HUSKIE BITES

• The NIU Huskies open a most unusual 118th season of intercollegiate football on Wednesday, November 4th when they welcome the University at Buffalo Bulls to Huskie Stadium.
• Due to state of Illinois, Mid-American Conference and NIU regulations in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, fans - except for family members of the players and coaches - will not be permitted in Huskie Stadium in 2020 and parking lots will not be open for pregame tailgating. 
• NIU graduate Thomas Hammock, a two-time first team Academic All-American who rushed for 1,000 yards to lead the Huskies in both 2000 and 2001, begins his second year as head coach. Prior to returning to NIU, he served as running backs for the Baltimore Ravens for five seasons.
• The Huskies' 2020 roster includes 57 newcomers and 66 underclassmen (freshmen, redshirt freshmen or true sophomores).
• Returning quarterback Ross Bowers will have a brand new pack of running backs behind him this season. The only returning tailback - redshirt freshman Rondarius Gregory - carried just nine times for 43 yards in three games of action last season. He is joined by junior college transfer Erin Collins and true freshman Harrison Waylee on the depth chart at tailback.  
• Among the five returning starters on defense for NIU are a pair of seniors who missed the majority of the 2019 season in Lance Deveaux Jr. and Kyle Pugh. Together, they bring more than 34 starts and 250 tackles to the 2020 defense.  
• NIU carries a 12-game winning streak versus the Bulls into the season opener, with Buffalo's last win over the Huskies coming in the series' first game in 1968, before either team was a Football Bowl Subdivision program.    
• Over the last 10 years, NIU has been one of the most successful "Group of Five" teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision with four MAC Championships (most recently in 2018) and 10 bowl appearances in the last 12 years. NIU played in seven of the 10 MAC title games between 2010-19.

 NIU FOOTBALL FACTS 

Head Coach: Thomas Hammock (NIU '02)
Record at NIU/Years: 5-7/1
Career Record/Years: Same
Basic Offense/Defense: Multiple/4-3
First Year of Football: 1899
All-Time Record: 592-501-51
2019 Record/MAC Record/Finish: 5-7/4-4/3rd
Last Bowl Game: 2018 Cheribundi Roca Raton Bowl (UAB 37, NIU 14)
Bowl Appearances (FBS): 13
MAC Championship Appearances, Last: 8, 2018
MAC Championships, Last: 5, 2018
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 34/35
Starters Returning : 14 (6 offense, 5 defense, 3 specialists)
Starters Lost: 11 (5 offense, 6 defense)
 

  BUFFALO FOOTBALL FACTS  

2019 Record: 8-5
Mid-American Conference Record/Finish: 5-3/T2nd
Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Lance Leipold (Wisconsin-Whitewater/1987)
Record at Buffalo/Years: 23-25/Fourth
Career Record/Years: 133-31/12th
Location: Buffalo, N.Y.
Enrollment: 29,850
Conference: Mid-American, East Division (MAC)
Colors: Blue and White
Stadium: UB Stadium
      Surface/Capacity: A-Titan Turf /30,270
President: Satish K. Tripathi
Athletic Director: Mark Alnutt
Athletics Website: ubbulls.com
Twitter: @UBFootball
Ticket Information: 877-UB-THERE

Buffalo Schedule & Results

  NIU-BUFFALO SERIES  

Overall: NIU leads 12-1
In Buffalo: NIU leads 5-0
In DeKalb: NIU leads 6-1
Neutral Site: NIU leads 1-0
In MAC Games: NIU leads 8-0
Streak: NIU, 12
First Meeting: Nov. 9, 1968; UB 20, NIU 7 (H)
Last Meeting: Nov. 30, 2018 NIU 30, UB 29 (N)
 

TV: NIU-BUFFALO ON ESPN2

• The NIU-Buffalo game will air on ESPN2.
• The Huskies make their 36th all-time appearance on ESPN2, the most of any ESPN Network, and are 24-11 in those games.
• Anish Shroff (play-by-play) and Tom Luginbill (color analyst) will be on the call from Charlotte with sideline reporter Taylor McGregor on site.

RADIO: Huskie sports network

• The Huskie Sports Radio Network broadcast for the Buffalo game begins at 5:30 p.m. CT, 30 minutes before kickoff.
• The game will be carried on NIU network affiliates WLBK AM 1360/FM 98.9 (DeKalb), AM 560 The Answer (Chicago) and Sports Fan Radio AM 1330 (Rockford).
• Hear the broadcast online via NIUTube (subscription), and on mobile devices via TuneIn. Download the app for free and find the NIU Huskies channel.
• Bill Baker begins his 41st season as the radio play-by-play "Voice of the Huskies." Color analyst Mark Lindo joins him for the 35th consecutive season, while Andy Garcia is in his eighth season on the NIU sidelines.

NIU WEEKLY ON YOUTUBE

• The show features interviews with football coach Thomas Hammock, other NIU coaches and special guests.
• Watch on the NIU Athletics YouTube Channel every Wednesday.
• Andy Garcia and NIU Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier host the show.

 
NIU ATHLETICS ON YOUTUBE

• See weekly and post-game press conferences, video features, highlights of past games and more.
• Subscribe for FREE and click the bell to be notified every time NIU posts a new video.
• Search "NIU Athletics" on YouTube.com to find the channel.

 
GETTING SOCIAL

• Twitter: @NIUAthletics, @NIUScores, @NIU   Football
• Facebook: NIU Huskies, NIU Football
• Instagram: niuhuskies, niufootball
• See NIU Athletics' social media hub online for all the team and staff accounts.

LID LIFTERS:  NIU is 19-32 in season-opening games as a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program. Last year, the Huskies defeated Illinois State, 24-10, at Huskie Stadium in Thomas Hammock's debut as head coach. The win gave NIU its first season-opening victory since a 38-30 defeat of  UNLV at home in the 2015 opener.

FOR OPENERS:  Since 1969, NIU is 28-21 in home openers at Huskie Stadium, and is 15-12 as an FBS program when opening a season at home. The Huskies are 3-1 in their last three season openers at Huskie Stadium, including last year's win over Illinois State.

LEADING OFF VS. THE MAC: NIU opens the season versus a Mid-American Conference opponent for the first time since 1998, a 37-23 loss to Western Michigan, and for the seventh time as a league member. The Huskies are 1-5 all-time when opening against a MAC foe with the lone win a 17-0 decision over WMU in 1985. 

DOGS & BULLS ALL-TIME: NIU leads the all-time series with Buffalo, 12-1, and has won the last 12 contests, including every game since the Huskies became a Football Bowl Subdivision (then called "Major College") team in 1969 and eight games as league foes. Buffalo won the first game in the series, a 20-7 decision over NIU in DeKalb in 1968. Each of the last two meetings between the teams - and three all-time - has been decided by one point, with NIU claiming a 14-13 win at Buffalo in 2017 and coming back to win the 2018 MAC Championship game, 30-29.

THE LAST MEETING: NIU staged a fourth-quarter comeback for the ages in the 2018 MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit, overcoming a 19-point deficit to claim a 30-29 win. Quarterback Marcus Childers threw for 300 yards and four touchdown passes and hit D.J. Brown with the 35-yard game-winner with 1:09 to play. All-American defensive end made 10 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and recorded a pair of sacks. The win gave NIU its fourth MAC title in eight years.

MAC OPENERS: The Huskies are 17-18 in conference opening games all-time. After winning three consecutive MAC openers between 2016-18, NIU dropped a  27-20 decision to Ball State at Huskie Stadium in its initial 2019 MAC game. 

MIDWEEK MACTION: NIU is 23-6 in league games played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays since 2010, including a 13-4 mark in MACtion home games. Only one of the eight meetings between NIU and Buffalo as league members has been played during November #MACtion; the Huskies defeated UB 41-30 on Nov. 11, 2015 in that Wednesday night ESPNU game.

HOME SWEET HOME: With a 71-24 record at home since 2003, NIU has raised its all-time record at Huskie Stadium to 178-107-2 for a .624 all-time winning percentage. During that stretch, the Huskies have had 15 winning records at home and five undefeated seasons in DeKalb (2003, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013).

LATE START: With scores and schedules prior to 1922 incomplete, this year's November 4 start is believed to be the latest confirmed opener in school history. Prior to this year, the latest starting date was October 8 in a six-game season in 1927.  NIU's latest start to the season was on September 16, 1978.

HUSKIES IN THE MAC: After posting a 4-4 mark versus MAC foes in 2019, NIU brings a 156-105-2 all-time mark into MAC play in 2020. The Huskies are 120-60 (.667) in league action since re-joining the MAC in 1997. Since 2010, NIU is 65-15 against the MAC with three undefeated campaigns , two one-loss seasons, six-straight division championships and seven overall during that stretch. The Huskies are in their 35th season as a member of the Mid-American Conference in 2020-21, including an initial stint in the league from 1975-85.

BEASTS OF THE EAST?: NIU has won 25 of its last 28 regular season games versus MAC East Division opponents and is 29-4 versus MAC East teams since 2008. Miami and Ohio are the only MAC East foes to defeat the Huskies during that time. The Huskies are 4-3 versus the MAC East in conference title games since 2010, defeating Ohio (2011), Kent State (2012), Bowling Green (2014) and Buffalo (2018), while falling to Miami (2010) and Bowling Green (2013 & 2015).

NIU vs. the MAC East (since 2008)

LEADER OF THE MAC: NIU has been the winningest team in the Mid-American Conference since 2010 with 91 wins to go with a league-leading .674 winning percentage. The Huskies made seven trips to the conference championship game in the last 10 years (2010-19) and won four MAC titles (2011, 2012, 2014, 2018). Add eight bowl games, and the Huskies have played 131 games since 2010.

MAC W-L Records Since 2010

LAND OF LINCOLN LEADERS: Since 2010, NIU is the winningest football program among the state of Illinois' Division I football programs, and are 1-1 versus its fellow FBS programs with a 2014 win over Northwestern and a 2010 . The Huskies defeated Eastern Illinois in 2017 and 2013 and Northwestern in 2014, while falling to Illinois and Western Illinois in 2010 and 2016, respectively. With eight bowl games and seven MAC Championship game appearances in the last nine years, NIU has also played more games, 123, than any other school in the state.

 Illinois' Division I Schools Since 2010

*Includes 2020 game

ONCE A HUSKIE...: In addition to being the school's first African-American head coach, Thomas Hammock is the first NIU graduate to lead his alma mater's football team as an FBS program, and the first overall since Howard Fletcher led the Huskies from 1956-68. Fletcher ranks second on NIU's all-time wins list with a .606 winning percentage after posting a 74-68-1 record in 13 seasons.

FROM PLAYER TO COACH: A four-year letterwinner at tailback who earned first team Academic All-American honors from CoSIDA in 2000 and 2001, Thomas Hammock gained 2,423 yards rushing in 32 games in his NIU career, which still ranks 13th all-time in Huskie history. He was a first team All-MAC selection in 2000 and 2001 after back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns. Hammock's playing career was cut short after the first game of his senior season when he was diagnosed with a heart condition. He was replaced in the line-up by a familiar name, future NFL All-Pro Michael Turner.

HUSKIE CONNECTIONS: NIU linebacker Nick Rattin, a Fremd (Illinois) High School product, is at NIU thanks to a connection from head coach Thomas Hammock's Huskie playing days. Fremd High School football coach Lou Sponsel was a fullback for NIU when Hammock arrived in DeKalb as a freshman. When Hammock returned as head coach, he got a call from Sponsel recommending Rattin, who walked on to the NIU program last June (2019), and became a starter midway through the season when injuries hit the linebacking corps. Rattin has since been awarded a scholarship.

TRADING PLACES: NIU has a pair of former Buffalo assistant coaches on its staff while the Bulls have two coaches with NIU ties. NIU offensive line coach Darryl Agpalsa joined Thomas Hammock's staff in January 2019 after coaching the line at Buffalo for four seasons (2015-18), including against NIU in the 2018 MAC Championship game. NIU linebackers coach Robert Wimberly spent the 2009 season at Buffalo where he helped recruit Khalil Mack to the school. Buffalo quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski was on Jerry Kill's staff at NIU in 2010. While Buffalo associate head coach and wide receivers coach Rob Ianello did not coach at NIU, his wife, the former Denise Dove, was a three-year starter at point guard for the Huskies and was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.  

NEW FACES:  The 2020 Huskie coaching staff includes a pair of new faces in Dan Jackson and Nic McKissic-Luke. Dan Jackson took over as NIU's cornerbacks coach after eight seasons at South Dakota State. He also shares special teams coordinator duties with Aaron Wilkins, who moved from cornerbacks to tight ends. Tony Sorrentino went from tight ends to wide receivers for 2020, while McKissic-Luke came on to coach the NIU running backs after four years at Youngstown State. 

NEW NAMES: With 57 new names on the 2020 NIU roster, including freshmen and transfers, you really can't tell the Huskies without a program this year. The newcomers outnumber the returnees 57-55 with 34 returning letterwinners. Of the 57 new faces, 47 are true freshmen, four come to NIU from the junior college ranks, three are grad transfers and one is an undergrad transfer from a four-year school and two are non-freshmen walk-ons. 

READY TO ROLL: The Huskie newcomers aren't just here to fill the roster. Five true freshmen, four on defense, are listed as starters with another nine on the two-deep as back-ups. Junior college transfer Erin Collins is slated to start at tailback while DeKalb native Jordan Gandy, a transfer from South Dakota State, fills a number one spot at cornerback. Grad transfers Andrew Haidet (QB, Houston Baptist) and Luke Mallette (TE/FB, Amherst College) are both on the second team.

WALK-ON U: Of the 112 players on the Huskies 2020 roster, 43 are currently or began their careers at NIU as walk-ons. The list includes players like senior punter Matt Ference, set to break nearly every NIU career record for punting, and multiple impact players like Nick Rattin and Vinny Labus, fullback Brett Bostad and more. They join a long and distinguished list of NIU players from the past that arrived as walk-ons such as 2010 MAC MVP Chad Spann and eight-year NFL veteran Rashaan Melvin.

SIXTH SENSE: The Huskies 2020 roster includes a trio of players in their sixth year of college football. Linebacker Kyle Pugh has spent all six seasons at NIU with both his 2017 and 2019 years cut short in the first third of the year due to injury after a redshirt season in 2015. Tight end Daniel Crawford also redshirted in 2015 and then missed the entire 2018 campaign due to a knee injury suffered the previous spring. Quarterback Ross Bowers begins his sixth year and his second at NIU after arriving as a grad transfer last season.      

'BACKERS BACK: A year ago, NIU entered preseason camp with three senior linebackers, making the position one of the most experienced and deep on the team. But outside linebacker Lance Deveaux Jr. suffered a season-ending injury during camp and middle linebacker Kyle Pugh went out after game two, leaving Antonio Jones-Davis, who was injured mid-way through the year. Now Deveaux and Pugh are back with 101 and 150 career tackles, respectively.

43: That is the total number of yards for the Huskies' leading returning rusher in 2020 after transfers, opt outs and graduation forced a "re-set" of the running backs room. Those departures left Rondarius Gregory, who played in just three games and returns this year as a redshirt freshman, as NIU's only returning rusher with a grand total of nine carries for 43 yards. He gained 36 of those yards on seven carries in the 2019 season finale.

ON THE VERGE: Senior punter Matt Ference, whose 41.4 yard punting average currently ranks first on the Huskie career charts, needs 24 punts and 627 yards to add those career records to his résumé. A four-year starter, Ference has punted 234 times for 9,686 yards in 39 games while also serving as NIU's holder. Ference already holds the single season marks for punts and punting yards.

HONORS CANDIDATE: In addition to his punting prowess, St. Louis native Matt Ference has been named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List. The honor goes to the top punter in the country. He is also a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, the award which recognizes the top football scholar-athlete in the nation and is selected from across every division of college football. Ference, who earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from NIU with a 3.43 GPA, is pursuing his MBA.

DEGREES IN HAND: NIU's 2020 roster includes 14 players who have already earned their college degrees, including four who came to NIU as grad transfers. 

Player (Pos.)  - Major/Grad Degree

Erik Abrell  (LS)  - Finance (B.S. & Master's)
Ross Bowers* (QB)  - Sports Management (M.S.)
Daniel Crawford  (TE) - Enterprise Software (B.S.); Digital Marketing (M.S.)
Michael DeHaan (TE) - Marketing (B.S.); Digital Marketing (M.S.)
Greg DeLuca*   (FB)  - Sport and Exercise Physiology (M.S.)
Lance Deveaux Jr. (LB) - Sports Management (M.S.)
Matt Ference  (P) - Marketing (B.S.); Business Administration (M.B.A.)
Andrew Haidet* (QB) - Business Administration (M.B.A.)
Luke Mallette*  (TE) - Sports Management (M.S.)
Shaquan Oliver (TB) - Business Administration (B.S.)
Benn Olson (OG) - Engineering Management (B.S.); Industrial and Systems Engineering (M.S.)
Brayden Patton (C) - Communications/Media Studies (B.A.); Sports Management  (M.S.)
Kyle Pugh (LB) - Sports Management (M.S.)
Maximillian Thrower(TE) - Advocacy/Public Communications (B.A.); Sports Management (M.S.)

*Graduate transfer.

BOWERS IS BACK: With a year in the Huskie offense under his belt, grad transfer Ross Bowers returns at quarterback for NIU and is in his sixth season in college football overall. In nine games last year, Bowers threw for 2,130 yards on 166-of-278 passing for a 57.8 percent completion rate. His top passing performance came versus Ohio when he completed 23-of-39 passes for 338 yards and a touchdown as NIU upset the Bobcats in Athens on John Richardson's game-winning field goal.

BRINGING THE JUICE: With fans in the stadium limited to player familie, NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock created the "Juice Committee," a group of players, coaches and staff who came up with a series of ideas to amp up the volume during practices and games in 2020. Several of those ideas have already been implemented. At each practice, one player wears the yellow "Juice" jersey,  award to the player who brought the most energy to practice the previous day.  During practices and games, NIU staff will bang a large drum for big plays on offense or defense. On the sidelines, the Huskie "photo booth" is a spot where players can "pose" and a team photographer will take their picture after touchdowns or turnovers. Of course, there is the Huskie version of the "turnover chain" with the fumble recoverer or interceptor receiving a dog bone.  

COAST TO COAST: Thomas Hammock and his staff have put together one of the most geographically diverse rosters NIU has seen in several years with Huskie players hailing from 16 different states and two different countries. Huskie hometowns stretch - literally - from coast to coast with Washington (Ross Bowers), Oregon (Connor Neville) and California (Rodney Thompson) representing the West Coast. There are four Huskies from Hammock's native New Jersey, seven from Florida and  two each from Texas and Georgia. Junior college transfer Woodly Appolon hails from Montreal, Canada. Of course the largest representation call the Midwest home, topped by 53 Illinoisans and 16 Wisconsinites. The Huskie roster by the state-by-state numbers:

Illinois - 53; Wisconsin - 16; Michigan - 8; Florida - 7; Indiana - 4; New Jersey - 4; Iowa - 4; Minnesota - 3; Missouri -  3; Georgia - 2; Texas -  2; California - 1; Oregon - 1; Nebraska - 1; Tennessee - 1; Washington - 1; Montreal, Canada - 1 

GAME-WINNERS: Sophomore kicker John Richardson made a pair of game-winning kicks in three-point Huskie road wins last year. He hit a 37-yard field goal as time expired in NIU's 39-36 win at Ohio and hit a 25-yard three-pointer with 41 seconds to play versus Toledo to give the Huskies a 31-28 win. His makes included a 51-yard field goal at Ohio and field goals of 46 and 45 yards at Utah and Nebraska, respectively. He finished the year 14-of-18 on field goals and 30-for-30 on PATs to lead NIU in scoring with 72 points. 

HUSKIE FAN CUTOUTS: There may be a familiar face or two among the Huskie Fan Cutouts that will be positioned on the East Side of the stadium. Look for Huskie great Michael Turner, NIU Athletic Director Sean Frazier and NIU President Lisa Freeman, among the many loyal Huskies making their presence known in the stadium.

WITHOUT FOOTBALL: Turner, who was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015 and into the MAC Hall of Fame in 2018, was among the Huskie greats who were a part of NIU's "Huskie Replay Series" on NIU Athletics' YouTube Channel. With the prospect of no football this fall, NIU produced replays of three games with commentary from the players interspersed throughout. NIU's 2003 win over Alabama, the 1998 streak-busting Homecoming win over Central Michigan that snapped the school's 23-game losing streak, and a 2002 NIU-Miami match-up featuring Turner and Ben Roethlisberger generated plenty of alumni pride and appreciation for the school's football history.