DeKALB — Thursday marks 21 years since the last time NIU and Maryland met on the gridiron. On Sept. 4, 2004, the Huskies trailed the 22nd-ranked Terrapins 23-20 in College Park, Maryland, with one last chance left on offense and 2:04 left to play.
Backup quarterback Phil Horvath piloted the offense down the field, reaching the Maryland 33 on a 3-yard pass to tight end Brad Cieslak. However, the comeback would end there, as the clock expired with a third-down incompletion. Final: Maryland 23, NIU 20. Heartbreaker.
More than two decades later, the Huskies will make their long-awaited return to College Park to face the Terrapins under the Friday night lights at SECU Stadium. This year’s matchup represents a chance for NIU to deliver an encore to the 2003 season opener, when the Huskies toppled the 15th-ranked Terps in DeKalb. It’s also a chance to take home their 20th Boneyard victory to follow up last year’s miraculous upset at Notre Dame.
But to head coach Thomas Hammock, it’s just another game.
“Our goal is to try to win that particular week, so we don’t make it more than that,” Hammock said. “These guys and coaches put too much hard work into it, into the preparation, into what it takes to get 12 guaranteed opportunities, and we want to maximize each opportunity. And so this happens to be the next one on the schedule, and we look forward to it.”
Deeper meaning
Friday won’t be just another game, though. It’ll also be a homecoming of sorts for three Huskies: defensive tackle Dasean Dixon, cornerback Donte Harrison and athlete Thomas McCoy. Dixon and Harrison were teammates at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington D.C., while McCoy starred at Mt. Zion Prep in Baltimore.
For the trio, it’s a rare opportunity for those they hold close to watch play without a screen in between. Dixon said he expects to have 50 friends and family members in the stands at SECU Stadium on Friday night.
“As much as you try to make it not significant, I would say the biggest thing is just being able to play in front of all of my friends and family,” Dixon said.
This game still has another layer of meaning, though — this time for the Huskies’ seventh-year head coach. If you’d asked Hammock 20 years ago who he wanted to emulate as a coach, he would’ve said Mike Locksley or Pep Hamilton, who together boast more than 60 years of coaching experience.
On Friday, he’ll be coaching against both of them — Locksley being Maryland’s head coach and Hamilton the Terrapins’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
“As a young coach, you want to learn from guys that have a chance to do better. Because now, young guys think they have all the answers, right? They don’t necessarily have mentors or guys they can look toward to say, ‘Hey, I want to be like that guy.’ For me, I had a lot of great examples of guys I wanted to be like, or want to try to emulate in this profession. And those two guys happen to be on the other sideline this week, so just a great opportunity for me, on a personal level, to compete against those guys on Friday night.”
Don’t be deceived
For the second straight week, NIU’s defense will be faced with a quarterback just getting his feet wet. Last week, it was Holy Cross’ Cal Swanson. This week, it’ll be Maryland freshman Malik Washington.
Though only 19 years old, Washington’s debut performance in Maryland’s 39-7 rout of Florida Atlantic was akin to that of a seasoned veteran. The former four-star recruit completed 27 of 43 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns before being pulled late in the third quarter.
“When you turn on the tape, and if you told me he was a freshman, I wouldn’t believe you,” Dixon said of Washington. “He made a lot of good throws, a lot of good decisions. Our defense, we’re doing the best we can to combat that. I feel like it’s a great matchup.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Huskies will go up against a Maryland defense that intercepted FAU’s quarterbacks six times and sacked them thrice. Right guard Thomas Paasch noted the size and length of the Terps’ front seven, which will prove challenging as the offense keys in on pounding the rock.
“It’s just going to be getting the run game started. The run game has to travel,” Paasch said. “But other than that, (it’s) just playing our ball, doing our job.”
The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff Friday on the Big Ten Network. As kickoff nears, Hammock said the Huskies are eager to test themselves in front of a Power Four opponent and to improve upon the flaws exposed in Saturday’s season opener — all in front of a national audience.
“They’re going to be excited; they’re going to be happy to play — a lot of people watching,” Hammock said. “What a great opportunity to go out there and play your best football, and give it all you got. That’s all you can ask for as a coach. This is a good football team we’re playing, and we know we have to play a lot better than we played last week to at least give ourselves a chance, and we look forward to trying to improve.”
