Rankings: Not ranked.
1. In Ross Bowers, Northern Illinois has an experienced quarterback who's played at a high level. Bowers played in 14 games and started 13 at Cal in 2017 and 2018, throwing for 3,039 yards and 18 touchdowns (with 12 interceptions) in 2017. In his first career start in 2017, all Bowers did was throw for a career-high 363 yards and four touchdowns in a win at North Carolina. Like NIU as a program, Bowers has seen the bright lights and isn't afraid of them. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder has completed nearly 65% of his passes for 528 yards and three TDs in his first two games at NIU.