) – so it isn’t just the big names that FSU football has to look out for.
In fact, the Seminoles have a game toward the end of September that might throw a monkey wrench into their plans for the upcoming season: when they host the Northern Illinois Huskies on September 22nd.
It’s not because this Mid-American Conference team has so many more athletes than the Seminoles or is a better team, but all about where they fall on the schedule and what they bring to the table on one side of the ball.
The Huskies and Noles will meet each other after FSU football has taken on Virginia Tech, Samford and Syracuse – meaning that FSU football could potentially be riding high and undefeated but also staring down the barrel of games at Louisville, at Miami and against Clemson over the following five weeks.
In addition, the Huskies will bring to town a defense that ranked 19th in the FBS last season against a team that might still be learning the finer points of head coach Willie Taggart’s Gulf Coast offense. While NIU was 86th on offense, they have a unit that can keep the Seminoles’ offense guessing if they bring their best game.
FSU football is without a doubt a more talented team all around than anything that the men from Dekalb, Illinois will have come late September in Tallahassee. Still, with what took place last season, we can’t take anything for granted heading into the 2018 season.
Next: Will Seminoles schedule west coast game in coming seasons?
There are other games the Seminoles have to watch out for – Wake Forest and Boston College come to mine – but the showdown with the Huskies could be one that makes or breaks the 2018 season very early.