HUSKIE BITES  

• The NIU Huskies hit the road for the first time in this six-game regular season when they travel to Muncie, Indiana to take on Mid-American Conference West Division foe Ball State in the annual Battle for the Bronze Stalk.
• NIU will look to reclaim the Bronze Stalk Trophy, which was created as a tribute to the rural areas surrounding both schools' hometowns in 2008. After falling in the initial Trophy game, NIU won the next 10 games in the series before Ball State broke the Huskies' winning streak with a seven-point win in DeKalb a year ago.
• The Huskies started six freshmen - including five true freshmen - on defense last week and 18 true freshmen have seen action for NIU so far this season. There are 17 true freshmen and nine redshirt freshmen on the Huskies' two-deep versus Ball State.
• NIU graduate Thomas Hammock, a two-time first team Academic All-American who rushed for over 1,000 yards to lead the Huskies in both 2000 and 2001, is in his second season as head coach at his alma mater. Prior to returning to NIU, he served as running backs for the Baltimore Ravens for five seasons.
• One of two senior starters on the NIU defense, linebacker Kyle Pugh made 14 tackles and a career-high 1.5 quarterback sacks versus Central Michigan, the most for the sixth-year senior since the 2017 season opener (Sept. 1) when he had a career high 17 stops versus Boston College.
• After playing back-to-back home games to open the season, NIU will play three of its last four games on the road in 2020.  
• With 151 yards on five kickoff returns versus Buffalo, freshman Trayvon Rudolph surpassed the total kickoff return yards compiled by the Huskie TEAM in 12 games in 2019. His current 26.6-yard KOR average leads all FBS freshman and ranks 12th nationally while his 177.5 all-purpose yards per game rank ninth.   
• 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: 5-9/2nd
Career Record/Years: Same
Basic Offense/Defense: Multiple/4-3
First Year of Football: 1899
All-Time Record: 592-503-51
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)
 

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BALL STATE FOOTBALL FACTS

2019 Record: 5-7
Mid-American Conference Record/Finish: 4-4/Third
Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Mike Neu (Ball State/1994)
Record at BSU/Years: 16-34/Fifth
Career Record/Years: 70-79/Eighth
Location: Muncie, Ind.
Enrollment: 22,541
Conference: Mid-American, West Division (MAC)
Colors: Cardinal and White
Stadium: Scheumann Stadium
        Surface/Capacity: Field Turf /22,500
President: Geoffrey Mearns
Athletic Director: Beth Goetz
Athletics Website: ballstatesports.com
Twitter: @ballstatesports 

BSU Schedule & Results

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NIU-BALL STATE SERIES

Overall: NIU leads 24-21-2
In Muncie: NIU leads 13-9
In DeKalb: BSU leads 12-11-2
In MAC Games: NIU leads 18-17
Streak: BSU, 1
First Meeting : Oct. 4, 1941; BSU 6, NIU 6 (H)
Last Meeting: Oct. 5, 2019 BSU 27, NIU 20 (H)

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FOLLOW THE HUSKIES

TV: NIU-Ball state on ESPNEWS

• The NIU-Ball State game was moved to ESPNews due to ESPN coverage of the NBA Draft.
• The Huskies will play on ESPNews for just the second time. In NIU's only previous appearance on the network, Utah handed the Huskies a 17-6 defeat in Huskie Stadium on Sept. 8, 2018. 
• Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Rocky Boiman (color analyst) will call the game.

RADIO: Huskie sports network

• The Huskie Sports Radio Network broadcast for the Ball State 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 guests.
• Watch new episodes 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.

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NEWS & NOTES

TROPHY GAME: For the 13th consecutive year, NIU and Ball State will play for "The Bronze Stalk," a traveling trophy designed specifically for this rivalry in honor of the farming community locales of both institutions. DeKalb artist Renee Bemis designed the trophy, which depicts a cornstalk. In 12 Bronze Stalk games, NIU is 10-2. Ball State's 27-20 win in 2019 gave the Cardinals the Stalk for the first time in 10 years. 

SERIES HISTORY: NIU leads the all-time series with Ball State 24-21-2, and the Huskies have won 10 of the last 11 games between the teams. Ball State snapped NIU's 10-game winning streak – the longest such streak in series history – with a 27-20 victory at Huskie Stadium last year.  NIU has won 17 of the 21 games with Ball State since 1999, with the Cardinals winning 16 of 17 games between 1974-98.    

THE LAST MEETING: A year ago, Ball State scored 27 consecutive points over the final three quarters to claim the Bronze Stalk Trophy for the first time in 11 years with a 27-20 win at Huskie Stadium. NIU turned the ball over three times in the second half after taking a 17-3 halftime lead. Huskie tailback Tre Harbison ran for 146 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns, and tallied 123 carries in the first half. Ball State took the lead on a 45-yard touchdown run by Caleb Huntley, who ran for 157 yards in the game.  

LAST WEEK: Central Michigan extended a 9-0 halftime lead with 17 third-quarter points and went on to a 40-10 win over NIU at Huskie Stadium on Wednesday, November 11.  The Huskies could not get on the board until John Richardson hit a 45-yard field goal with 8:23 to play. Back-up quarterback Andrew Haidet hit Dennis Robinson with a 31-yard touchdown pass in the games final seconds. NIU managed just 74 rushing yards on 33 carries and turned the ball over twice.

HUSKIE HOOSIERS: Four members of the 2020 NIU football team hail from the Hoosier State, including a pair of starters. Center Brayden Patton attended Edgewood High School in Elletsville, Indiana (his parents have since moved), while freshman linebacker Daveren Rayner came to NIU out of Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis. Redshirt sophomore J.D. Harris, who has seen action on NIU special teams in 2020, is from Columbus, Indiana while freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Howard signed with NIU out of Merrillville.   

HOOSIER COACH: The Huskie ties to Indiana go beyond the roster as NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana and came to NIU as a player out of Bishop Luers High School, while NIU defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Jordan Gigli is also a Fort Wayne and Bishop Luers product. 

NIU ON THE MAC ROAD: After posting a 2-2 mark in MAC road games last year, the Huskies are 21-7 in conference road games since 2013 and 84-93-1 all-time in league games away from Huskie Stadium. In 2019, NIU picked up MAC wins at Ohio and Toledo, while dropping contests at Miami and Central Michigan. Three of NIU's four MAC road games were decided by three points (each).  

HUSKIES IN THE MAC: NIU is 156-107-2 all-time in Mid-American Conference play. The Huskies are 120-62 (.659) in league action since re-joining the MAC in 1997. Since 2010, NIU is 65-17 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. 

NIU VS. MAC WEST: Since the MAC went to divisional play in 1997, NIU is 74-45 versus teams from the MAC West, including a 37-14 mark in the division since 2010. The Huskies went 2-3 against divisional foes last season with losses to Central Michigan, Ball State and Eastern Michigan, and wins over Toledo and Western Michigan. NIU dropped its first MAC West game of the season to CMU last week.

MIDWEEK MACTION: NIU is 23-8 in league games played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays since 2010, including a 10-3 mark in MACtion road games. The last MACtion match-up between NIU and Ball State was in 2017 as the game has been played in October in five of the last six years.  

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 .664 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 136 games since 2010.

 

MAC W-L Records Since 2010

Team	W	L
NIU	91	46
Toledo	86	44
Ohio	81	51
Western Michigan	69	60
Bowling Green	58	74
Central Michigan	58	71
Buffalo	55	70
Ball State	53	70
Miami	49	78
Kent State	45	78
Eastern Michigan	40	85
Akron	37	88

 

LAND OF LINCOLN LEADERS: Since 2010, NIU is the winningest football program among the state of Illinois' Division I football programs. Over that time, the Huskies are 1-1 versus their fellow FBS programs with a 2014 win over Northwestern and a 2010 loss to Illinois. With eight bowl games and seven MAC Championship game appearances in the last nine years, NIU has also played more games, 136, than any other school in the state.
 

 Illinois Division I Schools Since 2010

Team	W	L	Pct.
NIU*	91	46	.669
Illinois State	78	48	.619
Northwestern*	76	56	.576
Eastern Illinois	51	66	.436
Southern Illinois*	49	64	.434
Western Illinois	49	69	.415
Illinois*	47	81	.367

*Includes 2020 games

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.

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, one is an undergrad transfer from a four-year school and two are non-freshmen walk-ons.

FROSH FACES: Six true freshmen have cracked the starting line-up for NIU through the first two games with linebacker Daveren Rayner making his starting debut versus Central Michigan. The Huskies started five true freshmen on defense against CMU with Rayner joining defensive ends Pierce Oppong and Raishein Thomas and safeties Jordan Hansen and Devin Lafayette in the line-up. Offensively, Trayvon Rudolph made his first start in the season opener versus Buffalo. They lead a group of 18 true freshmen who have seen action for NIU so far this season.

RUN RUN RUDOLPH: Freshman wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph, a preferred walk-on who was awarded a scholarship during preseason practices, has returned 11 kickoffs for 293 yards. His 151 KOR yards on five returns versus Buffalo surpassed the total kickoff return yards collected by the Huskie team in 2019 (141 on 12 returns). His 26.6-yard average leads all FBS freshman and ranks 12th nationally. He has also averaged 20.7 yards on three catches in 2020. Rudolph's 177.5 all-purpose yards per game ranks ninth in the nation in that category.       

YOUTH MOVEMENT: There are 17 true freshmen, nine redshirt freshmen and four newcomers on the Huskies' depth chart for the Ball State game. Of the 66 players who have seen action in either of NIU's two games to date, 18 are true freshmen, 10 are redshirt freshmen and 13 are sophomores (redshirt or true) for a total of 41. In addition, five newcomers in their first season at NIU, including two at the quarterback position, have played in the Huskies' first two games.

PLAYING TOUGH: There have been encouraging signs from the Huskies' youthful defense that show up in the unit's comparative statistics. Through two games, NIU is holding opponents to a 20 percent third down conversion percentage (four of 20) which leads the nation (as of 11/14). Buffalo was 3-of-9 on third down conversions and CMU converted just 1-of-11 third down tries. NIU is also 11th nationally in fewest first downs allowed (30 through two games) and 17th in red zone defense. 

SEVEN SENIORS: The seven freshmen (5 true, 2 redshirt) and two newcomers (TB Erin Collins, CB Jordan Gandy) in NIU's starting line-up to date have been joined by seven seniors. On offense, quarterback Ross Bowers, receiver Tyrice Richie, tight end Daniel Crawford and offensive linemen Benn Olson and Brayden Patton have a combined 62 starts at NIU, led by Patton's 21. Defensive tackle Weston Kramer is the most experienced Huskie returnee overall with 26 career starts, while linebacker Kyle Pugh has started 21 games in his NIU career.   

GOOD AS NEW: After missing the last 10 games of the 2019 season due to injury, sixth-year senior linebacker Kyle Pugh made 14 tackles versus Central Michigan, the most for the Chicago native since the 2017 season opener (Sept. 1) when he had a career high 17 stops versus Boston College. His 1.5 quarterback sacks in the CMU game were also a career best. Pugh made 106 stops and earned second team All-MAC honors in 2018.

RICHIE ROLLS: With 16 catches in the Huskies' first two games, senior wide receiver Tyrice Richie leads the MAC and is already halfway to his 2019 total of 32 grabs. Richie had a career day versus Buffalo with nine catches for 106 yards to lead the Huskies and record the second 100-yard game of his career. Last week versus CMU, he added seven grabs for 70 yards and his 176 receiving yards on the year are almost 100 more than any other Huskie receiver. Richie caught 32 passes for 415 yards in 2019 and led all NIU receivers with four touchdown catches. 

WALK-ON U: Of the 110 players on the Huskies 2020 roster, 42 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, starters Nick Rattin (LB), Brett Bostad (FB), Trayvon Rudolph (WR) and more. NIU has a long tradition of successful walk-ons, like 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.   

QUICK HITS: NIU's 26 first downs in the Buffalo game were the most by the Huskies since the 2018 Akron game, a span of 17 games... after surrendering 144 rushing yards on 19 carries in the first half  versus the Bulls, NIU held Buffalo to 38 yards on 15 carries in the second half... the Huskies have been outscored 38-0 in the third quarter this year. 

HUSKIE CONNECTIONS: 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 head coach Lou Sponsel was a fullback for NIU during Hammock's freshman year. 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 due to injuries. Rattin, who has since been awarded a scholarship, has played nearly every snap this season at middle linebacker and is tied with Kyle Pugh for the team lead with 16 tackles. 

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. 

43: That was the yardage total 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 redshirt freshman Rondarius Gregory as NIU's only returning rusher with a grand total of nine carries for 43 yards.

ON THE VERGE: Senior punter Matt Ference, whose  41.32 yard punting average ranks first on the Huskie career charts, needs 12 punts and 148 yards to add the career records for punts and punting yards to his résumé. A four-year starter, Ference has punted 246 times for 10,165 yards in 41 games while also serving as NIU's holder. Ference also holds the single season marks for punts and punting yards.

10K MAN: With 10,165 punting yards, Matt Ference's yardage total ranks second in the nation among active punters behind Northwestern's Derek Adams (prior to this weekend's games). His 246 punts are also second among active players.  All three of the FBS' active career leaders play in Illinois with Blake Hayes of Illinois the only other punter with more than 10,000 career yards.

BRINGING THE JUICE: With very few fans in the stands in 2020, NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock created the "Juice Committee," a group of players and coaches charged with amping up the volume during practices and games in 2020.
    At each practice, one player wears the yellow "Juice" jersey,  given to the player who brought the most energy to practice the previous day.
    During practices and games, NIU staff bang a large drum for big plays on offense or defense.
    After touchdowns or turnovers, players can head to the Huskie "photo booth" on the sidelines where 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 donning a large dog bone necklace.  

HUSKIE VETERAN, LITERALLY: The Huskie who took the most unusual route to NIU is senior Greg DeLuca. The 28-year-old fullback, who walked on to the Huskie team in January as a grad transfer, spent six years in the Navy as a member of SEAL Team 10 and Special Reconnaisance Team 2 and was deployed to East Africa, West Africa, Kuwait and South America.  Prior to that, DeLuca was a two-sport athlete at Duke where he played on a pair of NCAA Championship teams for the Blue Devil men's lacrosse team (2010 and 2013) and spent two seasons on the Duke football roster. A married father of an infant son, DeLuca is pursuing a master's degree in sports psychology at NIU. He has not seen action on the field yet for the Huskies but has provided a presence and leadership in the locker room.

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, Canasda. Of course the largest representation call the Midwest home, topped by 52 Illinoisans and 16 Wisconsinites. The Huskie roster by the state-by-state numbers:

Illinois 52; 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

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.

 

 

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