HUSKIE BITES
- The young NIU Huskies travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan for a Thanksgiving Weekend MAC West match-up versus WMU on Saturday. The Huskies' last win at Waldo Stadium was a 31-21 victory in 2014.
- After playing back-to-back home games to open the season, NIU plays three of its last four games on the road in 2020.
- The Huskies have the second-youngest roster in the Football Bowl Subdivision (see complete chart p. 3) with underclassmen making up 73 percent (81 of 111) of the 2020 roster.
- Seven freshmen, including six first-year players, are slated to start on defense for NIU this week, with three more rookies listed atop the depth chart on offense. Of the 46 names on NIU's two-deep on offense and defense this week, 25 are freshmen, including 17 true freshmen and eight redshirts.
- 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.
- After making the most catches by a Huskie receiver since 2017 with 11 at Ball State, senior Tyrice Richie's average of 9.0 receptions per game leads the MAC and ranks fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
- Already one of the top freshmen kickoff returners in the country, Trayvon Rudolph added 95 yards on five catches at Ball State. His 166.3 all-purpose yards per game leads all FBS freshmen and ranks 13th nationally.
- On Sunday (Nov. 22), freshman defensive end Devonte O'Malley became the latest Huskie walk-on to earn a scholarship when he received a message on a football following a "tip drill." See the video, and the emotion, on the @NIU_Football Twitter account.
- Following Saturday's contest, NIU returns to DeKalb to play host to Toledo in the Huskies' final home game of 2020. NIU and the Rockets face on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. in Huskie Stadium.
NIU FOOTBALL FACTS
Head Coach: Thomas Hammock (NIU '02)
Record at NIU/Years: 5-10/2nd
Career Record/Years: Same
Basic Offense/Defense: Multiple/4-3
First Year of Football: 1899
All-Time Record: 592-504-51
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)
WESTERN MICHIGAN FOOTBALL FACTS
Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Tim Lester (Western Michigan/2000)
Record at WMU/Years: 23-18/Fourth
Career Record/Years: 85-59/Ninth
2019 Record: 7-6
Mid-American Conference Record/Finish: 5-3/Second
Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Enrollment: 20,696
Conference: Mid-American, West Division (MAC)
Colors: Brown and Gold
Stadium: Waldo Stadium
Surface/Capacity: Field Turf /30,200
President: Dr. Edward Montgomery
Athletic Director: Kathy Beauregard
Athletics Website: wmubroncos.com
Twitter: @WMU_Football
WMU Schedule & Results
NIU-WMU SERIES
Overall: WMU leads 25-20
In Kalamazoo: WMU leads 14-8
In DeKalb: NIU leads 12-11
Streak: NIU, 1
First Meeting: Sept. 23, 1950; WMU 40, NIU 13 (A)
Last Meeting: Nov. 26, 2019; NIU 17, WMU 14 (H)
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
TV: NIU-WESTERN MICHIGAN ON ESPN+
- The NIU-Western Michigan game will be available on ESPN+, ESPN's direct to consumer video platform, accessible via the ESPN App available on both iOS and Android devices, desktop and TV-connected devices (e.g. Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV).
- ESPN+ is available at a cost of $4.99/month or $49.99/year and can be used on up to five streaming devices simultaneously.
- Dan Gutowsky (play-by-play) and Marcus Ray (color analyst) will be on the call for ESPN+ Saturday.
RADIO: HUSKIE SPORTS NETWORK
- The Huskie Sports Radio Network broadcast for the Western Michigan game begins at 10:30 a.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 or the new NIU Huskies Mobile App. 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 beginning on Tuesday.
- The show is hosted by Andy Garcia and NIU Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier.
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.
NEW! NIU HUSKIES MOBILE APP
- Download the new, free NIU Huskies mobile app from the Apple Store or Google Play.
- Link to the NIU radio broadcasts, live stats, complete team rosters and more.
- Connect to the NIU social media channels and sign up for notifications on any Huskie team.
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.
NEWS & NOTES
CLOSEST COMPETITOR: NIU makes its shortest Mid-American Conference road trip when the Huskies travel the 208 miles to Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan for the MAC West match-up versus Western Michigan on Saturday, November 28th.
SERIES HISTORY: Western Michigan holds a 25-20 advantage in the all-time series with NIU, and have won 14 of the 22 games played in Kalamazoo. NIU's last victory in Waldo Stadium came in 2014, a 31-21 win. Four of the last five games between the teams have been decided by one possession or less, including NIU's 17-14 win in 2019. WMU won 14 of the first 15 games of the series between 1950 and 1982, while the Huskies are 14-5 versus the Broncos since 2001.
THE LAST MEETING: A year ago, NIU upset the Broncos 17-14 in the regular season finale as the Huskie defense forced a pair of turnovers, including one on WMU's final drive that sealed the victory. Tyrice Richie scored on a dynamic 71-yard catch and run in the second quarter to give NIU a 10-0 halftime lead. After WMU closed the gap to 14-7 on a Levante Bellamy TD, the Huskies' scored the game-winner on a seven-yard pass from receiver Michael Love to tight end Mitchell Brinkman. The Huskies held the ball for more than 34 minutes and allowed the Broncos to score just twice on four trips into the red zone.
LAST TIME OUT: Ball State scored a pair of second half touchdowns to break a 14-14 halftime tie and went on to a 31-25 win over NIU on Wednesday, November 18 in Muncie, Indiana. Two of the Cardinals' scores were set up by big plays, a 46-yard run and a 64-yard pass and they added a 71-yard interception return score. NIU's Erin Collins scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and QB Ross Bowers threw for 300 yards on 27-of-40 passing to lead the Huskies.
MITTEN NATIVES: NIU's 2020 roster features eight Michigan natives. Six have played for the Huskies this season and five are listed on the depth chart - three as starters - going into the WMU game. The Huskies have seven Detroit area players with freshman back-up quarterback Dustin Fletcher a Flint product. Sixth-year senior tight end Daniel Crawford (Macomb/Dakota HS) is the Huskies' most veteran Michigander while four of NIU's eight Michigan players are freshmen, including starting defensive tackle James Ester (Detroit/Cass Tech).
NIU ON THE MAC ROAD: After dropping its first road game of 2020 last week at Ball State and posting a 2-2 mark in MAC road games last year, the Huskies are 21-8 in conference road games since 2013 and 84-94-1 all-time in league games away from Huskie Stadium. A year ago, NIU picked up MAC wins at Ohio and Toledo, while dropping contests at Miami and Central Michigan. NIU opened the 2020 season with back-to-back home games, leaving the Huskies with three of their final four contests on the road.
HUSKIES IN THE MAC: NIU is 156-108-2 all-time in Mid-American Conference play. The Huskies are 120-63 (.656) in league action since re-joining the MAC in 1997. Since 2010, NIU is 65-18 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 74-46 versus teams from the MAC West, including a 37-15 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.
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.
CARDINAL & BLACK AND GREEN: The numbers are in and the Huskies are officially one of the youngest teams in the nation. With 81 freshmen and sophomores (underclassmen) on the 111-man roster, NIU (73.0) ranks behind only Oregon (73.6) in percentage of the 2020 roster who are underclassmen. The Huskies total of 60 freshmen (true and redshirt) is tied for fourth-most in the country behind Nebraska (78), SMU (66) and Bowling Green (64). The 10 youngest and MAC teams on the list:
NEW NAMES: Not all of the newest Huskies are freshmen. In total, there are 57 new names on the 2020 NIU roster, including freshmen and transfers. The newcomers outnumber the returnees 57-54 with 34 returning letterwinners. Of the 57 new faces, 46 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.
STARTING YOUNG: Nine freshmen, including seven first-year rookies, have started games for NIU in 2020. At Ball State, the Huskies started nine freshmen, six on defense. Tailback Harrison Waylee made his first start versus the Cardinals, joining Trayvon Rudolph (WR, True) and Logan Zschernitz (OG, RS) on offense. James Ester (DT, RS) was joined by true freshmen Daveren Rayner (OLB), Raishein Thomas (DE), Pierce Oppong (DE), Devin Lafayette (S) and Jordan Hansen (S).
LEADER OF THE MAC: NIU has been the winningest team in the Mid-American Conference?since 2010 with 91 wins to go with a .659 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 138 games since 2010, five more than the next highest MAC team (Bowling Green with 133).
MAC W-L Records Since 2010
Team W L
NIU 91 47
Toledo 87 44
Ohio 81 51
Western Michigan 70 60
Bowling Green 58 75
Central Michigan 58 72
Buffalo 56 70
Ball State 54 70
Miami 49 78
Kent State 46 78
Eastern Michigan 40 86
Akron 37 89
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Of the 68 players who have seen action in either of NIU's two games to date, 18 are true freshmen, 11 are redshirt freshmen and 14 are sophomores (redshirt or true) for a total of 43. In addition, seven newcomers in their first season at NIU, including two quarterbacks, have played in the Huskies' first two games.
PASSING FANCY: NIU quarterback Ross Bowers completed 27-of-40 passes for 300 yards at Ball State to record his second 300-yard game as a Huskie, and his first since the 2019 win over Ohio when he threw for 338 yards. Bowers' 27 completions were the most by a Huskie QB since October 10, 2015 when Drew Hare completed 27 passes versus Ball State. The 27 completions tied for eighth on the NIU single game chart.
RUN, RUN RUDOLPH: Freshman wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph, a preferred walk-on who was awarded a scholarship this fall, has returned more kickoffs (15) for more yards (334) than any freshman in the country. 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). He ranks 16th in the country and leads the MAC in combined kick return yards (kickoff+punt).
CATCH, CATCH RUDOLPH: Trayvon Rudolph caught a career high five passes for 95 yards at Ball State including a 47-yard grab to set up NIU's second score and a fourth down conversion that helped lead to NIU's final touchdown. His yards per catch average (19.6) leads the Huskies and ranks 31st in the country. Rudolph's 166.3 all-purpose yards per game is the best by a freshman and ranks 13th in the nation overall.
RICHIE ROLLS: Senior Tyrice Richie caught a career high 11 passes for 108 yards with his first touchdown of 2020 at Ball State to post his second 100-yard receiving game of the season and third of his career. His 11 catches last week are the most by a Huskie receiver since current Atlanta Falcon WR Christian Blake caught 13 passes at San Diego State on Sept. 30, 2017. With 27 catches in three games, Richie is five grabs away from his 2019 total of 32 catches compiled in 11 games.
RANKED RECEIVER: With 27 catches, Tyrice Richie leads the MAC and ranks fourth nationally in catches per game (9.0). He ranks 27th nationally in receiving yards per game and his 284 receiving yards account for almost 40 percent of the Huskies' total receiving yards on the season and are 127 more than his nearest teammates' total. Richie caught 32 passes for 415 yards in 2019 and led all NIU receivers with four touchdown catches.
ADD ANOTHER RECORD: Senior punter Matt Ference broke the NIU career mark for punting yards with his 169 yards on four punts at Ball State. Ference's 10,334 yards on punts broke the mark of 10,312 held since 1984 by Todd Van Keppel. Ference, whose 41.34 yard punting average on 250 punts ranks first on the Huskie career charts, needs eight punts to add the career record for most punts to his résumé. A four-year starter, the NFF Scholar-Athlete semifinalist already holds the single season marks for punts and punting yards.
10K MAN: With 10,334 punting yards on 250 punts, Matt Ference's career totals rank second in the nation among active punters behind Northwestern's Derek Adams.
TWO-POINT PLAYS: NIU is 2-for-4 on 2-point conversion attempts in 2020, the most successful 2-point attempts for the Huskies in a season since 2009, when NIU was also 2-for-4. Tight end Daniel Crawford caught a pass from Ross Bowers to score the two points on the Huskies' last touchdown at Ball State and NIU went 1-of-3 on 2-point tries versus Buffalo with Rondarius Gregory rushing for the points. The Huskies' four 2-point attempts is the most since 2018, when NIU was successful once in five tries. The Huskies did not convert a two-point PAT try between 2012-17, going 0-for-6 during that stretch.
DEFENSE AND DOWNS: Through three games, NIU is holding opponents to a 34.4 percent third down conversion percentage (11 of 32) which ranks 24th in the nation. Buffalo was 3-of-9 on third down conversions and CMU converted just 1-of-11 third down tries. NIU is also 12th nationally in fewest first downs allowed with 53.
RED ZONE "D": The Huskies rank ninth in the FBS in red zone defense with four complete stops on opponents 13 trips inside the NIU 20, including on Dillon Thomas' end zone interception at Ball State. NIU recorded a pair of fourth down stops inside the red zone versus CMU.
INTERCEPTIONS: A year ago, the NIU defense intercepted just four passes over the entire 12-game season. Through three games in 2020, the Huskies have three INTs with one in each game. Freshman safety Jordan Hansen (Buffalo), cornerback newcomer Jordan Gandy (CMU) and veteran cornerback Dillon Thomas (Ball State) have the NIU INTs.
SEVEN SENIORS: Leading the way for the youth in the Huskies line-up are seven senior starters. On offense, quarterback Ross Bowers, receiver Tyrice Richie, tight end Daniel Crawford and offensive linemen Benn Olson and Brayden Patton have a combined 67 starts at NIU, led by Patton's 22. Defensive tackle Weston Kramer is the most experienced Huskie returnee overall with 27 career starts, while linebacker Kyle Pugh has started 22 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 has returned to his 2018 All-MAC form. The senior leads NIU with 25 tackles and 1.5 sacks after making nine tackles in three quarters at Ball State. He tallied 14 stops versus Central Michigan, the most for the Chicago native since Sept. 1, 2017 when he had a career high 17 versus Boston College. Pugh will miss the first half of the WMU game after getting called for targeting in the third quarter last week.
WALK-ON U: On Sunday (Nov. 22), defensive lineman Devonte O'Malley became the latest Huskie to learn he can soon put the word "former" before "walk-on" on his football résumé when he was awarded a scholarship for spring 2021. Earlier this fall, freshman wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph received a similar message. Of the 111 players on the Huskies 2020 roster, 42 are currently or began their careers at NIU as walk-ons. The list includes senior punter Matt Ference, starters Nick Rattin (LB), Brett Bostad (FB) 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 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. 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... the Huskies have been outscored 44-0 in the third quarter this year...opponents have scored 31 points off of NIU turnovers in 2020.
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 area" 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.
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 52 Illinoisans and 16 Wisconsinites. The Huskie roster state-by-state breakdown:
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.
