DeKALB — The NIU football team is just days away from making its first-ever trip to Starkville, Mississippi, to face the unbeaten Mississippi State Bulldogs, but you can already hear the cowbells coming from Huskie Stadium.
Wait, cowbells? In DeKalb? Yes, you read that right.
As they prepare to step into one of college football’s toughest venues on Saturday, the Huskies have incorporated their opponent’s signature noisemakers into their practice music to simulate the raucous Mississippi State crowd.
“This will be the loudest crowd atmosphere that we’ve played in,” NIU head coach Thomas Hammock said of Davis Wade Stadium, which can hold more than 60,000 fans.
Noise is one thing, but what happens on the field is another. Saturday’s game will mark NIU’s (1-1) first-ever meeting with MSU (3-0) — and its 14th matchup against an SEC opponent. Led by second-year head coach Jeff Lebby, the Bulldogs are chasing their first 4-0 start since 2014 after back-to-back home victories, including an upset of No. 12 Arizona State on Sept. 6.
“We have a tremendous opponent in front of us in Mississippi State,” Hammock said. “Coach Lebby has done a great job building the program in the way that he wants.”
Face the noise
While Starkville will bring a new challenge, the Huskies have been here before — in the big time. Last year, it was that fateful trip to South Bend, where they played in front of a sell-out crowd at Notre Dame Stadium. The year before, it was Memorial Stadium in Nebraska, another cathedral of college football with nearly 87,000 fans in attendance.
“Obviously, having that crowd noise, it’s a great environment to play in,” said offensive guard Abiathur Curry. “But I don’t think it’ll change at all, really, when it comes to our play style and stuff. We’ll get through the first few plays, and then we’ll be good.”
Still, the game will be a near-surreal experience for the newer players on the roster, like Saginaw Valley State transfer safety Jasper Beeler. Before this season, the largest crowd Beeler had ever played in front of at the college level was 8,586. His first two games in an NIU uniform have already beat that number, but come Saturday, Beeler could face a crowd nearly seven times that size.
“Coming from DII, this is stuff you dream and pray for every single night,” Beeler said. “I couldn’t be more excited for this game. This is something that you look forward to your entire life.”
Hello, old friends
Upon their visit to Starkville, the Huskies anticipate a reunion of sorts with three of their former teammates: linebacker Nevaeh Sanders, defensive lineman Rashein “Ray” Thomas and wide receiver Cam Thompson. All three transferred to Mississippi State this past offseason after being significant contributors to NIU’s 8-5, bowl-winning campaign last year.
Sanders logged three tackle assists in his MSU’s season opener at Southern Miss on Aug. 30 but hasn’t recorded a statistic since. Thomas made his Bulldogs debut last week against Alcorn State, posting four tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble in a 63-0 rout. Thompson has yet to record any statistics with his new team.
Despite the array of familiar faces that will be on the opposing sideline, Hammock said it won’t add any extra motivation for NIU to come away with a win.
“We’re going to try to do everything possible to try to win the game and be 1-0. That’s the only focus,” Hammock said. “I haven’t even talked about those guys to our team, because it really doesn’t matter, to be honest with you.”
“Cut it loose”
Hammock said he wants to see the offense do something they’ve succeeded in on the practice field, but not so much in games: play freely. The Huskies have averaged 279 offensive yards over their first two games, 10th worst in the Football Bowl Subdivision. NIU also ranks bottom 10 in the FBS in scoring offense (126th), passing offense (130th) and first-down offense (132nd).
“We’re not playing good on offense, but the thing that’s holding us back is our inability to go cut it loose,” Hammock said. “What do you have to lose? If there is no pressure to fail, go play as free as you can play, and I think that’s the mentality and the attitude that they need to take.”
Hammock’s sentiment echoes one offered more than two weeks ago by Syracuse head coach Fran Brown ahead of the Orange’s home opener against UConn.
“We’re just ready to go out and have some fun this weekend. I’m still going to make sure the players have fun, though,” Brown said in his closing remarks at a Sept. 1 press conference. “It’s important that they still have fun and understand that there’s just no moral victories in it. We’re 0-1, and that’s not a good deal. We want to get on the winning side of the column, so we can continue to try to go face the things that we need to face.”
Hammock believes NIU has the same mindset as they head south to play on another big stage.
“We’re playing a tremendous opponent in a tremendous atmosphere, and we have nothing to lose,” Hammock said. “Let’s go play our best football to date on Saturday and see what we can do.”
