Carifio: Missing players taking their toll on NIU’s season

What’s the difference between a reason and an excuse? When do you call out coachspeak and accept reality?

Those are hard to answer. But it’s easy to see that the players missing from the Northern Illinois lineup, be it from injury or whatever else, are definitely taking a toll on the Mid-American Conference title defense of the NIU football team. That’s not an excuse. It’s the reason the Huskies are now 1-4 and 0-1 in the MAC.

The Huskies led by 21 in the first half and 17 in the second half but lost 44-38 to Ball State on Saturday.

So let’s start at the start. Here’s the list of players, as far as I can tell, who have started or at the very least were projected to have an impact who were missing from action: quarterback Rocky Lombardi, left tackle Marques Cox, left guard J.J. Lippe, cornerbacks Jordan Gandy, JaVaughn Byrd and Eric Rogers (the top three CBs), and wide receivers Trayvon Rudolph, Shemar Thornton and Jalen Johnson (a true freshman seeing a lot of first-team reps in the spring).

That’s a lot of star power, and probably not even a complete list. Tight end Tristan Tewes and running back Mason Blakemore apparently did not play Saturday either, at least according to the stat sheet.

So coaches and players can talk about next man up. But the fact is quarterback Ethan Hampton, as many flashes as he shows, is not Rocky Lombardi. He had a solid game Saturday, going 17-of-29 passing with two touchdowns and an interception for 194 yards.

The pain at receiver is real, with Kacper Rutkiewicz and Cole Tucker combining for all but three receptions.

The pain in the secondary is real when you look at all the passing yards the Huskies give up. On Saturday, Ball State quarterback John Paddock completed 40 of 58 passes for 403 yards and three touchdowns. He did throw two interceptions to a pair of starters who still are healthy, safeties Devin Lafayette and C.J. Brown.

In fairness, the Huskies also had six pass breakups on the day, so there are definitely signs of life despite the second-half struggles of the secondary. Also in defense of the secondary, Amariyun Knighten, a true freshman cornerback, led the way with 10 tackles.

The success in the front seven is real, probably the healthiest spot for NIU. Ball State ran for 77 yards. The Huskies managed only one sack, although that doubled the number of sacks the Cardinals have given up this year.

So yes, next man up. You can definitely see why guys like Hampton or Knighten or Cyrus McGarrell are in the program. It’s a talented group. There are huge expectations for next year and the year after with what this group has shown.

But those are flashes. Those guys aren’t supposed to be carrying the load at so many different positions this soon. And it’s showing. You can plug one or two holes, but seven or eight is getting to be a big ask.

And still, the Huskies have been within a couple of plays each week from a win. You can squint and see a path where his group of players, even if no one comes back from injury, can pull together some wins and still compete in the MAC West. There aren’t many teams that could be missing this many players and still at least be competitive.

Players are going to talk about next man up. Coaches are going to talk about next man up. But in reality, there’s a limit to that. It’s not an excuse to dismiss the struggles. It’s a very real reason for them.