Jalen McKie – Noteworthy
NOV 5 MAC WEST DIVISION DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Northern Illinois DB Jalen McKie,…Northern Illinois redshirt freshman Jalen McKie (Gurnee, Ill.) made three huge plays in the Huskies’ 36-26 win at Akron, including a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions, the first of which he returned for 23 yards for a touchdown to extend NIU’s lead to 10 points with 9:05 to play. It was the first interceptions, and first touchdown, of his career, as well as the first defensive touchdown of the year for the Huskies. His second interception came on Akron’s last possession of the game and enabled the Huskies to run out the clock. He added three solo tackles and broke up a pass in the end zone on third and goal to hold Akron to a field goal in the third quarter. Those plays on defense do not take into account McKie’s biggest play of the game when he caught Ben LeRoy’s blocked PAT in the air and ran it back 80 yards for two points, turning a potential tie game into a three-point Huskie lead late in the third quarter. – MAC Football
Tre Harbison – Noteworthy
NOV 5 MAC WEST DIVISION OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Northern Illinois RB Tre Harbison,…Northern Illinois sophomore running back Tre Harbison (Shelby, N.C.) ran for a career high 169 yards on 23 carries with a two-yard touchdown run to power the Huskies’ offense in a 36-26 win at Akron on Thursday, Nov. 1. Harbison averaged 7.3 yards per carry as he picked up yardage and added a career-high three catches for 18 yards to total 187 all-purpose yards, the most by a Huskie in a game this year. Harbison did much of his damage in the first half with 122 yards on 14 carries for an 8.7-yard average. His touchdown capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive in the second quarter to give NIU a 14-7 lead. – MAC Football