Leading the Mid-American Conference with 1,656 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns in his first year on the field raised a few eyebrows.
Coming into this season as the nation's leading returning rusher garnered a Preseason All-American selection.
Torching the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes this past week for 171 yards rushing and 144 yards receiving in front of a national audience has many wondering what place he will go in next year's NFL draft.
Life is good for Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe right now. For the rest of his opponents in the MAC ' Ohio being the first when they meet Saturday afternoon ' life can be difficult when trying to figure out a way to stop him.
He's a problem
Ohio coach Frank Solich said. He's gonna be a problem for everybody that he faces. He's a legitimate big-time back and he's obviously got big-play ability every time he gets his hands on the ball.
In Northern Illinois' 35-12 loss to Ohio State last week, Wolfe proved that he can be more than just a threat on the ground, catching five passes for 114 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown reception. Coming into the season, he had only 339 career receiving yards and four touchdown receptions.
He's a different kind of back linebacker Tyler Russ said. He's a little smaller than usual but he's good. He's probably the best running back in the MAC maybe one of the best running backs in the nation.
As dominant of a running back Wolfe is, the Bobcats realize the pitfalls of putting all their focus on one player, especially since Northern Illinois quarterback Phil Horvath is no slouch either. Horvath threw for nearly 2,000 yards and completed 70.6 percent of his passes last season.
I think (Horvath)'s an excellent athlete and he
alone
can beat you
Solich said. So that becomes a problem when you have a quarterback with his abilities and a running back with Garrett's abilities.
So how exactly does Solich plan on stopping Northern Illinois' two-headed monster?
The best way to handle them is to keep them off the field as long as you can
Solich said. That would mean we have to control the ball on offense with long drives and then put some points on the board at the end of those drives ... but that's easier said than done.
Although Ohio put 29 points on the board last week against Tennessee-Martin, the offense struggled against their Division I-AA foe. The Bobcats netted only 144 yards of total offense, taking advantage of strong defense and special teams in the rout. It was the first time since 1988 that the team picked up a win without gaining at least 200 yards on offense.
The Bobcats know that a repeat of last Saturday's performance on offense could be disastrous against the 2005 MAC West Division Champion Huskies.
We felt that we underachieved a little bit this past Saturday
offensive tackle Matt Coppage said. We're figuring out what we need to do and we're looking to have a big game this Saturday.
With the Huskies pegged as the MAC's best team coming into this season, Ohio finds itself as a definite underdog in Saturday's matchup, making a potential upset all the more appetizing for the Bobcats.
This is the biggest game for us
Russ said. I think if we can win the game it will be a nice statement for us. It'd be a huge game for this program and will help us get where we want to go.'Battle for the Bell' returns
Ohio announced yesterday that it will restart the Battle for the Bell rivalry series with former MAC team Marshall in 2010 with the first of a six-game agreement in Huntington, W.Va. The Bobcats hold a 29-17-6 lead in the 52-game all-time series.
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