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NEWS & NOTES

 
DOGS & BIRDS IN DECEMBER: NIU closes out the six-game 2020 season with a road game at MAC West foe Eastern Michigan on Saturday, December 12th. December 12 marks the latest end to the regular season in school history although the Huskies are no stranger to December football, having played in 10 bowl games and six MAC Championships in December dating back to the 1983 California Bowl.
 
SERIES HISTORY: NIU holds a 33-15-2 advantage in the all-time series with EMU and has won 17 of the last 19 meetings. NIU saw its 11-game series winning streak versus the Eagles snapped last year in Huskie Stadium. Prior to that, Eastern Michigan's last win over NIU came in 2007, a 21-19 victory in DeKalb. The Eagles' last win over the Huskies in Rynearson Stadium was a 39-32 victory in 2000. NIU has won nine straight games in Ypsilanti, including overtime victories on each of its last two visits with a 31-24 win in 2016 and a 26-23 3OT triumph in 2018. All-time, the Huskies are 17-7-1 versus EMU as the road team. The Eagles are NIU's oldest MAC foe as the series goes all the way back to 1927, with annual meetings from 1947-1961 before becoming league opponents. The Huskies are 23-5-2 versus Eastern Michigan in their two stints in the MAC.      
 
FAMILY REUNION: NIU offensive linemen Brayden Patton will see a familiar face on the EMU sideline as Patton's father, James, is in his second season on Chris Creighton's staff at Eastern Michigan. James, a 27-year college coaching veteran and Miami (Ohio) grad who has made stops at Indiana, Pitt, Rhode Island and Northwestern serves as the Eagles' offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Brayden has started 17 consecutive games on the NIU offensive line, the last seven at center.
 
THE LAST MEETING: A year ago, Eastern Michigan used a 24-point third quarter to break open a 14-7 game en route to a 45-17 win over NIU on Tuesday, November 19, 2019. Leading 14-7, Eastern Michigan scored on each of its first three possessions of the third quarter to build a 31-10 advantage. After quarterback Mike Glass led the Eagles on a nine-play 75-yard touchdown drive to open the third quarter, a pair of Huskie turnovers led to EMU's next 10 points and a 38-10 lead. Tailback Tre Harbison led the Huskie offense with 112 rushing yards on 30 carries and NIU QB Marcus Childers rushed for 92 yards on 13 carries while Glass completed 20-of-24 passes for 235 yards and three scores. 
LAST WEEK: Toledo scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to earn a 41-24 victory over NIU at Huskie Stadium Saturday in the Huskies' home finale. NIU and Toledo split 48 points in an offensive first half that included 651 combined yards of total offense. After a scoreless third quarter, UT took a 27-24 lead at the 11:31 mark of the fourth quarter and added a pair of touchdowns in the final five minutes to claim the win. NIU TB Harrison Waylee recorded his first collegiate 100-yard rushing game with 114 yards on 19 carries and a score.
 
HUSKIES IN THE MAC: NIU is 156-110-2 all-time in Mid-American Conference play. The Huskies are 120-65 (.649) in league action since re-joining the MAC in 1997. Since 2010, NIU is 65-20 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. Since the MAC went to divisional play in 1997, NIU is 74-48 versus teams from the MAC West, including a 37-17 mark in the division since 2010.
 
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.
 
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 EMU game. The Huskies have seven Detroit area players,  while freshman quarterback Dustin Fletcher is a Flint product. Three of NIU's Michigan products are tight ends - sixth-year senior tight end Daniel Crawford (Macomb/Dakota HS), redshirt senior Maximillian Thrower (Detroit, Mich./Shrine Catholic) and redshirt junior Liam Soraghan (Dearborn/Divine Child).  Four of NIU's eight Michigan natives are freshmen, including Fletcher and defensive starters James Ester (Detroit/Cass Tech) and safety C.J. Brown (Canton/Walled Lake Western). 
 
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:
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Of the 70 players who have seen action in at least one of NIU's five games to date, 20 are true freshmen, 11 are redshirt freshmen and 14 are sophomores (redshirt or true) for a total of 45. In addition, five junior or senior newcomers in their first season at NIU, including two quarterbacks, have played for the Huskies' in 2020.
 
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: Thirteen different freshmen, including 10 true freshmen, have started games for NIU in 2020. The Huskies have had nine, 11 and 10 rookies in the starting line-up versus Ball State, Western Michigan and Toledo, respectively.  NIU's starting line-up at WMU featured nine true freshmen, six on defense. On offense, redshirt freshman Logan Zschneritz has started every game at guard, and has been joined in the starting line-up by true freshmen John Champe (OG), Harrison Waylee (TB) and Trayvon Rudolph (WR). Defensively, true freshmen Pierce Oppong (DE), Raishein Thomas (DE) and Devin Lafayette (S) have started all five games, redshirt freshmen Demond Taylor Jr. and James Ester have shared the defensive tackle spot as have true freshmen C.J. Brown and Jordan Hansen at safety.  Rookie Eddie Jackson has started at outside linebacker in the last two games while his classmate, Daveren Rayner has started four games at the other OLB spot.
 
MAKING HISTORY: Tyrice Richie recorded his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season versus Toledo with 111 yards on seven catches to become just the eighth player in NIU history to have four or more 100-yard receiving games in a season, and the first since Kenny Golladay in 2016 (and 2015).  Richie has reached the 100-yard threshold in five games played, the fewest games of any player in school history.  The senior is the first NIU player since Darrell Hill in 2001 to post three consecutive 100-yard receiving games. Hill posted three straight 100-yard games on October 20 (112 vs. WMU), October 27 (108 vs. CMU) and November 3 (124 vs. EMU). 
 
RANKED RECEIVER: With 46 catches in five games, Tyrice Richie ranks second nationally in catches per game with 9.2, behind only Ole Miss' Elijah Moore (10.8). He easily surpassed his 2019 season total of 32 catches (in 11 games) on the strength of 11 and 12 catch days at Ball State and Western Michigan, respectively. The Chicago senior also ranks 16th nationally in receiving yards with 526 for an average of 105.2 yards per game.  His 526 yards are 316 more than his nearest teammates' total and account for 43 percent of NIU's receiving yards.
 
RUN RUN RUDOLPH: Freshman wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph, a preferred walk-on who was awarded a scholarship this fall, now has returned more kickoffs (24) for more yards (590) than any PLAYER in the country. Rudolph recorded a season-long 56-yard return at Western Michigan, the longest kickoff return by a Huskie since Aregeros Turner scored on a 97-yard kickoff return versus Buffalo in 2016 (Oct. 22). His average of 24.6 yards per return is 23rd in the country, and he ranks second nationally in combined kick returns (599 punt + kickoff).
 
IN THE BOOKS: With 24 kickoff returns for 590 yards in just five games in 2020, freshman Trayvon Rudolph is already in the NIU single season record books. His 24 kickoff returns are tied for 10th in a season, and are the most by a Huskie since 2016 (Aregeros Turner, 30), while his 590 KOR yards rank ninth on the NIU single season charts.
 
ALL-PURPOSE: Trayvon Rudolph's average of 161.6 all-purpose yards per game leads all FBS freshman and ranks 12th nationally. In addition to his 598 return yards (590 on kickoffs and eight on punts), Rudolph has caught 11 passes for 210 yards to rank second on the team in receiving yards. He caught a career high five passes for 95 yards at Ball State including a season-long 47-yard grab. His yards per catch average (19.1) leads the Huskies with more receptions of 25 yards or longer (5) than any other player.
 
LEADING THE WAY-LEE: Freshman tailback Harrison Waylee recorded the first 100-yard rushing game by a Huskie this season, and the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, when he ran for 114 yards on 19 carries versus Toledo. Waylee scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 28-yard carry, a week after scoring his first touchdown on a nine-yard pass reception at Western Michigan. The freshman leads NIU in rushing with 334 yards on 84 carries for an average of 4.0 yards per carry.
 
FA LA LA LAFAYETTE: Safety Devin Lafayette had a break out game versus Toledo as he led NIU with 13 tackles, the second-highest total by a Huskie this year, and snagged his first career interception. Lafayette, a Georgia product who has started every game as a true freshman, ranks second on the team with 33 tackles.  
 
THE GANDY MAN CAN: Cornerback Jordan Gandy tied a 17-year-old school record with five pass break ups at Western Michigan and his 1.6 passes defended per game (PBUs + INTs) lead the MAC and are tied for second in the FBS. Gandy, a DeKalb native who transferred to NIU from South Dakota State, is the first Huskie to break up five passes in a game since Randee Drew versus Tennessee Tech on Sept. 6, 2003. Gandy leads NIU with 36 tackles after an 11-tackle performance versus Toledo.
 
ADD ANOTHER RECORD: With four punts versus Toledo, senior Matt Ference added the NIU career record for most punts to his list of Huskie punting marks. Ference has punted 259 times for 10,707 yards over the last four seasons, surpassing Kent Baker's 257 punts from 1996-99. The St. Louis native set the NIU career mark for punting yards at Ball State, breaking Todd Van Keppel's mark of 10,312 yards set in 1984. Ference's 41.34 yard punting average ranks first on the Huskie career charts, and he holds the single season marks for punts and punting yards.
 
10K MAN: With 10,707 yards on 259 punts, Matt Ference's career totals rank second in the nation among active punters behind Northwestern's Derek Adams. His 41.34-yard average is 41st among active players.
   
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 two-point tries versus Buffalo with Rondarius Gregory rushing for the points. The Huskies' four two-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. 
 
NEWCOMERS RULE: No surprise the top of the Huskie tackle chart is filled by the freshmen and newcomers who have filled the starting roles this year. Five of the top seven tacklers are newcomers, led by sophomore transfer Jordan Gandy (36 tackles) and true freshman safety Devin Lafayette (33). Middle linebacker Nick Rattin, just a sophomore himself, and senior outside linebacker Kyle Pugh are the veterans on the list with 28 and 27 stops, respectively. 
 
HOLDING STRONG: NIU allowed Western Michigan to convert just one of nine third downs and held Toledo to a 3-of-9 mark. Through five games, NIU's third down conversion defense of 30.0 percent (15-of-50) ranks ninth nationally and is second in the MAC. Buffalo was 3-of-9 on third down conversions and CMU converted just 1-of-11 third down tries.
 
COMPLEMENTARY FOOTBALL: The Huskie offense helped out the defense at Western Michigan in several ways evident in the stats. For the first time since the 2019 game at Toledo, NIU did not commit a turnover. NIU also totaled exactly 40:00 in time of possession, the most by a Huskie team since a 28-20 victory at Purdue on Sept. 19, 2009, a span of 148 games.
 
IN THE RED: The Huskies rank 10th in the FBS in red zone defense with six complete stops on opponents 21 trips inside the NIU 20 and have forced field goals four times. NIU recorded a pair of fourth down stops inside the red zone versus CMU, Dillon Thomas had an end zone interception at Ball State, while Western Michigan missed a short field goal and Toledo turned it over on downs.  
 
WALK-ON U: Jordan Gandy became the third walk-on to be awarded a scholarship for this season on Dec. 1, joining defensive lineman Devonte O'Malley (Nov. 22) and wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph. 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.
 
HOLDING THEM DOWN:  The NIU defense put together its best performance of the season at Western Michigan against one of the MAC's top offenses. The Broncos' points (30), rushing yards (115) and attempts (25), total offensive plays (49) and yards (325) were all season lows by a Huskie opponent. WMU's totals for the game were well below their season averages coming into the game.
    

	Season Average	vs. NIU	Difference
Points	50.3	30	-20
Total Yards	516.3	325	-191
Passing Yards	310.7	210	-100

QUICK HITS: NIU's 26 first downs in the Buffalo game were the most by the Huskies since the 2018 Akron game ... opponents have scored 34 points off NIU turnovers in 2020 ... the Huskies' third-quarter touchdown at Western Michigan is NIU's only score in the third quarter this year ... quarterback Ross Bowers' 27 completions at Ball State tied for eighth on the NIU single game chart and were the most by a Huskie QB since October 10, 2015 ... NIU's five interceptions this year are one more than the Huskies totaled in 12 games in 2019.
 
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:

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