Countdown to kickoff: Northern Illinois

The 119^th season of Boston College football is finally upon us, with a season opening kickoff on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. EST, as the Eagles visit Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois to face Northern Illinois.

It will be the second time in three seasons, but only third time overall, that the two programs have met, with the Eagles having won their home tilt against the Huskies, 17-14, on September 26, 2015.

At this point, neither coach has announced their starting quarterback for the season. Head coach Steve Adazzio will be making his choice between graduate student Darius Wade and redshirt freshman Anthony Brown.

"We have a plan in place, and I'm going to keep that plan with us right now and act upon it according to what we've laid out for us," Adazzio said during Tuesday's media availability.

In the previous battle between the two schools, Jon Hilliman had racked up 119 yards on the ground before suffering a season-ending injury.

"I definitely got a little something with them, personally," the junior running back said. "We beat them two years ago, but that's years ago, this is a different team. I can't wait for this game coming up."

CBS Sports Network will be televising the season opener nationally, with Jason Horowitz on play-by-play, David Diehl proving color commentary and Erik Coleman as sideline reporter.

The BC IMG Sports Network will provide the radio broadcast locally on WEEI 850 AM and nationally on Sirius XM channel 81, as Jon Meterparel, "The Voice of the Eagles," returns to play-by-play duties, accompanied by Pete Cronan (color) and Scott Mutryn (sideline).

What they're saying

"They've historically had great teams there, won some mighty big games. They have an offense that averaged over 460 yards of offense last year, pretty evenly split, run-pass. They have a great program. I've always been an admirer of their program. I coached in the MAC, I have a good familiarity with the MAC….the job that's been done there has been incredible. We know what kind of team we might face. We understand the challenges of being on the road playing a quality Division 1 opponent." – BC Head Coach Steve Addazio

"We're expecting a really hard, four-quarter football game. We have a ton of respect for BC. I know that there going to be a little more up-tempo than they have been in the past. Starting with the bowl game, they started implementing that stuff last season. The foundation of their program is going to be foundation of their program and that's for them to run the ball and play unbelievable defense. That presents a challenge because they are a big, strong, physical football team that we have to go step up and meet that challenge. I look forward to our guys doing that, I think they can. Like I said, I'm excited for us to get out there and measure ourselves up against a very quality opponent in this first week." – NIU Head Coach Rod Carey.

"The season opener is kind of tough. You're coming out of this camp stretch, so you have to go from playing against yourself to preparing for an opponent. Not seeing that opponent play someone else first is kind of tricky. You're not sure what they'll come out with, so basically you just prepare for what you've seen of their most recent games in order to be successful in the opener." - Senior captain Kamrin Moore

"On defense, I think they're coached well, they know their scheme well and they're going to do what they do. It'll be interesting to see what they bring in the first game." - Senior captain Jon Baker

"I think they have a very solid offensive line. They definitely have a solid run game. They do different thing that will get people out of position. If everyone just focuses on doing their job, I think everything can fall into place. They do a lot in the pass game as well. The way we've been hitting it every day in practice and the film room, I think we'll be ready for them." – Senior defensive end Harold Landry

Countdown to Northern Illinois

10…Team-leading pass breakups by defensive back Isaac Yiadom last season.

9…The number of offense starters returning – OLs Jon Baker, Elijah Johnson, Chris Lindstrom and Aaron Monteiro; WRs Jeff Smith, Michael Walker and Charlie Callinan; TE Tommy Sweeney; RB Jon Hilliman.

8…The number of preseason All-American teams that Harold Landry finds himself on – AP, ESPN.com, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Phil Steele, Athlon, Lindy's, Street & Smith

7…Last season's win total, anchored by three straight victories down the stretch, including the Eagles first bowl win since 2007, 36-30, over Maryland in the Quick Lane Bowl.

6…The total number of rushing TDs by Jon Hilliman last year, a team high. Hilliman had a 21-yard TD run versus NIU in their 2015 tilt.

5…Head coached Steve Addazio (24-27) enters his fifth season at the helm. He is 3-1 in previous season openers and has guided the Eagles to three bowl games.

4…The number of fumbles that senior linebacker Connor Strachan jumped on a season ago, a team high.

3…The margin of victory (17-14) for the Eagles the last time they faced off against Northern Illinois in 2015.

2…Last season the Eagles defense was second in the nation with 3.62 sacks per game. Seventy percent of the total sacks from a year ago return to the mix.

1….This will mark the Eagles first ever visit to DeKalb, Ill.

Players Mentioned

Jon Baker

Anthony Brown

Charlie Callinan

Jon Hilliman

Elijah Johnson

Harold Landry

Chris Lindstrom

Aaron Monteiro

Kamrin Moore

Jeff Smith

Connor Strachan

Tommy Sweeney

Darius Wade

Michael Walker

Isaac Yiadom

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