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Scott Walstrom, NIU

Huskies Close Out 2022 Campaign at Home Saturday

NIU Plays Host to Akron on Senior Day

November 20

 
FB22 - Akron release header
 

  HUSKIE BITES  
  • NIU wraps up the 2022 season on Thanksgiving Saturday when they play host to the Akron Zips on Senior Day at Huskie Stadium. 
  • The Huskies will honor 12 seniors - Brett Bostad, Marques Cox, Leif Engstrand, Jordan Gandy, Izayah Green-May, Jeffrey Griffin Jr., Michael Kennedy, Kyle Pugh, Nick Rattin, Liam Soraghan, Shemar Thornton and Cole Tucker - prior to Saturday's game. 
  • NIU leads the all-time series with Akron 11-5, winning each of the last six meetings. The Huskies have scored at least 27 points in each game of this winning streak against the Zips, including a 49-0 shutout in the 2019 Homecoming game.
  • Led by the running back tandem of Jaiden Credle and Antario Brown, the Huskies rushed for 200 yards last week against Miami. Both backs had 97 yards in the game with Brown scoring on a career-long 86-yard carry late in the third quarter. It was the fifth time this season the Huskies rushed for at least 200 yards in a game.
  • The NIU defense has tallied at least five tackles for loss in each of the last six  games, and in eight of the 11 games played this season. The Huskies had seven tackles for loss last week against Miami after recording a season-high 11 the week prior at Western Michigan.    
  • With tight end Izuchukwu Ozoh (TE) making his first career start of the season vs. Miami, 48 players have started games for the Huskies in 2022, the second-highest total among Football Bowl Subdivision teams.   
  • NIU head coach Thomas Hammock, a two-time first team CoSIDA Academic All-American at NIU who rushed for over 1,000 yards in both 2000 and 2001, was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame on October 7th. He joined fellow Huskie football alums Chad Spann (2007-10) and Chandler Harnish (2008-11) in the 2022 class.       
  • Linebacker Kyle Pugh who arrived at NIU as a true freshman in 2015 and is the first eight-year player in FBS history, ranks third on the team with 55 tackles and has 241 career tackles as he wraps up a historic career. Pugh earned All-MAC honors in 2018 and 2020, saw his 2017 and 2019 seasons cut short, missed 2021 with a knee injury, and earned the COVID-19 "re-do" for 2020. 

  NIU FOOTBALL FACTS  
Head Coach:Thomas Hammock (NIU '02)
Record at NIU/Years: 17-26/4th
Career Record/Years: Same
Basic Offense/Defense: Multiple/4-2-5
First Year of Football: 1899
2021 Record/MAC Record/Finish: 9-5/6-2/1st
All-Time Record: 604-520-51
Last Bowl Game: 2021 Tailgreeter Cure Bowl (Coastal Carolina 47, NIU 41)
Bowl Appearances (FBS): 14
MAC Championship Appearances, Last: 9, 2021
MAC Championships, Last: 6, 2021
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 52/15
Starters Returning: 22 (8 offense, 13 defense, 1 specialist)
Starters Lost: 7 (3 offense, 2 defense, 2 specialists)

  AKRON FACTS  
Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Joe Moorhead  (Fordham/1996)
Record at Akron/Years: 1-9/1st
Career Record/Years: 45-34/7th
2021 Record: 2-10
Conference Record/Finish: 1-7/6th-East
Location: Akron, Ohio
Enrollment: 19,218
Conference: Mid-American
Colors: Blue and Gold 
Stadium: InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field
Surface/Capacity: AstroTurf/30,000
President: Dr. Gary L. Miller
Athletic Director: Charles Guthrie
Athletics Website: GoZips.com
Twitter: @AkronZips

Akron Schedule & Results

  NIU-AKRON SERIES  
Overall: NIU leads 11-5
In DeKalb: NIU leads 6-2
In Akron: NIU leads 5-2
In MAC Games: NIU leads 8-1
Streak: NIU, 6
First Meeting: 10/29/66 - NIU 31, Akron 18 (H)
Last Meeting: 10/26/19 - NIU 49, Akron 0 (H)
 

  FOLLOW THE HUSKIES  
TV: NIU-AKRON ON ESPN3
  • The NIU-Akron game will air on ESPN3 live online and on mobile devices via the ESPN App. Games on ESPN3 are available with pay television credentials at WatchESPN.com and through the ESPN app. 
  • Get the direct link to watch on GameDay Central and on the football schedule page at NIUHuskies.com.
  • Jim Barbar (play-by-play) and Ryan Cavanaugh (analyst) will be on the call for ESPN3 Saturday.

RADIO: HUSKIE SPORTS NETWORK
  • The Huskie Sports Radio Network coverage for the Akron game begins 90 minutes before kickoff, at 11 a.m. (CT), on 94-9 WDKB with the Toyota Huskie Nation Pre-Game Party.
  • Coverage on WDKB, as well as NIU network affiliates AM 560 The Answer (Chicago) and SportsFan AM 1330 begins 30 minutes before the game, at Noon (CT).
  • Hear the broadcast online via Huskie All Access, and on mobile devices via the FREE NIU Huskies mobile app or The Varsity Network app. 
  • Bill Baker wraps up his 43rd season as the radio play-by-play "Voice of the Huskies." Color analyst Mark Lindo is alongside for the the 37th consecutive season, while Andy Garcia is in his 10th season on the sidelines. 

NIU WEEKLY ON YOUTUBE
  • See interviews with NIU football personnel, including head coach Thomas Hammock, as well as NIU administrators, coaches and student-athletes from other sports programs.
  • The show is hosted by Andy Garcia.

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  • Subscribe for FREE and click the bell to be notified every time NIU posts a new video.
  • Search "NIU Athletics" on YouTube or go to YouTube.com/NIUAthleticsOfficial. 
  • Archived videos and highlights, replays of some of the greatest games in school history and special features are also available 24/7 on YouTube.  

NIU HUSKIES MOBILE APP
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  • Link to the NIU radio broadcasts, live stats, complete team rosters, digital game programs and more.
  • Connect to the NIU social media channels and sign up for notifications on any Huskie team.

  NOTING NIU  
FB22 - Senior Box

SEASON FINALE: NIU wraps up its 119th football season on November 26 when the Akron Zips come to Huskie Stadium for a rare Thanksgiving Saturday contest. 

SERIES HISTORY: NIU owns an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series with Akron and the Huskies have won each of the last six meetings with the Zips, beginning with a 27-10 Huskie victory at home on Oct. 31, 2009. It is the longest winning streak by either team in the series. NIU is 6-2 all-time at home against the Zips, including a 49-0 shutout win in the last meeting on October 26, 2019. Akron's last victory over NIU came in the 2005 MAC Championship Game, a 31-30 decision. The Zips won the regular season meeting that year as well, 48-42, in overtime in Akron.

THE LAST TIME: Junior quarterback Marcus Childers threw for three touchdowns and tailback Tre Harbison ran for a pair as NIU recorded their first shutout since 2012, blanking Akron 49-0 on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 at Huskie Stadium. Harbison rushed for 158 yards on 31 carries and the NIU defense added two touchdowns - on Trayshon Foster's fumble recovery in the end zone and Nick Rattin's 31-yard interception return score - while holding the Zips to just 145 yards of total offense. . 

INFREQUENT FOE: The 2022 game is just the 17th all-time between NIU and Akron, including the 2005 MAC Championship game in Detroit, the Huskies' first appearance in the game. Among current MAC opponents, NIU has faced only Buffalo (15 games) fewer times than the Zips.

LAST GAME: After falling behind NIU 10-0 in the first quarter, Miami benefitted from Huskie miscues and advantageous field position to take a 16-10 halftime lead. The Huskies scored on a Nevan Cremascoli's 53-yard touchdown pass to Kacper Rutkiewicz to re-take the lead to start the second half before the RedHawks came back with 10 consecutive points. Antario Brown's 86-yard TD run brought NIU back within three, while Miami added a fourth-quarter field goal. The Huskies advanced to the MU 25 in the final five minutes but Cremascoli's final pass was intercepted at the 18-yard line and the RedHawks ran out the clock.  

HOME AGAIN: With a 76-33 (.697) record at home since 2003, NIU's all-time record at Huskie Stadium is 184-117-2 for a .610 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).  

HUSKIES IN THE MAC: In their 37th football season as a member of the Mid-American Conference season, NIU is 164-117-2 all-time in league play. The Huskies are 129-72 (.642) versus MAC foes since re-joining the league in 1997. Since 2010, NIU is 73-27 (.730) against the MAC with three undefeated campaigns, two one-loss seasons and seven division championships, including a run of six-straight (2010-15). NIU originally competed in the MAC from 1975-85.

DIVISION HOPPING: NIU has won 27 of its last 34 regular season games versus MAC East opponents and is 31-8 versus MAC East teams since 2008. NIU is looking for its first MAC East win of 2022 after dropping one score games at Ohio and versus Miami. The Huskies went 2-1 in crossover games a year ago before avenging a November loss at Kent State with a win over the Golden Flashes in the MAC Championship game. The Huskies also are 5-3 versus the East in MAC title games since 2010, defeating Ohio (2011), Kent State (2012, 2021), Bowling Green (2014) and Buffalo (2018), while falling to Miami (2010) and Bowling Green (2013 & 2015).

NIU vs. the current MAC East (regular season since 2008) 
Buffalo    7-1    
Bowling Green    4-0
Kent State    5-1
Miami    3-3
Akron    6-0    
Ohio    3-3

AT HOME IN THE MAC: In 36 seasons of MAC play dating back to 1975, NIU is 90-51-1 (.637) all-time at home in league games, including a 68-31 (.687) mark in Huskie Stadium versus league opponents since rejoining the league in 1997.  In 51 MAC home games since 2009, the Huskies are 40-12. 

HALL OF FAMER: NIU head coach Thomas Hammock was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend in DeKalb on October 7, 2022. Hammock gained more than 2,400 rushing yards and was a two-time first team CoSIDA Academic All-American during his NIU playing career (1999-2002). He was joined by fellow running back Chad Spann (2007-10) and quarterback Chandler Harnish (2008-11), who both won the MAC's Vern Smith (MVP) Award during their time in Cardinal and Black, in NIU's 2022 Hall of Fame class.

QB CAROUSEL: NIU has started four different players at quarterback for the first time since 2016 with all four making at least two starts. Incumbent Rocky Lombardi was the starter in the first three games before suffering an injury versus Vanderbilt. He was relieved by back-up Ethan Hampton, who finished the Vandy game and started versus Kentucky, Ball State and Toledo, with Justin Lynch also seeing time in those contests. Hampton was injured late in the Toledo game and Lynch started NIU's next three games (at EMU, at Ohio, vs. CMU). Freshman Nevan Cremascoli made his collegiate debut versus Central Michigan and started at Western Michigan and Miami. Of the four only Lynch will finish the season having played in more than four games as he has seen action in eight games to date.

NEXT MAN UP, EXTREME EDITION: Quarterback is not the only position where the Huskies' depth has been tested in 2022. Over the past two weeks, running backs Antario Brown and Harrison Waylee, offensive guard Logan Zschernitz and wide receiver Cole Tucker - all starters - have been sidelined by injury. In all, 26 players listed on the NIU depth chart this season have missed a combined 79 games. That's an average of more than seven first or second team players out of the line-up in every game this season. The list does not include players like 2021 All-MAC WR/KR Trayvon Rudolph, who suffered a season-ending injury during preseason camp. 

TURNING THE CORNER: Over the last five games, the NIU defense has shown a marked improvement, holding opponents to nearly 15 points lower than in the first six games of the season. The most significant difference has been made in the Huskies' pass defense. After opponents threw for nearly 300 (291.5) yards per game and 22 passing touchdowns in the first six games (through the Toledo game on Oct. 8), NIU is giving up almost 100 passing yards per game fewer (194.6) and has surrendered just seven passing TDs since, beginning with the Eastern Michigan game. NIU also has been better on third and fourth down in the second half of the season. 
 
NIU Opponents First 6 Game Last 5 Games
Points 230 119
Points/Game 38.3 23.8
First Downs 139 99
Passing Yards 1,749 973
Passing Yards/Game 291.5 194.6
Passing TDs 22 7
Total Offense Yards 2,533 1,703
Total Offense Yards/Game 422.2 340.6
3rd Down Conv. % 52% (40-77) 37% (29-78)
4th Down Conv. % 83% (10-12) 44% (4-9)
Quarterback Sacks 13 16
 
START ME UP: So far this season, 48 different players - the second highest total among FBS teams - have started games for the Huskies, 26 on offense and 22 on defense. Freshmen Nevan Cremascoli (QB) and Jaiden Credle (RB) made their first starts of 2022 at Western Michigan, while tight end Izzy Ozoh and cornerback Jashon Prophete were first-time starters versus Miami. Defenders Izayah Green-May (DE), James Ester (DT), Devonte O'Malley (DT) and C.J. Brown (S) are the only players to start every game this season. The Huskies have started a different 11 on offense every game and no player on offense has started every game.

ONE OF A KIND: NIU linebacker Kyle Pugh is the first player in FBS history to play eight years of college football although due to a series of injuries, he has not actually played in all eight seasons. Pugh, who is working on his second master's degree, signed with the Huskies in February 2015 and redshirted as a freshman. He was an all-MAC player in 2018 and 2020 and ranks third on the team in tackles in 2022 with 55 while playing in every game and starting nine. His career totals include 241 tackles in 45 games with 14.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. His most successful season was 2018 when he made 106 tackles, 63 solo with five tackles for loss. Pugh has been at NIU through three presidential administrations, four bowl games and three MAC Championship games; his freshmen teammates were in sixth grade when he arrived in DeKalb. 

PROTECTION PROS: The NIU offensive line has held five opponents without a sack this season and have surrendered just 10 sacks on the season. Despite starting six different line-ups on the offensive line in 2022, the Huskies rank eighth nationally and first in the MAC in fewest sacks allowed, an average of 0.91 per game.

UTILITY MAN: After starting at right guard in place of injured teammate Logan Zschernitz, fourth-year sophomore offensive lineman J.J. Lippe has played every position on the offensive line, plus tight end, in 2022. Lippe started the season opener at left guard, then missed the next three games before returning to start the Ball State, Toledo and Eastern Michigan games at right tackle. He split time with Pete Nygra at center over the next three games, and started there at Western Michigan. He has also played tight end and left tackle in 2022.

NEVAN'S PROGRESSION: True freshman walk-on quarterback Nevan Cremascoli has gone from a player who rarely received reps in 11-on-11 periods during training camp, to scout team quarterback, to back-up QB to starter. He has started NIU's last two games and taken the majority of the snaps in the last three. After completing just 39% of his passes in his first collegiate game versus Central Michigan and throwing three INTs at Western Michigan, the Winnetka, Ill. product had his best game versus Miami, completing 64% (14-of-22) passes for 165 yards with two touchdowns. 

CREDLE-ING THE LOAD: With both Harrison Waylee and Antario Brown out and/or limited by injury over the last two weeks, true freshman Jaiden Credle has been the Huskies' primary ballcarrier. At Western Michigan, the Georgia native carried 36 times - the most carries for a Huskie since 2012 (by Jordan Lynch in the MAC Championship game) - for 136 yards and scored on a one-yard run, his first career score. Versus Miami, he ripped off a 55-yard run on NIU's first play from scrimmage to set up a field goal, and finished with 97 yards on 15 carries.  

BALL SECURITY: Through 11 games, the Huskies have lost just two fumbles on the year to rank fourth nationally and first in the MAC, even with four different quarterbacks and four different running backs handling the ball. In fact, as many as seven different players have taken snaps from center for NIU this year.  After turning the ball over in 13 of 14 games a year ago, the Huskies have four games this season in which they did not have a fumble or an interception.  

GAME-WINNER:?Sophomore quarterback Justin Lynch directed NIU's first game-winning drive of 2022, leading the Huskies on a five-play, 73-yard touchdown drive to give the Huskies a 24-21 lead over Western Michigan with 56 seconds to play. Lynch rushes accounted for 72 of the 73 yards as he started the drive with a 52-yard run to the WMU 21. Two more Lynch runs gained 16 yards to the five-yard line before a penalty pushed NIU back to the 10. After Jaiden Credle picked up a yard, Lynch went nine yards for the score.
 
LYNCH AT NIU: Justin Lynch made his NIU debut at Kentucky on Sept. 24 and has seen action in every game since, with starts versus Eastern Michigan, Ohio and Central Michigan. He has run  for 260 yards on 55 carries and three touchdowns, with scores at Kentucky and versus Toledo prior to leading the game-winning drive, and scoring the game-winning TD, at Western Michigan. He finished the WMU game with 83 yards on six carries and had his top passing day as a Huskie at Ohio on nine-of-18 passing for 110 yards. Lynch, the younger brother of NIU All-American and 2013 Heisman Trophy finalist Jordan Lynch, transferred to NIU from Temple - where he played in 11 games as a true freshman -  in January. 

CT2K: Sixth-year senior receiver Cole Tucker, who missed the Miami game due to injury,  needs three receiving yards to become just the eighth 2,000-yard receiver in school history. Tucker, the lone experienced returnee in the NIU receiving corps, has caught 41 passes for 599 yards in 2022, a career high, for an average of 14.6 yards per catch. He has 15 more catches than the next highest total. The DeKalb native and Huskie legacy, whose parents Brett and Cindy were NIU football and gymnastics student-athletes, respectively, has caught 151 career passes with 10 touchdowns. He ranks eighth at NIU all-time  in career catches and receiving yards while playing in 51 games over the last five seasons. 

NOT SO SECRET WEAPON: Wide receiver Shemar Thorton completed his third pass of the season versus Central Michigan, this one on a two-point pass to quarterback Nevan Cremascoli. At Kentucky, Thornton became the first NIU non-quarterback to throw a touchdown pass since 2019 when he hit tight end Tristen Tewes for a three-yard score. Versus Ohio, he caught a lateral pass from Justin Lynch and connected with Cole Tucker for the two-point conversion that tied the game. His passes have accounted for 10 points on the season. 

KICKING IT: NIU kicker John Richardson has made 10 of his last 11 field goals, including a string nine straight between the Toledo (Oct. 8) and Western Michigan (Nov. 9) games. He  went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts at Eastern Michigan - his most makes without a miss in his 45-game career - made three more at Ohio and the career-long 53-yarder at WMU. He gave NIU a 3-0 lead versus Miami with a 31-yard FG. 

CAREER KICKER: Richardson has made 14-of-19 field goals in 2022 and leads NIU with 73 points. He has 288 career points on 57 field goals and 117 PATs to rank fifth all-time at NIU in most points scored kicking and is tied for eighth (with Huskie great Michael Turner) in scoring. With his 57th three, he tied Chris Nendick (2004-07) for second in most field goals made and is fifth in PATs made. He ranks tied for 13th among active players in field goals made and tied for 20th in field goals made per game (1.27).   

BOOTED IT: Huskie kicker John Richardson's 53-yard field goal at Western Michigan was not only the redshirt junior's career-long three, it was the second-longest field goal in NIU history. Richardson's kick was one yard shy of the school record 54-yard field goal by Mathew Sims at Western Michigan on October 27, 2012. Richardson's previous career long was a 51-yard field goal at Ohio on October 12, 2019. 

SCHOLAR-SACKER: Senior defensive end Michael Kennedy is tied for the NIU team lead in sacks with 5.5, surpassing his CAREER total entering the year. Prior to this year, Kennedy had one sack in 40 career games, one in each of his first four active seasons (2018-21). He now has 9.5 sacks to go with 105 tackles in 51 career games. Kennedy was a 2022 semifinalist for the William Campbell Trophy, presented by the National Football Foundation to the top football Scholar-Athlete in the country.  

TIGHT END TIME: Huskie tight ends Tristen Tewes and Liam Soraghan are enjoying career receiving seasons, combining to catch 24 passes for 267 yards and six touchdowns after Soraghan's 15-yard TD catch vs. Miami. Tewes led NIU in receiving vs. Central Michigan and at Western Michigan and has 15 receptions for 180 yards on the year. He had a career long 34-yard touchdown catch versus Central Michigan and four grabs for 64 yards at WMU. With Drew Cassens' touchdown versus Toledo, tight ends have accounted for seven of NIU's 18 TD catches this season.

NEGATIVE YARDAGE: The Huskie defense has picked up the pressure in 2022, including a six-sack, 11-TFL performance at Western Michigan, NIU's most sacks and most TFLs in a single game since 2018 at WMU and versus Toledo, respectively. On the season, Michael Kennedy and Devonte O'Malley are tied for the NIU team lead in quarterback sacks with 5.5, the most by a Huskie since 2018. Ray Thomas' team-leading nine TFLs are also the most by a Huskie player since Sutton Smith in 2018. 
 
MEET ME IN THE BACKFIELD: Sophomore defensive end Ray Thomas accounted for four of NIU's season-high 11 tackles for loss at Western Michigan, becoming the first Huskie to have four tackles for loss since All-American Sutton Smith had five TFLs at Western Michigan in 2018. Thomas' night at WMU included the four TFLs and a pass break-up. He ranks sixth on the team, and tops all defensive linemen in tackles with 42. 

BROWN BACK ON TOP: Safety C.J. Brown, who led NIU in tackles a year ago en route to All-MAC honors, has taken over the team lead in tackles with 73 after making seven stops versus Miami. Brown replaced linebacker Daveren Rayner, who has missed the last three games due to injury, atop the Huskies' tackle chart. Brown made nine tackles versus CMU and had 13 earlier this season versus Vanderbilt. He is tied with cornerback Eric Rogers for the team lead in pass break-ups with a career-high four. Brown has 193 career tackles in 31 career games, including 103 solo stops.

DOG TREATS: The NIU defense has given up just 13 rushing touchdowns in 2022, tied for the fewest by any MAC team; four Huskie opponents have been held to 107 rushing yards or less, including Kentucky ... Freshman Jaiden Credle's 36 carries at Western Michigan were the most by a Huskie running back (not quarterback) since November 17, 2007, when Justin Anderson carried 39 times in a 35-24 loss at Navy ... The 14 consecutive completions by quarterbacks Rocky Lombardi and Ethan Hampton (seven each) to start the Vanderbilt game fell one short of the unofficial NIU record of 15 by Dan Nicholson versus Southern Illinois on Sept. 8, 2007. NIU's first incompletion did not occur until the third quarter ... Cornerback Eric Rogers intercepted two passes versus Eastern Illinois, becoming the first Huskie with two INTs in a game since Jalen McKie versus Akron in 2018 ... the Huskies' double overtime loss at Ball State on October 1 broke NIU's four-game winning streak in overtime games that dated back to Oct. 15, 2016. All-time, the Huskies are 9-5 in overtime games, including 6-4 in MAC regular season contests. ... NIU's 25-point fourth quarter versus Toledo - three touchdowns, a field goal and two two-point PATs - was the Huskies' highest single quarter output since Oct. 10, 2015 when NIU scored 28 points in the second quarter versus Ball State. 

NOT IN THE RED: NIU has scored 14 touchdowns without entering the redzone with seven rushing, six passing and one fumble return score on plays of 30 yards or longer in 2022. Each of the seven long touchdown runs have gone for at least 35 yards, with four by Antario Brown and three for Harrison Waylee. Brown recorded the longest play of the season last week vs. Miami with an 86-yard touchdown run, while Waylee's long TD run of 76 yards came at Eastern Michigan. Kacper Rutkiewicz has three receiving touchdowns of 30 yards or longer, including a long TD catch of 53 yards last week, and Cole Tucker's 70-yard touchdown reception versus Vanderbilt is NIU's longest passing play of the season. In addition to the 13 offensive TDs, defensive end Izayah Green-May had a 57-yard fumble return touchdown versus Central Michigan.

PLAYING IT CLOSE: In four seasons under Thomas Hammock, 26 of the Huskies' 41 games, including seven of 11 games in 2022, have been decided by one score (eight points) or less. Last year, 10 of the Huskies' 14 games came down to one score. The Huskies are 9-8 in one score contests over the last two seasons and are 12-14 in those games over the last four years. In games decided by three points or less, NIU is 8-4 since 2019, including the win at Western Michigan this season. 

TURNOVER TALES: NIU has committed 13 turnovers on the season while forcing 16. The Huskies have won the turnover battle in five games this year and are 2-3 in those games. They  had the same number of turnovers as Vanderbilt, Ball State, Ohio and Miami, and lost all four of those games. NIU is 1-1 in games when it turns the ball over more than its opponent, with the win coming lat Western Michigan. NIU turned Central Michigan over a season high four times, the most turnovers forced by the Huskies in 51 games, since the game at Florida State on Sept. 22, 2018. 

EARNED IT: Since Thomas Hammock's arrival at NIU in 2019, 21 walk-on players have earned scholarships, including 19 players on the 2022 roster and eight – fully one third – of the Huskies starters on offense, defense or special teams. Of those 19, 15 are from the state of Illinois. The group joins a long list of NIU players from the past that arrived as walk-ons including 2010 MAC MVP Chad Spann, who was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame this year, and recently retired NFL veteran Rashaan Melvin. See the complete list of current former walk-ons in the column to the left.

FRESH FACES: Eleven members of NIU's 22 freshman class have seen action for NIU to date; four freshmen - quarterback Nevan Cremascoli, running back Jaiden Credle, and cornerbacks Jacob Finley and Amariyun Knighten - have started games. Credle, rookie linebacker Nick Alvarado, who led the Huskies in tackles at WMU with seven, and defensive end Roy Williams have each seen action in six games to lead all 2022 freshmen.

WHERE THERE'S A "WAY": Third year sophomore Harrison Waylee, NIU's leading rusher, saw limited action versus Miami but still leads NIU with 872 rushing yards. With 1,902 career rushing yards, Waylee ranks 21st on the Huskies' all-time list. He has three 100-plus yard rushing games this season, including a career-high 230-yard game at Ball State, and eight in his career. Waylee also set the NIU record for most receptions by a running back in a game with 10 catches (for 96 yards) versus Toledo. He had a career-long 76-yard TD run at Eastern Michigan.  

ABOUT AB: NIU's second-leading rusher, Antario Brown, leads the Huskies in rushing TDs with seven after scoring on a 86-yard run versus Miami. It was the longest offensive play by NIU this season and one of the 10 longest running plays in school history. Brown finished the game with 97 yards on just five carries. His best day of the season came at Ohio with 160 yards on 16 carries that included runs of 45 and 49 yards. In just 19 career games, Brown has 1,227 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns. He is averaging 6.4 yards per carry for his career. Of his 12 career rushing TDs, eight have been of 35 yards or longer. 

TD LEADER: Newcomer Kacper Rutkiewicz recorded his team-leading seventh touchdown catch of the season in the Miami game with a 53-yard TD to start the second half. Rutkiewicz is tied with Antario Brown for the team lead in touchdowns. He ranks third on the team in receiving with 24 catches and is second in receiving yards with 405. His 16.9 yards per catch average leads NIU and ranks in the Top 50 nationally.    

 
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