- NIU is traveling to North Carolina to play N.C. State.The NIU Huskies meet an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent on the road for the third time in the last four seasons when NIU takes on N.C. State Saturday in Raleigh.
- NIU is coming off a 23-20 overtime loss to Buffalo in its 2024 Mid-American Conference opener, despite holding the Bulls to 184 yards of total offense. Leading 14-3 at halftime, NIU was held to a pair of field goals in the second half while Buffalo scored on a pair of explosive plays and took advantage of a Huskie turnover before blocking the NIU field goal attempt in overtime and converting on its own.
- Senior running back Antario Brown surpassed the 3,000-yard mark in career all-purpose yards last week versus Buffalo and his 2,764 career rushing yards on 455 carries rank eighth among active players. At Notre Dame, Brown became the first NIU running back in 18 seasons to record a 100-yard receiving game with a pair of catches for 126 yards, including an 83-yard touchdown, at Notre Dame.
- Junior defensive end Neveah Sanders led the Huskie defensive effort versus Buffalo with three quarterback sacks, becoming the first NIU player since Sutton Smith in 2018 to record three sacks in a game.
- NIU has held 12 of its last 16 opponents over the last two seasons to 24 points or less, including all three of its 2024 foes. The Huskies had 10 games allowing 24 points or less in the previous four seasons combined.
- Three men who have led the NIU football program are expected to be in attendance Saturday in Raleigh. In addition to Thomas Hammock and Dave Doeren, Huskie legend and Hammock’s coach at NIU, Joe Novak, who lives in North Carolina, has said he will be at the game.
- NIU’s 2024 roster includes 32 seniors, sixth-most in the FBS. Twenty of those seniors have spent their entire careers as Huskies, which is the third highest total in the country.
- Since the start of the 2016 season, NIU leads the FBS in one-score games played with 57. NIU is 28-29 in those games.
- With its win at Notre Dame, NIU earned its 19th “Boneyard Win”, which are defined as wins over teams from “power” leagues and national independents. NIU has recorded three boneyard wins in the last four seasons under head coach Thomas Hammock , adding to a legacy that dates back to 1983.
- NIU’s win at fifth-ranked Notre Dame marked the first time a Mid-American Conference team defeated a team ranked in the top five of a national poll.
Leave a Reply