DeKALB – After earning its third consecutive victory, with a 20-13 win over Eastern Michigan University and clawing back to a .500 record after a 1-4 start, NIU football (4-4, 3-1 MAC) travels to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, to take on the Central Michigan University Chippewas (4-4, 2-2 MAC) Tuesday.
The Huskies are currently in second place in the MAC West Division, trailing only the University of Toledo (7-1, 4-0 MAC). NIU’s only conference loss came against Toledo.
The Chippewas are right on the Huskies’ heels, sitting in third place in the MAC West Division and boasting a 3-0 home record heading into Tuesday’s contest.
“Every MAC West game is tough,” said NIU head football coach Thomas Hammock. “We understand that going into it, it’s a game of inches. We’re trying to find ways to score one more point than the opponent, and Central Michigan won’t be any different. It’s going to be a tremendous challenge for us on the road, versus a team that plays better at home than they play on the road.”
The Huskies’ defense has played at an elite level in 2023, currently ranked 20th in the country in yards allowed per game, according to ESPN.
Where NIU has shined the most lately is in the biggest moments of the game. The Huskies have come up with five fourth quarter takeaways over the last two games to help secure 23-13 and 20-13 victories, respectively.
“It’s been fun and exciting being out there with a group of men that all want the same objective and have the same understanding of the defense,” said junior Huskie Devin Lafayette. “Every game, I’m excited to go out there because I know we’re going to put our all on the field.”
Hammock praised the offense for the defense’s ability to take the ball away in late game situations.
“If we can get the lead, obviously our defense becomes a lot more aggressive,” Hammock said. “We talked offensively about finding a way to get the lead and allowing our defense to get the opponent in predictable situations.”
On the offensive side, the Huskies put last week’s game on ice with a 6:47, 80-yard touchdown drive to take a 20-13 lead with just over one minute to play.
“The more opportunities we have we can get where we have the ball in our hands, it puts the opportunity to succeed in our hands,” said redshirt junior running back Gavin Williams. “The defense has done a great job the whole season of giving us the opportunity to go back out there and put points on the board. I feel like especially in the last couple of games, those turnovers that have come late have helped us finish the game on our terms and the way we want to finish. Appreciate you boys (Lafayette and redshirt sophomore defensive end George Gumbs) and the rest of the defense.”
The Huskies’ game winning drive against Eastern Michigan was capped off by a one-yard touchdown rush from redshirt senior quarterback Rocky Lombardi.
“I thought early in the season, he (Lombardi) wasn’t as sharp in practice,” Hammock said. “Football is a game of muscle memory and repetition. Normally you play the way you practice, and I think sometimes that’s hard for people to understand, but it’s true. The better you practice, the better chance you give yourself to play well, and Rocky over the last month of the season has really done that.”
Tuesday’s game against Central Michigan will be the Huskies’ first of three straight midweek “MACtion” night games. Tuesday will be Williams’ first taste of “MACtion,” as he transferred from the University of Iowa this year.
“I’m just excited to see what this journey is like. It’s a little different for me, but so far it’s been pretty good,” Williams said. “I’m excited to go out there on Tuesday and let it loose.”
The Huskies will take on Central Michigan at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. The game will be streamed on ESPNU and live stats will be available via SideArm Stats.
“We know what a MAC West game looks like, we play these teams every year,” Hammock said. “It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be physical, it’s going to be cold, it’s going to be ‘MACtion’ type weather. We are certainly excited about the opportunity to go compete this week.”
