NIU’s agonizing stretch dragged on Saturday afternoon, and the losses keep finding new ways to sting.
The Huskies have endured plenty of pain recently — from a shellacking at Mississippi State to a three-point dud at home to yet another rivalry setback on Homecoming.
But their latest defeat might’ve cut the deepest.
NIU (1-5, 0-2 MAC) fell 16-10 to an Eastern Michigan team (2-5, 1-2 MAC) that had just one win and hadn’t beaten a conference foe all season — until NIU paid a visit to Ypsilanti, Michigan.
The Huskies did plenty right — they stayed penalty-free, recorded an interception and broke off an 80-yard touchdown run for their longest offensive play of the season. Head coach Thomas Hammock even said as much, but as has been a familiar theme for NIU, it still wasn’t enough.
“We’re doing everything right besides winning the game,” Hammock said. “That’s what I have to live with. We play disciplined football. We’re not doing anything negative. We’re just not making enough plays to win.”
With its five straight losses, the Huskies are off to their worst start since 2022, when NIU began 1-5 after winning its season opener before losing its next five.
New week, same offense
The offense struggled to keep drives moving, converting just 4-of-16 third-down attempts with a 3-of-5 showing on fourth down. NIU only reached Eagles territory six times — including the rushing touchdown — and twice in the final two drives.
“We might go out there, get seven yards on first down, and then it’s second-and-3, and then we’re off the field,” running back Telly Johnson Jr. said. “We just can’t do that. It’s hard to win a game that way.”
Freshman quarterback Brady Davidson also struggled in his second career start. Davidson completed just 42.3% of his passes for 94 yards, threw a costly interception and couldn’t connect on multiple, potentially drive-changing deep throws.
“Anytime you get one-on-one situations, you’ve got to give them a chance to run underneath it,” Hammock said. “Obviously, Brady’s learning. He’s growing. It’s just a learning curve at the moment.”
Amid the passing game’s troubles, the Huskies leaned heavily on their rushing attack, gaining 216 of their 293 total yards on the ground. Johnson spearheaded the effort with a season-high 137 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Chavon Wright followed up with 50 yards on 14 attempts, converting both of NIU’s fourth downs along the way.
Close, but no cigar
After both teams went three-and-out in their opening drives, Eastern Michigan scored the game’s first points with a 35-yard field goal from Rudy Kessinger midway through the first quarter. NIU responded with a 15-play, 62-yard drive that ended with Andrew Glass’ 30-yard field goal to even the score early in the second.
Glass attempted a 40-yarder nearly eight minutes later but missed wide of the uprights. The Eagles took the lead shortly after with a 49-yard kick by Kessinger — one yard shy of his career-long. Both sides traded punts once more before NIU ended the first half with a run, sending the teams into the locker rooms with EMU leading 6-3.
NIU came out of the break with another three-and-out before notching its fifth takeaway of the season on the Eagles’ first drive of the half. Senior cornerback Donte Harrison picked off Eastern Michigan quarterback Noah Kim for his first takeaway as a Huskie. However, NIU couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, punting on the ensuing drive.
Johnson put the Huskies on top in the next offensive series. The sophomore followed left tackle Evan Malcore’s block and sprung free for an 80-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to put NIU up 10-6. The play was NIU’s longest run since Antario Brown’s 80-yard rip against Toledo in 2023.
Eastern Michigan climbed back in front midway through the fourth quarter with a nine-play, 64-yard touchdown drive. The Eagles had four plays of 10-plus yards to help set up a 6-yard TD pass from Kim to his tight end Joshua Long, who made the catch in the end zone over safety Jasper Beeler.
“We just have lapses when we can’t,” Harrison said. “We can’t give up anything. If they don’t score, they don’t win.”
Davidson threw an interception on NIU’s responding drive, as EMU defensive back Bryce Llewellyn jumped the route and returned the play to the NIU 15, setting up a 28-yard Kessinger field goal four plays later. The Huskies then turned the ball over on downs on back-to-back drives, ending the game with four straight incompletions at EMU’s 27-yard line on the last-gasp effort.
Now sitting at 1-5, NIU can only afford one more loss before facing the danger of missing bowl eligibility. With the conference’s reigning champions, the Ohio Bobcats, next on the schedule, Harrison said the team doesn’t plan on throwing in the towel.
“There’s no quit in us,” Harrison said. “We’re going to go out and play every week, no matter what … We’re going to keep doing our thing. Hopefully, we turn this thing around.”
