Notre Dame Football: Northern Illinois Huskies Q&A with Hustle Belt

Your 1-0, 5th-ranked Irish host Northern Illinois in the home opener this weekend — is a letdown game coming?

Well folks, I think it’s safe to say that not only has the college football season gotten off to a pretty fun start, but that we Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans especially have good reason to be excited for the next few months of action. I know I’ve watched this video a handful of times now and will probably do it some more prior to this weekend.

After their tense, definitely-not-perfect, but altogether impressive 10-point win on the road against the Texas A&M Aggies last weekend, your beloved Irish now head back to South Bend to host the Northern Illinois Huskies in the Irish home opener.

The Huskies, fresh from going 7-6 in 2023 and taking down Arkansas State in a 21-19 barn-burner of a Camellia Bowl, are 1-0 on the season after destroying the Western Illinois Leathernecks (FCS) in their initial tune-up game before their schedule truly gets going. NIU put up 394 yards through the air, 312 on the ground, and converted on 7 of 8 third down attempts en route to winning that game 54-15, and so it’s safe to say they feel pretty good, albeit likely very aware that the Irish will put up just a biiiiit more of a fight than the Leathernecks.

Still, NIU has some interesting pieces and is considered a potential contender for the MAC crown this year, and with ND coming down off the emotional roller coaster of last weekend, it’s not hard to imagine a major letdown and unnecessarily sloppy performance this week against a G5 school looking to prove themselves on the big stage. So, Marcus Freeman and his program cannot take the Huskies lightly, and neither can we as the Irish faithful.

To make sure we don’t do that, I reached out to our good friends over at Hustle Belt, SB Nation’s hub for MACtion. Staff Writer Dave Drury, their resident NIU expert, was kind enough to answer a number of questions I sent his way and give us a nice look behind the curtain on this team, its coach, and several other topics such as dogfighting, furniture puns, and more.

With all that said, let’s go ahead and jump right in — the home opener is just 2 days away and we can’t waste any more time before beginning to prepare ourselves for the northernmost of the four major directional Illinois schools.

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Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

1. How do Northern Illinois fans feel about head coach Thomas Hammock after 5 years at the helm?

He’s had a couple solid seasons but also a few loss-heavy ones en route to a 25-33 overall record and 17-21 MAC record. What does he need to do to make NIU a MAC title contender ASAP? Or is it time for NIU to start looking for the next man in?

Dave Drury, Hustle Belt: It’s been an interesting five seasons with Hammock to say the least. While there is still support for Hammock, I think there is an ever-growing part of the fanbase that has become more dissatisfied with the ups and downs…especially as there have been many more downs than expected.

If you ask most Huskie fans, they’ll say we should be MAC title contenders already. And that’s true. NIU certainly has enough talent to keep up with the likes of Toledo and Miami. We have a great backfield duo, we have a bigtime playmaker at wide out, and our defense was one of the nation’s best last season and returns the vast majority of the starters. We finished 2023 strong, winning our last three, and then looked great against WIU last week…so if we continue to play like that, I think Hammock will have the Huskies back to the MAC Championship Game either this year or next.

However, his teams have also had a tendency to play down to opponents and have struggled in far too many games (especially in conference). Sometimes it really does feel like you’ll never know what NIU team will show up week to week. I think Hammock can get NIU back to the top of the MAC but, if this turns into another down season like 2022, it might be time to look at the next man up.

Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

2. NIU is hot off a shellacking of another directional Illinois school, Western Illinois. What was there to like in that game, especially with regards to the offense, and who are the names to know on that side of the ball for the Huskies?

Dave Drury, Hustle Belt: Well, that was probably the best offensive performance we’ve seen under Hammock. 706 total yards and averaging over 10 yards per play! Quarterback Ethan Hampton looked absolutely amazing in that game and I’m hoping that after that performance (18/20, 328 yards, 5 TD) he’s finally broken out and will continue to play like that.

But the Huskies offense will normally go through our running backs, especially Antario Brown. Brown has been one of the best halfbacks in the MAC for a few years now, even when he was our second string back. He’s elusive and always seems to be able to find lots of running room. Every game he has at least one run of 20+ yards.

The third player to keep an eye on is Trayvon Rudolph, our wideout. He’s lighting quick and can make amazing plays as both a runner and receiver – last week he had a 60-yard touchdown run and a 43-yard touchdown reception.

3. What are the strengths and weaknesses on the defensive side for NIU, and are there any players you foresee giving a still-developing Irish offense some trouble on Saturday?

Dave Drury, Hustle Belt: Last year NIU had one of the best passing defenses in the NCAA, allowing just 171.2 yards per game (6^th best) and was tenth best in defensive passing efficiency. The Huskies only gave up 13 passing TDs last season, which was also ninth best in the FBS…so our secondary is *usually* rather solid. We do have some changes this year so I’m not sure what to expect the rest of the way but Muhammad Jammeh and Nate Valcarcel will be anchoring the secondary.

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Up front, Roy Williams and Devante O’Malley are real solid players that will hopefully be able to get some pressure on the quarterback. And then, in the middle, linebackers Jaden Dolphin and Christian Fuhrman will be covering lots of ground.

4. FAN QUESTION:

Dave Drury, Hustle Belt: Ya know…I love Victor E. but I have to go Mission on this one. As a real dog, he’s faster and would be much harder to catch.

In that dog suit, Victor probably lacks visibility and loses strength and stamina…so gimme Mission any day. Plus Mission is the goodest boy in the world.

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

5. FAN QUESTION:

Dave Drury, Hustle Belt: I’ve always wanted to go to Kidd Brewer Stadium…especially in the fall. So my ideal game would be at Appalachian State, in like mid-October, with the Huskies coming out on top.

(also, Greedo shot first and Grogu is the species)*

*Editor’s Note: Dave gave this answer as a parenthetical afterthought because of how I worded the question, which was to ask the stadium/city question first and then say “you can also answer the Star Wars questions if you want.” Sorry y’all, I’m unfortunately just not that big of a Star Wars guy and thus didn’t prioritize that part of this FAN QUESTION submission.

6. Is Thomas Hammock friends with Tim Couch or Johnny Bench? If they were to form a band called “Kick Your Feet Up,” what would Thomas Hammock’s role be?

Dave Drury, Hustle Belt: I sadly don’t know Hammock’s inner circle…but now I hope they really are all friends!

If they formed a band, Hammock would be killing it on the drums. He’s the one in charge of bringing the energy and excitement. He’s got that swag and confidence to him but also stays more behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.

7. Alright, let’s get down to it — who wins this game, what’s the final score, and please provide your reasoning.

Dave Drury, Hustle Belt: I always answer these by saying there is “cautious optimism” being an NIU fan. We have beaten Alabama, we have beaten Purdue, Georgia Tech, Boston College, etc…so can we beat Notre Dame? Yeah. Will we? No, probably not.

With the Huskies playing WIU last week, a team that hasn’t won a game in more than two seasons, it’s hard to tell just how good this NIU team is and how much of that was us playing a baaaaad team. I think the Irish win and it could get ugly. I want to believe we keep up for a while and don’t look too bad, but the Irish defense will probably be able to slow us down for the most part.

ND 35, NIU 17.

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Alrighty folks, that about does it for our Q&A this week. Before we sign off, I want to give a massive shout-out to Dave for his excellent insights on a wide array of subject matter. I encourage you all to head over to Hustle Belt for all their awesome MACtion coverage, not only this week but also for the Irish’s tilt with Miami Ohio later this year and also also for all the fun MAC stories happening in between and after!

Furthermore, I insist you go get on Twitter and give both Dave and Hustle Belt some follows, as they both have an excellent presence on the platform and can provide some witty observations, late-breaking news and analysis, and just plenty of other great content before, during, and after Saturday’s game.

With that said, we can call it quits for this week — per usual, GO IRISH, BEAT HUSKIES!!!