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  DOG TREATS  

• NIU completes the second third of the regular season Saturday when the Huskies travel to Muncie, Indiana to take on Ball State in the Battle for the Bronze Stalk.
• While NIU and Ball State meet for the 52nd time overall - with the Huskies holding a slim 25-24-2 lead in the all-time series - the 2024 game marks the 17th edition as a "trophy game".  NIU has claimed the trophy 11 times since its inception but the Cardinals have taken possession in each of the last two seasons.  
• The NIU defense enters the Ball State game ranked third in the country in total defense and are still the No. 1 team in the Football Bowl Subdivision  in third down defense. NIU's three MAC opponents to date have been held to a .119 (5-42) rate on third down conversions.  
• NIU leads the MAC and is among the top 13 teams in the FBS in six defensive categories, including quarterback sacks with an average of 3.00 per game. Eight different defensive linemen are among the nine players with sacks for the Huskies this year.
• NIU has held 16 of its last 20 opponents over the last two seasons to 24 points or less, including all seven of its 2024 foes. The Huskies are one of just six FBS teams to hold each of its opponents below the 25-point threshold this season.
• Redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Holst made his first career start last week in NIU's 13-6 loss to Toledo and attempted 46 passes, tied for 10th most in a single game in school history. He threw 21 passes in the fourth quarter as the Huskies looked to tie the score late but were held out of the red zone throughout the game.   
• Senior running back Gavin Williams needs two yards to surpass his 2023 rushing yardage total after recording back-to-back 100-yard rushing games versus UMass (125) and at Bowling Green (102). With 26 yards, he will become the 46th player to run for 1,000 yards at NIU.  
• Running back Antario Brown returned to action last week after missing the Bowling Green game with 53 yards on 13 carries. The Huskie senior is 23 yards away from becoming the ninth 3,000-yard rusher in school history and the first since Jordan Lynch (2009-13).  
• NIU kicker Kanon Woodill recorded his fourth multi-field goal game of the season last week when he accounted for all six of the Huskies' points versus Toledo. Woodill, who has tied his career high with 11 field goals made this year, has 48 points to lead NIU on the year. 
• Since the start of the 2016 season, NIU leads the FBS in one-score games played with 59, including four in 2024. NIU is 28-31 in those games.

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2024 NIU Schedule & Results
 

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  CARDINALS' FOOTBALL FACTS  

Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Mike Neu (Ball State, 1994)
Record at Ball State/Years: 39-61/9
Career Record/Years: Same
2023 Record: 4-8
Conference Record/Finish: 3-5/T-4th-West
Location: Muncie, Ind.
Enrollment: 21,597
Conference: Mid-American
Colors: Cardinal and White 
Stadium: Scheumann Stadium
Surface/Capacity: Sprint Turf/22,500
President: Geoffrey Mearns
Athletic Director: Jeff Mitchell
Athletics Website: BallStateSports.com
Twitter: @ballstatefb

Ball State Schedule & Results
 

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  NIU-BSU SERIES  

Overall: NIU leads 25-24-2
In DeKalb: Ball State leads 13-12-2
In Muncie: NIU leads 13-11
In MAC Games: Ball State leads 20-19
First Game: BSU 6, NIU 6 (H) - 10/4/41
Streak: Ball State, 2
 

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  FOLLOW THE HUSKIES  

TV: NIU-BALL STATE ON ESPN+

• The NIU-Ball State game will be streamed on ESPN+, accessible via the ESPN App available on both iOS and Android devices, desktop and TV-connected devices (e.g. Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV).
• Subscriptions to ESPN+ are available on both a monthly and annual basis and can be used on up to five streaming devices simultaneously.
• Kelsie Kasper (play-by-play) and Marcus Ray (analyst) will be on the call for ESPN+ Saturday.

RADIO: HUSKIE SPORTS NETWORK

• The Huskie Sports Radio Network coverage for the Ball State game begins 30 minutes before kickoff, at 2 p.m. (CT), on 94-9 WDKB in DeKalb.
• Hear the broadcast on mobile devices via the free NIU Huskies mobile app, on TuneIn, or stream online on 949wdkb.com. 
• Longtime Huskie Sports Network sideline reporter Andy Garcia is making his NIU play-by-play debut in 2024 in his new role as "Voice of the Huskies" while analyst Mark Lindo is in his 40th consecutive season calling NIU football. Terry Bonadonna is in his first year as the sideline reporter.

INSIDE HUSKIE FOOTBALL RADIO SHOW

• Fans are invited to attend the one-hour weekly show every Wednesday throughout September and October at Noon at Fatty's Pub & Grille in DeKalb (1312 W. Lincoln Hwy).
• Hear the show live on 94-9 WDKB, on the NIU Huskies app and on TuneIn, or stream on 949wdkb.com.
• Host Andy Garcia interviews NIU Head Coach Thomas Hammock each week, along with Huskie players and special guests.

NIU WEEKLY ON YOUTUBE

• New host Terry Bonadonna talks NIU football, basketball and more with the Huskie head coaches and administrators, including a weekly visit during football season from head coach Thomas Hammock.
• Get all the latest news and updates in this fast-paced show.
• Watch new episodes on the NIU Athletics Official YouTube Channel on Thursdays. 

NIU ATHLETICS ON YOUTUBE

• See weekly and post-game press conferences, special features, game highlights, NIU Weekly and more.
• 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

• Download the free NIU Huskies mobile app from the Apple Store or Google Play.
• 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.

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  NOTING NIU  

BRONZE STALK BATTLE: NIU and Ball State meet the 52nd time and play for the Bronze Stalk Trophy for the 17th time Saturday at Scheumann Stadium. The game is the last traditional Saturday game for the Huskies until Thanksgiving Week as NIU transitions to its next three November #MACtion weeknight contests and enjoys a 10-day "mini-bye" following the game.     

STALK TALK: For the 17th 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 16 Bronze Stalk games since 2008, NIU is 11-5; BSU has  claimed the Trophy four times in the last five meetings, including each of the last two years.   

SERIES HISTORY: NIU holds a one-game advantage over Ball State in the all-time series, 25-24-2. While the Huskies have won 11 of the last 15 games between the teams, Ball State's four wins have come in the last five meetings after NIU won 10 straight series games from 2009-18. The Cardinals defeated the Huskies 16 times in 17 games between 1974-98. 

TIGHTLY-CONTESTED: Each of the last six games in the Ball State-NIU series - and nine of the 16 contests played for the Bronze Stalk - have been one possession affairs, decided by eight points or less.  

LAST WEEK: In a defensive battle, Toledo claimed a 13-6 win over NIU in Huskie Stadium last Saturday by scoring the game's lone touchdown on a 52-yard pass play in the second quarter. NIU redshirt freshman Josh Holst made his first career start at quarterback and while the Huskies totaled 391 yards of offense with over 36 minutes in time of possession, NIU was held to a pair of field goals on its two trips to the Toledo red zone. The Huskie defense made a fourth down stop inside the five and twice limited UT to field goals from inside the 10-yard line. Kicker Kanon Woodill accounted for the NIU points with field goals of 36 and 37 yards. 

HUSKIES IN THE MAC: In 38 seasons as a member of the Mid-American Conference, the Huskies are 166-120-2 all-time. The Huskies own a winning percentage of .635 (136-78) versus MAC foes since re-joining the league in 1997. Since 2010, NIU is 79-34 (.699) against the MAC with three undefeated campaigns, two one-loss seasons and eight division championships, including a run of six-straight (2010-15). NIU originally competed in the MAC from 1975-85.

ON THE MAC ROAD: NIU is 1-0 on the road in the MAC this year after a 17-7 win at Bowling Green on October 12. The Huskies are 28-15 in conference road games since 2013 and 92-101-1 all-time in league games away from Huskie Stadium for a 47.7 percent win percentage. The Huskies are 2-1 overall on the road this year with a win at No. 5 Notre Dame and a loss at NC State in non-conference action. NIU is 10-10 on the road versus league opponents under Thomas Hammock. 

GAME CAPTAINS: NIU is naming its captains on a game-by-game basis in 2024. Captains for the Bowling Green game are defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard, offensive linemen J.J. Lippe and Matt Schooley, tailback Antario Brown and wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph.

CLOSE CALLS: After the seven-point loss to Toledo last week, four of NIU's seven games this season have been decided by one score or less. Eight of NIU's 13 games a year ago, including the Camellia Bowl win, were within that margin, a trend at NIU that predates Thomas Hammock's tenure as head coach. Since the start of the 2016 season, NIU leads the FBS in one-score games played, ahead of Texas (54) and Eastern Michigan (54).  

One-Score Record Since 2015
1.     NIU    59 (28-31)
T2.     Eastern Michigan    54 (28-26)
T2.     Texas    54 (24-30)
T4.     North Carolina    50 (21-29) 
T4.     Iowa State    50 (20-30)
T6.     Nebraska    49 (14-35)
T6.     Oklahoma State    49 (31-18)
T8.     Tulsa    47 (21-26)
T8.     Kansas State    47 (23-24)
10.     Navy    46 (23-23)

In 64 games under Thomas Hammock since 2019, 38, including 25 MAC contests have been decided by one score. Included in those 38 games are four overtime games. 

SENIOR-LADEN: After fielding one of the youngest teams in the country in 2021, NIU's 2024 roster includes 32 seniors, which ranks tied for sixth-most nationally (see chart). Even more rare is the fact that of those 32 seniors, 20 have played their entire careers at NIU, a number that ranks third in the nation behind only Stanford and Navy.

Seniors Who Have Played Entire Career at Same School (min. 15)
    Stanford - 23
    Navy - 23
    NIU - 20
    Bowling Green - 17
    Iowa - 17
    Oklahoma State - 16
    Eastern Michigan - 15

FAMILIAR FACES: For the second week in a row, NIU plays a team with a former Huskie defensive coordinator on its staff as Jeff Knowles, who coached the Huskie linebackers in 2017 and was named defensive coordinator in 2018, joined the Cardinals' staff as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach this season. In addition, former Huskie defensive back Mayomi Olootu (2014-17) is a defensive graduate assistant for Ball State. 

IN OT: NIU is 10-6 in overtime games following the Huskies' 23-20 OT loss to Buffalo on September 21. NIU has now played an overtime game in four consecutive seasons. Prior to the Buffalo game, the Huskies had won five of their last six overtime contests. The game was NIU's first overtime game at home since 2017 and its first home overtime loss since Oct. 15, 2016 in a three OT affair versus Central Michigan.  

ON THE OFFENSE

CARRYING THE LOAD: NIU senior running back Gavin Williams leads the Huskies and ranks third in the MAC  in rushing yards with 487 on 105 carries on the year.  He needs two yards to surpass his 2023 season rushing yards - compiled in 13 games, and needs 26 yards to surpass 1,000 for his Huskie career. Williams posted his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game last week at Bowling Green with 102 yards on a career high 29 carries, one week after rushing for 125 yards on 19 runs versus UMass. A redshirt senior who began his career at Iowa and is in his second season at NIU, Williams' 10 catches are tied for fifth on the team and he ranks second on the team in both total offense and all-purpose yards.

SLINGING IT: Redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Holst threw 46 passes versus Toledo in his first career start. Holst was 15-of-25 passing through the first three quarters of the game before finishing 22-of-46 for 210 yards. The 46 pass attempts tie for the 10th most thrown by a Huskie QB in a single game and are the most since then redshirt freshman Ethan Hampton threw 49 passes versus the Rockets on Oct. 8, 2022.

NEXT MAN UP: Quarterback Josh Holst stepped in for an injured Ethan Hampton in the second quarter of the Bowling Green game and completed 10-of-14 passes for 89 yards and ran eight times for 47 yards, leading NIU to three scoring drives and recording the lone Huskie touchdown of the game on a 22-yard run. A walk-on from Marengo, Illinois, Holst was in a three-way battle for the starting job entering fall camp after leading the NIU "compete" team last year and impressing during spring drills. Prior to the BG game, Holst played one series the previous week versus UMass and saw action late in the season opener versus Western Illinois. 

IN A RUSH: The Huskies finished the UMass game with 367 yards on 54 carries, averaged 6.8 yards per rush and threw just two passes after the 9:15 mark of the second quarter. It was the most rushing yards for NIU since the 2023 Akron game (35-380) and the seventh time NIU has run for 300 or more yards under head coach Thomas Hammock. Three Huskies - running backs Gavin Williams (125) and Jaylen Poe (98) and quarterback Ethan Hampton (64) - gained at least 60 yards, the first time that has happened since Nov. 23, 2021. 

MOVING ON UP: Antario Brown moved into the Huskies' all-time Top 10 for rushing yards during the UMass game, and after missing the Bowling Green game due to injury, came back with 53 yards on 13 carries versus Toledo. With 2,977 career yards, Brown needs just 23 yards to become the ninth 3,000-yard rusher in school history, and the first since Jordan Lynch (2009-13). The senior ranks ninth among active FBS backs in career rushing yards and is eighth in yards per carry. Brown has 24 career rushing touchdowns and needs two to move past Thomas Hammock into 10th place on the NIU career list.

CHEESEHEADS: NIU started the same five offensive linemen - seniors J.J. Lippe (Milwaukee), Logan Zschernitz (Spencer), Evan Buss (Kimberly) and John Champe (Brookfield) plus redshirt sophomore Evan Malcore (Sun Prairie) - in each of the first six games of the season. With Buss out for the Toledo game, redshirt freshman Thomas Paasch (Green Bay) made his first career start at right tackle. Paasch's presence kept the all-Wisconsin offensive line intact, and continues NIU's  long tradition of Huskie linemen from the badger state. Players like Manitowoc native Doug Free (2003-06), a 10-year pro for the Dallas Cowboys (2007-16) and Green Bay product and current NFL OL Max Scharping (2014-18) are just a few examples. Overall, eight of the top 10 offensive linemen on the Huskie two-deep are Wisconsinites.

EXPERIENCE UP FRONT: NIU's five starting offensive linemen have a combined 206 games of experience (all as Huskies) with 150 starts. The group, which started the first six games of the season before Evan Buss missed the Toledo game last week due to injury, includes a pair of sixth-year Huskies in J.J. Lippe and Logan Zschernitz, fifth-year players John Champe, Buss and Evan Malcore, who is in his third season at NIU. Champe leads all offensive players in games played with 52, while Lippe's 41 career starts rank first on the team. NIU leads the MAC in fewest sacks allowed with nine in the Huskies' seven games.

Player - Games Played/Games Started
John Champe - 52/35
J.J. Lippe - 46/41
Logan Zschernitz - 46/40
Evan Buss - 43/19
Evan Malcore - 20/14
Total - 206/150

STEPPING UP:  With senior Trayvon Rudolph sidelined for the last two games due to injury, a pair of transfers have stepped in and stepped up for the Huskie offense at wide receiver. Cam Thompson, a redshirt sophomore who transferred to NIU prior to the 2023 season, is the Huskies' leading receiver with 17 catches for 244 yards for a 14.4-yard average with two touchdowns.He caught a career best five passes versus Toledo for 80 yards, including grabs of 30 and 24 yards. McElroy a grad transfer from St. Thomas in his first year at NIU, has made 13 of his 15 catches in the last five games for 165 yards. He  led NIU with five grabs for 47 yards at Bowling Green, while his season-long 42-yard catch to the NC State six yard line set up the Huskies' second touchdown.  

STARTING STRONG: Redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Hampton opened the season with a near-perfect passing day versus Western Illinois to earn MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Hampton completed 18-of-20 passes for 328 yards and five touchdowns, setting a single game school record for single game passing efficiency rating (310.3) and becoming just the seventh NIU QB to throw five or more touchdown passes in a game. He followed that performance by engineering NIU's historic victory over Notre Dame with 198 passing and 21 rushing yards, a passing TD and no interceptions to earn a spot on the Davey O'Brien Great 8 list. 

WORKHORSE: Senior running back Antario Brown recorded his first 100-yard rushing game of 2024 - and the ninth of his NIU career - with 114 yards on 28 carries to lead the Huskie offense at NC State. Brown accounted for all but six of the Huskies' net 120 rushing yards in the game and added an 11-yard reception. His 28 carries were a career high.

SPECIAL INTEREST

UNCOMMON: At Bowling Green, long snapper Isaac Hatfield scored the first points of his career by catching a pass from tight end Grayson Barnes on a two-point conversion attempt, giving the Huskies a 14-7 lead to start the fourth quarter. Hatfield joins Hunter Higham of Hawai'i, who caught a two-point conversion pass versus Northern Iowa on September 21, as the only FBS long snappers to score this season. 

BUSY MAN: After accounting for all six of NIU's points versus Toledo, NIU senior kicker Kanon Woodill is 11-of-16 on the year, matching his 2023 total when he made 11-of-17 threes after taking over as the Huskies' kicker in the fourth game of the season. Woodill has recorded four multi-field goal games this season to rank second in the MAC and 23rd in the Football Bowl Subdivision with an average of 1.57 field goals made per game. His 48 points on the season lead NIU and are 30 more than any other Huskie. Woodill is 25-of-36 on threes in 18 career games as the starting kicker. 

THEY COME IN THREES: NIU kicker Kanon Woodill kicked three field goals - of 46, 21 and 27 yards - to account for nine of the Huskies' 17 points in the win over Bowling Green. The Army ROTC cadet now has made three field goals in a game twice this season and four times in his career. At Notre Dame, Woodill made threes from 42 and 21 yards to give NIU a 13-7 halftime lead, then booted the game-winning 35-yard kick with 31 seconds to play in the 16-14 win. Woodill's other three field goal games were last year versus Ohio and in 2021 at Central Michigan, when he also kicked the game-winner in the final minute. 

BIG RETURN: Redshirt freshman Jaylen Poe recorded the longest kickoff return by a Huskie since 2021 with an 89-yard return to the four-yard line versus UMass to earn a spot on the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll. The play - the 17th longest kickoff return in school history - set up the Huskies' game-sealing score and was the longest for NIU in three seasons, since Trayvon Rudolph scored on a 100-yard kickoff return versus Bowling Green on October 16, 2021.  

UPPING THE AVERAGE: Prior to Jaylen Poe's 89-yard kickoff return versus UMass, NIU had a grand total of two kickoff return yards on the year and ranked 132nd - dead last - in the FBS. Those came on a critical play by Gavin Williams on the opening kickoff at Notre Dame when he covered the ball that didn't make it to the end zone. Following Poe's return, and a pair of kickoff returns for 56 yards by Cam Thompson last week, the Huskies now rank second in the country in kickoff returns with an average of 36.75 yards per return.  

LONG DISTANCE: NIU kicker Kanon Woodill's 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter at NC State was the longest of the Huskie senior's career as he became the ninth player in school history to make a field goal of 50 yards or longer. Previously, Woodill's longest field goal was a 49-yard shot at Toledo in 2023.  

ON THE BLOCK: NIU defensive tackle Cade Haberman earned MAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after making two of the biggest plays of the Notre Dame game. Haberman blocked field goals at the end of each half, including the 62-yard potential game-winner as time expired. He is the first Huskie to block two kicks in a game since Jalen McKie blocked a field goal attempt and a PAT at Nebraska in 2019. 

DETAILING THE DEFENSE

THIRD AND NO: NIU is holding opponents to a nation-leading 19.5 percent conversion rate on third downs. One week after Bowling Green converted just 1-of-13 third downs, Toledo went 2-for-15 on third down conversions last Saturday. The Rockets did not convert a third (and went 0-for-2 on fourth) down until 6:26 of the third quarter as they started  the game 0-for-9 on those opportunities. Only one Huskie opponent - UMass - has converted more than three times on third down this season. 

STINGY: NIU has held 16 of its last 20 opponents - and every team it has faced in 2024 -  to 24 points or less, including a season-low seven by Bowling Green. In 12 of those 16 games - mark Western Illinois, Notre Dame, Toledo and Bowling Green on that list - NIU foes scored 20 points or fewer. Over the last 10 games, only Kent State scored more than 24 points on NIU, in a 37-27 Huskie win in the 2023 regular season finale. This year, opponents are averaging 16.6 points per game versus the Huskies, who have the No. 13 scoring defense in the FBS and are one of just six teams in the country who have held every foe to 24 points or less. 

ELITE D: The Huskie defense is playing at an elite level in 2024. Six of seven opponents have gained less than 300 yards and NIU is ranked third in the country in total defense behind only Texas and Ohio State. NIU currently leads the MAC and is ranked in the Top 15 defenses in the FBS in seven defensive categories, including number one in opponents' third down conversion percentage. Through seven games, the Huskies have given up just 11 touchdowns on defense.  
 

Category	Avg,/No.	National Rank	MAC Rank
Total Defense	258.1	3	1
Rushing Defense	101.6	13	1
3rd Down Conv. Defense	.195	1	1
Passing Yards Allowed	156.6	8	1
Scoring Defense	16.6	13	1
First Downs Defense	103	8	1
Quarterback Sacks	3.00	13	1

RUSHING TRENDS: NIU opponents have been held to 150 or fewer yards on the ground 15 times in the last 20 games and the Huskies are 11-4 in those games, including an 8-1 mark when opponents rush for 101-150 yards. NIU is 0-5 when giving up more than 151 yards on the ground. Buffalo and NC State became the second and third teams in the last two seasons to defeat NIU while rushing for less than 150 yards as they totaled 77 and 63 yards on the ground, respectively.

COMPLEMENTARY FOOTBALL: The Huskie offense's ability to hold onto the ball - NIU ranks third in the country in time of possession at 34:15 minutes per game - along with the defense's third down efficiency, has led to less time on the field for the defense. NIU ranks fourth in the country in fewest plays on defense per game with an average of 57.9 Kentucky leads the FBS with 50.9 plays per game followed by Missouri (56.1) and Ohio State (57.5).

TRENCH MOB: Ten players are playing significant snaps as part of the defensive line rotation for NIU in 2024, seven have at least one sack and the group has accounted for 21 of the Huskies' 22 sacks and accumulated 33.5 tackles for loss. Six players have made at least 16 tackles. The deepest unit on the Huskie defense gets even deeper this week with the projected return of the 2023 NIU team leader in tackles, defensive end Ray Thomas. Including Thomas, the unit includes five seniors, five juniors and redshirt freshman Mark Hensley. Nine of the 11 have been at NIU for at least three seasons.     

SACK PARTY: The Huskies recorded a season high six sacks at Bowling Green with all six by NIU defensive linemen, led by Skyler Gill-Howard's career best two. Roy Williams' sack and caused fumble was recovered by Jalonnie Williams for a Huskie turnover. Jalonnie Williams added his first sack of the year, with Cade Haberman and Devonte O'Malley each contributing a sack as well. The last time the Huskies had at least six sacks in a game was on Nov. 9, 2022 versus Western Michigan in a 24-21 NIU win.

IMPACT LEADER: Former walk-on Skyler Gill-Howard, who transferred to NIU from Upper Iowa prior to the 2022 season, leads all NIU defensive linemen in tackles with 27 on the year with three sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss. He had a pair of sacks, three tackles for loss and led the Huskies with seven tackles, six solo at Bowling Green to earn MAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors. Head coach Thomas Hammock called Gill-Howard the best leader to play for him at NIU.   

FORCE IN THE MIDDLE: Senior defensive tackle Devonte O'Malley, who was named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week following the Notre Dame game, ranks eighth at NIU with 18.5 career quarterback sacks. At Notre Dame, O'Malley recorded two sacks for minus 22 yards, three tackles for loss, four solo stops and a forced fumble, becoming the first Huskie to win the Nagurski weekly award since 2007 (Larry English). O'Malley has recorded sacks in each of the last three games and is tied for the team lead with 4.5 on the year. 

MEET ME AT THE QB: Three players - defensive end Roy Williams, defensive tackle Devonte O'Malley and third down pass rushing specialist Nevaeh Sanders - share the NIU team lead in sacks with 4.5 each. Sanders' sacks all came in the Buffalo and UMass games as he collected three sacks and forced a fumble versus Buffalo to become the first Huskie since 2018 (Sutton Smith vs. Western Michigan) to record three sacks in a game. Williams has 3.5 sacks in NIU's last four games, while two of O'Malley's 4.5 sacks came at Notre Dame.  

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: NC State gained just 63 rushing yards on 27 carries, the fewest rushing yards by a Huskie opponent since Western Michigan managed just 24 yards on Nov. 14, 2023. NC State was 1-of-11 on third downs and punted eight times in the game. The last NIU opponent to gain fewer yards than NCSU's 171 was Akron, which totaled 145 yards on Oct. 26, 2019 in a 49-0 NIU win. 

BACK-TO-BACK: NIU held both Buffalo and NC State to less than 200 yards of total offense, the first time in 20 seasons a Huskie team held back-to-back opponents to less than 200 yards. NC State gained just 171 yards, one week after Buffalo totaled only 184 yards. In 2005, the Huskies gave up 174 yards to Eastern Michigan on Oct. 15 and followed that up by holding Kent State to 195 yards on Oct. 22.

OF NOTE

ADDED TO THE BONEYARD: With its 16-14 victory over Notre Dame on September 7, NIU added its 19th Boneyard Win to its ledger. "Boneyard Wins" date back to 1983 and are defined as wins over teams from "power" leagues, as well as independents like Notre Dame and (formerly) BYU. NIU has added three bones to the yard in the last four seasons under Thomas Hammock. See page seven for the complete list of NIU's Boneyard Wins.

MADE HISTORY: NIU's win over fifth-ranked (AP Poll) Notre Dame was its first victory over a Top 10 team in school history. The Huskies also became the first Mid-American Conference team to defeat a team ranked in the Top Five of a major poll. Prior to Sept. 7, NIU's last win over a ranked team was on Nov. 3, 2015, a 32-27 win over No. 20 Toledo. Its last win over a ranked non-conference foe was a 19-16 win over No. 21 Alabama on Sept. 20, 2003. The win was the Huskies' seventh all-time over a ranked opponent.

PULLING RANK: On September 8 following its win over Notre Dame, NIU entered the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since December 8, 2013 with a number 25 national ranking and 114 points. NIU climbed to No. 23 the next week after the Huskies' open date. This year marked the earliest in the season, and the first time since 2013, that NIU cracked the Top 25. The Huskies spent 11 consecutive weeks in at least one of the polls during an undefeated regular season in 2013.

HUSKIE GRADS: There are 18 players on the Huskie roster who are already college graduates, including all four senior members of the starting offensive line, eight players listed as first team on the current NIU depth chart and another six on the two-deep. 

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: NIU offensive lineman J.J. Lippe has been named a semifinalist for the 2024 Campbell Trophy. Lippe, who has become one of the top leaders on the Huskie team, has earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in business from NIU over the past five years. A member of the Captain's Council, the NIU Student-Athlete Advisory Come Oct. 15, 2016 in a three OT affair versus Central Michigan.  

HALL OF FAMERS: A pair of Huskie football greats were inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame last weekend as a part of 117th Homecoming festivities on the NIU campus. Two-time All-American, 2013 Heisman finalist and NCAA record-setting quarterback Jordan Lynch and first team All-American defensive back Jimmie Ward joined the elite club. Ward, a first round draft choice of the San Francisco 49ers in 2014, was not able to return to campus as he is in his 11th NFL season, now with the Houston Texans. 

NEXT: Following the Ball State game, NIU heads into the weeknight #MACtion portion of the schedule beginning Wednesday, November 6 at Western Michigan before returning to Huskie Stadium one week later, on November 13, to take on Akron.