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  DOG TREATS  

• After opening the season with a 54-15 win over Western Illinois, the NIU Huskies make the 160-mile trip to South Bend, Indiana to take  on Notre Dame for the first time in school history. The Fighting Irish are ranked fifth (AP) and seventh (AFCA) in this week's polls.
• The Notre Dame game is the first of two "Boneyard" games on the Huskies' 2024 non-conference schedule. Since 1983, NIU wins over teams from the "Power 5" conferences plus have been celebrated as Boneyard Wins. The Huskies have 18 Boneyard Wins all-time, including last year's season opening overtime victory over Boston College.
• NIU plays a ranked team for the 41st time in school history and for the first time since a 31-23 loss to No. 8 Kentucky in 2022. The Huskies' last win over a non-conference ranked opponent was its historic 19-16 at No. 21 Alabama in 2003.
• The Huskies will have a game broadcast nationally on network television (not cable) for the first time in school history. NIU has appeared on an ABC split broadcast three times.      
• In his fifth career start, redshirt junior Ethan Hampton recorded the first 300-yard passing game for NIU in its last 30 games while completing 18-of-20 passes, including five for touchdowns. Hampton was named the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
• Senior wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph totaled 171 all-purpose yards last week as he scored on a 60-yard rush and a 43-yard reception. Rudolph posted the fifth 100-yard receiving game of his career with 104 yards on four catches. 
• Including Western Illinois, NIU has held 10 of its last 14 opponents to 24 points or less. The Huskies had 10 games allowing 24 points or less in the previous four seasons combined. Head coach Thomas Hammock, the 23rd head coach in NIU's 123-year football history, tied Bill Mallory and Jerry Ippoliti for seventh place on the Huskies' career wins chart with last week's win over Western Illinois.  
• Backing up Thomas Hammock's characterization of NIU as a "developmental program" which sees players improve throughout their careers is the fact that, of the 32 seniors on the Huskies' 2024 roster (tied for 6th-most in FBS), 26 are listed on the NIU depth chart for the Notre Dame game.
• In addition to the 18 returning starters on offense and defense, the 2024 roster includes 11 players who have played in 40 or more games at NIU.
• Seventy-three Huskies saw action in NIU's win over Western Illinois. Eleven players caught passes, five gained at least 40 yards rushing and 28 recorded tackles.

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  NIU FOOTBALL FACTS  

Basic Offense/Defense: Multiple/4-2-5
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 50/21
Starters Returning/Lost: 22/7
First Year of Football: 1899
All-Time Record: 612-527-51
2023 Record/MAC Record/Finish: 7-6/5-3/2nd (West)
Last Bowl Game: 2023 Camellia Bowl (NIU 21, Arkansas State 19)
Bowl Appearances (FBS): 15
MAC Championship Appearances, Last: 9, 2021
MAC Championships, Last: 6, 2021
 

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  FIGHTING IRISH FOOTBALL FACTS  

Head Coach (Alma Mater/Year): Marcus Freeman (Ohio State, 2007)
Record at Notre Dame/Years: 20-8/3rd
Career Record/Years: Same
2023 Record: 10-3
Location: Notre Dame, Ind.
Enrollment: 8,968
Conference: Independent
Colors: Blue and Gold 
Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium
        Surface/Capacity: FieldTurf/77,622
President: Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C.
Athletic Director: Pete Bevacqua
Athletics Website: FightingIrish.com
Twitter: @NDFootball

Notre Dame Schedule & Results
 

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  NIU-ND SERIES  

First Meeting
 

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  FOLLOW THE HUSKIES  

TV: NIU-NOTRE DAME ON NBC & PEACOCK

• NIU will appear on a nationwide (non cable) network television broadcast for the first time in school history when the NIU-Notre Dame game airs on NBC. 
• The game will also be available on Peacock, NBC's streaming service (subscription). 
• Dan Hicks (play-by-play) and Jason Garrett (analyst) will be on the call for NBC Saturday with Zora Stephenson on the sidelines.

RADIO: HUSKIE SPORTS RADIO NETWORK

• The Huskie Sports Radio Network coverage for the Notre Dame 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 or 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. The broadcast crew also welcomed Terry Bonadonna as the new sideline reporter.

INSIDE HUSKIE FOOTBALL RADIO SHOW

• Fans are invited to attend the one-hour weekly show every Wednesday 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 THE HUSKIES  

FIRST TIME FOE: After opening their 123rd season of college football - and 56th as a Football Bowl Subdivision program - with a win over in-state foe Western Illinois last Saturday in  Huskie Stadium, the NIU Huskies travel to South Bend, Indiana on September 7 where NIU will face Notre Dame for the first time in school history. At just 159 miles away, Notre Dame is closer to NIU than any of its MAC opponents.

BONE SEEKERS: The game at Notre Dame is NIU's first "Boneyard" game of the year.  Since 1983, NIU has collected "Boneyard Wins" defined as wins over teams from leagues now designated as "Power 5," along with independents like Notre Dame and (formerly) BYU. NIU has 18 Boneyard wins all-time, including 10 in the last 15 years and two in the last three seasons under Thomas Hammock.

RANKED RECORD: NIU has won six of its previous 40 meetings versus teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, dating back to its first game against a "major college" ranked opponent on Nov. 23, 1968. The Huskies last faced a Top 25 team on September 24, 2022, a 31-23 loss at No. 8 Kentucky. NIU's last win over a ranked team was on Nov. 3, 2015, a 32-27 win over No. 20 Toledo. The Huskies' last win over a ranked non-conference foe was a 19-16 win over No. 21 Alabama on Sept. 20, 2003. 
 
NOTABLE RANKED GAMES: The highest ranked opponent NIU has ever defeated was No. 15 Maryland, a 20-13 overtime win over the Terrapins in Huskie Stadium on August 28, 2003. NIU has twice taken on the No. 1 team in the country - most recently on Sept. 19, 2015 when the Huskies forced five turnovers and held No. 1 Ohio State to 136 passing yards and a 2-of-13 day on third downs. NIU led 7-0 after Shawun Lurry's interception on OSU's first drive and played the Buckeyes to a 10-10 tie at halftime before falling 20-13 on a third-quarter interception return touchdown. NIU also lost at No. 1 Ohio State 35-12 in the 2006 season opener in a game that featured a Buckeye linebacker named Marcus Freeman. 

A FIRST: The Notre Dame game on NBC marks the first time NIU will appear on a nationwide network television broadcast. The Huskies three previous network television appearances - all on ABC - were split regional broadcasts in 2005 versus Michigan, 2006 at No. 1 Ohio State and 2015 at No. 1 Ohio State.  

MOVING ON UP: Thomas Hammock's 58 games coached over the last five seasons rank seventh all-time at NIU. With his next win, he will surpass Bill Mallory and Jerry Ippoliti for seventh place on the Huskies' all-time coaching wins chart. He is the 23rd head coach in NIU's 123-year college football history. 

CROSSING PATHS: Thomas Hammock and Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph were on the same offensive staff at Wisconsin in 2011. The team finished 11-3, won the Big Ten title and played in the Rose Bowl. Hammock and ND head coach Marcus Freeman also "kind of" crossed paths in the Huskies' 2006 season opener at No. 1 Ohio State. Hammock, NIU's running backs coach, was on the sidelines while Freeman made nine tackles at linebacker for the Buckeyes.

WITH THE HUSKIES: Former Wisconsin and NFL running back James White, who played eight seasons and won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, is with the Huskies this season in a player personnel and student-athlete development role. NIU head coach Thomas Hammock was White's position coach for three seasons at WIsconsin.

NICE START: The Huskies came out of the gate strong in 2024 with a 54-15 victory over in-state foe Western Illinois at Huskie Stadium. It was the most points scored by NIU in a season opener since 2014 when NIU defeated Presbyterian, 55-3. 
 
RECAPPING: NIU defeated Western Illinois, 54-15, at home last Saturday to win its fourth straight season opener. The Huskies scored just two plays into their first possession, but after one quarter, led just 6-3. NIU erupted for four touchdowns in the second quarter, as Ethan Hampton connected with Keyshaun Pipkin (11 yards), Trayvon Rudolph (43) and Grayson Barnes (60) after a Rudolph 60-yard rushing score. The Huskies added a pair of second half scores, on a Jaylen Poe rush to cap a 14-play, 88-yard, 7:06 drive in the third quarter and a five-yard rush by quarterback Jalen Macon in the fourth. WIU added a late touchdown against the NIU reserves for the final margin. 

IN THE GAME: With a 34-3 halftime lead extended to 47-8 by the end of the third quarter, 73 players saw action for the Huskies last week. Nineteen players, includng three true freshmen and four transfer newcomers, made their NIU debuts. Transfers Christian Furhman (LB) and Jake Appleget (TE) were among the five first-time starters along with redshirt freshman safety Santana Banner and defensive linemen Skyler Gill-Howard and Jalonnie Williams. Nine players had rushing yardage, 11 caught at least one pass and 28 defenders recorded tackles.  

THOSE WHO STAY: 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, 21 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

CLASS BREAKDOWN: While the senior class is one of the largest in college football, NIU's current 122-person 2024 roster also includes 46 players - 39 true freshmen - who are in their first year as Huskies. The breakdown of players by year with the program:

Year 6 - 4
Year 5 - 12
Year 4 - 17
Year 3 - 17
Year 2 - 27
Year 1 - 46

HMMM...: In each of the Huskies' last 14 games - including last week's win over Western Illinois and every game in 2023 - the team that scored first won the game.
 
ON THE OFFENSE

HAVE A DAY: After battling for the starting quarterback job through spring ball and fall camp, redshirt junior Ethan Hampton had a near perfect day versus Western Illinois last Saturday. He completed 18-of-20 passes for 328 yards and five touchdowns for a 90 percent completion percentage and a single game school record passing efficiency rating of 310.3. That mark broke the 61-year-old mark of 261.3 set by College Football Hall of Famer George Bork in 1963.

HAMPTON'S HISTORY: Hampton's start was his fifth as a Huskie, he started three games in 2022 - versus No. 8 Kentucky, Ball State and Toledo - after starter Rocky Lombardi went down in the third game of the season. He also got the start in the last regular season game of 2021 versus Western Michigan in relief of Lombardi.  

BEEN A WHILE: Hampton's 328 yard passing day was the first 300-yard game by a Huskie passer in 30 games, since November 3, 2021 when Rocky Lombardi threw for a school record 532 yards against Kent State. Hampton also became just the seventh NIU QB all-time to throw five or more touchdown passes in a game, and the first since Nov. 1, 2011 when Chandler Harnish threw six TD passes in a classic game at Toledo. 

MAC-COLADE: Hampton became the first Huskie quarterback since 2021 to be named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week when he collected the award following the Western Illinois game. 

THEY'VE BEEN AROUND: NIU's five starting offensive linemen have a combined 177 games of experience (all as Huskies) with 119 starts. The group includes a pair of sixth-year Huskies in J.J. Lippe and Logan Zschernitz, fifth-year players John Champe and Evan Buss and the "youngster" Evan Malcore, in his third season at NIU. They are coached by the newest member of the Huskies coaching staff, Luke Meadows, who is in his first season at NIU.

Player - Games Played/Games Started
John Champe - 46/29
J.J. Lippe - 40/35
Logan Zschernitz - 40/34
Evan Buss - 37/13
Evan Malcore - 14/8
Total - 177/119


CHEESEHEADS: NIU's five 2024 starting offensive linemen - seniors J.J. Lippe (Milwaukee), Logan Zschernitz (Spencer), Evan Buss (Kimberly) and John Champe (Brookfield) plus redshirt sophomore Evan Malcore (Sun Prairie) - all hail from Wisconsin, carrying on a long tradition of Huskie linemen from the Badger state. The tradition includes names like Manitowoc native Doug Free (2003-06), a 10-year pro for the Dallas Cowboys (2007-16) and current NFL OL Max Scharping (2014-18). Three of NIU's five second team offensive linemen are also Wisconsinites.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO NOW? Senior running back Antario Brown, a 2023 first team All-MAC selection who was named to the preseason watch lists for the Doak Walker (RB), Maxwell (MVP), Walter Camp Player of the Year and Senior Bowl, is already one of the top 13 running backs in NIU history. Against Western Illinois, his receiving skills were on display with a pair of catches for 45 yards, including a career long 33-yard catch. Brown came into the game with 59 career receiving yards on 13 catches.

IMPRESSIVE AVERAGE: Antario Brown, who surpassed head coach Thomas Hammock to move into 13th place all-time at NIU in career rushing yards, averaged 8.6 yards per carry with 69 yards on eight runs in limited action last week. Brown's career yards per carry average of  6.31 ranks fifth all-time at NIU. 

DISPLAY OF SPEED: Senior receiver Trayvon Rudolph totaled 171 all-purpose yards on just six plays last Saturday. He scored on a 60-yard run for his longest run since 2021 and caught a 43-yard touchdown pass en route to a 104-yard receiving game, the fifth 100-plus yard day of his NIU career. Rudolph, who was named to the Paul Hornung Award Watch List for his versatility, has 3,373 career all-purpose yards on 204 plays for an average of 16.5 yards per play.

DISTRIBUTION: Eleven Huskies caught passes last Saturday as NIU totaled 394 passing yards, the Huskies' best total since the 2021 game at Kent State. In addition to Rudolph, tight end Grayson Barnes caught five passes for 95 yards. Five players caught touchdown passes, including the first NIU career scores for Keyshaun Pipkin and Cam Thompson, marking the first time since Nov. 9, 2017 that five players had touchdown catches in a single game.   

YARDS AND YARDS: NIU's 706 yards of total offense versus Western Illinois are the third-most in a single game in school history, and the most since a 710-yard outburst against Ball State on Nov. 15, 2011 in a 41-38 win and an 806-yard game versus Fresno State on Oct. 6, 1990.  The Huskies rank third in the NCAA rankings in total offense this week.   

DETAILING THE DEFENSE

BACK AND BETTER?: NIU returns nine starters on defense, with a pack of Huskies with playing experience filling the defensive two- and three- deep. The 2023 version of the NIU defense was NIU's best in more than a decade. NIU opponents' average of 319.5 yards per game was the fewest allowed by a Huskie defense since 2008, while the 21.0 scoring average was the lowest since the 2012 NIU Orange Bowl defense allowed just 19.8 points per game. Just three teams threw for more than 200 yards against the Huskies in 2023, leading to a Top 10 ranking in pass efficiency defense and passing yards allowed.

STRONG START: The Huskie defense opened 2024 where it left off, limiting Western Illinois to one touchdown, scored with 2:59 on the clock against NIU reserves. The Leathernecks totaled just 94 rushing yards, and did not gain a yard on the ground in the second quarter while the NIU offense put 28 point on the board. 

WILLIAMS X 2: The duo of Roy and Jalonnie Williams - no relation - started at defensive end for NIU in the season opener. Roy Williams sacked Western Illinois QB Nate Lamb on the first play of the game and finished with a career high six tackles to lead the Huskies. Jalonnie Williams, who missed the first seven games of last season with an injury, made his first career start.

TEAM EFFORT: Twenty-nine players recorded tackles for NIU against Western Illinois. In addition to Roy Williams' sack, six players were in on tackles for loss and four recorded pass break-ups, led by cornerback Jacob Finley's two knockdowns.

STINGY: Including Western Illinois, NIU has held 10 of its last 14 opponents to 24 points or less. The Huskies had 10 games allowing 24 points or less in the previous four seasons combined

AND THIS

PRESEASON ACCOLADES: Seventeen Northern Illinois University football players were named to the 2024 Preseason All Mid-American Conference teams released by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. The Athlon Sports preseason All-MAC team featured 15 Huskies with wide receiver and kickoff returner Trayvon Rudolph making the list at both positions. Fourteen NIU players were named to Phil Steele's preseason All-MAC team. See the list. 

MAC PRESEASON POLL: In the first year since the elimination of divisions, NIU tied with Bowling Green for third place in the MAC Coaches Preseason Poll. The Huskies and Falcons each totaled 92 points. 2023 MAC Champion Miami (Ohio) led the way with 119 points and nine first-place votes while Toledo tallied 109 points. Under the MAC's new scheduling format, the Huskies play Bowling Green and Toledo every year. NIU will also take on Miami in Oxford in 2024. See the PDF. 

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: NIU offensive lineman J.J. Lippe is NIU's nominee 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 Committee and the Marketing Student Advisory Board, he also found time to complete a pair of internships. 

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. See the chart in the PDF. 

POTPOURRI: NIU running back Justin Lynch is the younger brother of 2013 Heisman finalist and two-time Huskie All-American quarterback Jordan Lynch. The younger Lynch played quarterback for his brother at Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago and came to NIU as a quarterback (from Temple)... NIU Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. M. Courtney Hughes is a Notre Dame alumna who earned the Knute Rockne Scholar Athlete Award as a member of the Fighting Irish women's tennis team.