DeKALB – Following its convincing 55-14 win over the University of Akron, NIU football (2-4, 1-1 MAC) will host the Ohio University Bobcats (5-1, 2-0 MAC) for its 116th homecoming game Saturday.
Through two conference games, NIU sits in a four way tie for second place in the MAC West Division with Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University and Western Michigan University.
Ohio, winners of five consecutive games, currently sits in a first place tie with the Miami University RedHawks and the University at Buffalo in the MAC East Division and is looking to defend its MAC East title from 2022.
DOMINANT DEFENSES COLLIDE
Ohio’s defense has yet to allow more than twenty points in a game this season and is ranked fourth in the country in yards allowed per game, according to ESPN.
“We’ve got a tremendous team coming into Huskie Stadium this week,” said NIU head football coach Thomas Hammock. “A football team that’s won five games in a row. So, they’re on an emotional high at the moment. They’re a top five defense in the country, they have a tremendous defense.”
The Huskie defense ranks 14th in the country in passing yards allowed per game according to ESPN. Redshirt senior linebacker Tyler Jackson feels shutting down the quarterback will be key for NIU’s defense.
“The biggest thing for them will be their quarterback,” Jackson said. “Being able to understand that he has a good sense of the football game and understanding that we can be able to mess with his eyes will ultimately help us be able to play and do our thing as a defense.”
OFFENSES ON THE RISE
In addition to both defenses playing well, both offenses are playing their best football of the season. Both NIU and Ohio have had their two highest scoring outings over the past two weeks.
“The last two weeks, I think we’ve turned a corner offensively,” Hammock said. “We have to continue down this path and play good on offense because I think we have a good enough defense.”
The Bobcats scored 38 points against Bowling Green State University and 42 points against Kent State University. The Huskie offense scored 33 points against the University of Toledo and 55 points against the University of Akron over the past two weeks.
“I think the execution has been good,” Hammock said. “We’re giving different guys opportunities to make plays. I think we’re less predictable.”
Similar to how the Huskie offense started slow, redshirt junior wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph had a slow start to the 2023 season, returning from a season ending injury in 2022. Rudolph combined for 141 all-purpose yards against Akron.
“I started the season kind of slow so a lot of people probably thought I lost a lot of my ability,” Rudolph said. “The coaches all believed in me and made sure that I did what I had to do to make sure I’m not in my head.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies will take on Ohio at 3 p.m. Saturday at Huskie Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPNU, and live stats will be available via SideArm Stats.
“What a great opportunity we have this week to play at home for homecoming,” Hammock said. “It’s good to come back home. Hopefully, the crowd is a fantastic, loud, tremendous atmosphere.”
