DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University football team travels to Starkville, Miss. to take on Mississippi State for a 3:15 p.m. kick on Saturday, Sept. 20. The game can be found on SEC Network and the radio broadcast begins at 2:45 p.m. on 94-9 WDKB. 
 
NIU (1-1) walks into Davis Wade Stadium after a tough 20-9 defeat at Maryland in week two. Redshirt-Senior running back Chavon Wright (Opa Locka, Fla./Charleston) and sophomore Telly Johnson Jr. (Augusta, Ga./Hephzibah) carried the offense against the Terrapins, totaling 200 scrimmage yards on 42 touches. Both had season-highs in rushing yards with Wright tallying 90 yards on 27 carries and Johnson recording 86 yards on his 10 attempts including a career-long 74-yard touchdown run.  
 
Redshirt-Senior linebacker Quinn Urwiler (Mooseheart, Ill./North Dakota) had his second consecutive game of 10 tackles, nine of which were solo stops. He's the fourth Huskie since 2010 to have back-to-back games of double digit tackles to start a season. Junior safety Jasper Beeler (Farmington, Mich./Saginaw Valley State) finished the game with six tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.  
 
The Huskies held Maryland to 86 rushing yards and enter the game against the Bulldogs ranked tied for 13th in the FBS in rushing defense at 74.0 yards per game. NIU has held each of its last six opponents to 20 points or less. That is the second-longest such streak in the country behind Florida's seven.  
 
Saturday's game will be the first-ever matchup between the two schools. NIU last played a school from the Southeastern Conference in 2022, taking on both Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The Huskies' lone win over a SEC team came on Sept. 20, 2003 at nationally-ranked Alabama when running back Michael Turner rushed for 156 yards on 27 carries as NIU won 19-16.
  
Mississippi State comes into the game at 3-0, the best start for the team since 2018. The Bulldogs defeated then-No. 12 Arizona State 24-20 on Sept. 6 and rank tied for 26th in the FBS in scoring offense at 40.3 points per game. Mississippi State has two receivers averaging at least 70 yards per game in Brenen Thompson (92.7) and Anthony Evans (70.0). 
 
Additionally, the Bulldogs rank 22nd in third-down conversion percentage (.514) while NIU ranks 38th in third-down defensive conversion percentage (.292).  
 
After the road trip to Mississippi State, NIU returns home for the final non-conference game against San Diego State on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 2:30 p.m. at Huskie Stadium. Tickets for all remaining NIU home football games are on sale now. Purchase tickets for the 2025 NIU Football season anytime online at NIUHuskies.com/tickets. For more information, call the NIU Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225) weekdays between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or email huskiestickets@niu.edu.
 
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