2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	5–7 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Thomas Hammock (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Eric Eidsness (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Derrick Jackson (1st season)
Base defense	4–2–5
MVP	Mykelti Williams
Captain	Jordan Steckler, Mykelti Williams, Jack Heflin, Daniel Crawford
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium

2019 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Miami (OH) x$		6	–	2					8	–	6
Ohio		5	–	3					7	–	6
Buffalo		5	–	3					8	–	5
Kent State		5	–	3					7	–	6
Bowling Green		2	–	6					3	–	9
Akron		0	–	8					0	–	12
West Division
Central Michigan x		6	–	2					8	–	6
Western Michigan		5	–	3					7	–	6
Ball State		4	–	4					5	–	7
Northern Illinois		4	–	4					5	–	7
Toledo		3	–	5					6	–	6
Eastern Michigan		3	–	5					6	–	7
Championship: Miami 26, Central Michigan 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

The 2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Thomas Hammock the Huskies compiled an overall record of 5–7 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for third place in the MAC"s West Division. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

Offseason

Coaching changes

On January 11, 2019, head coach Rod Carey accepted the head coach position at Temple.^[1] On January 18, the school hired NIU alum and Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Thomas Hammock as the new head coach.^[2] Hammock was a star running back for the Huskies from 1999 to 2002.

On January 25, Hammock announced the hiring of Eric Eidsness, the offensive coordinator for South Dakota State, to the same position.^[3] On February 11, Derrick Jackson was announced as the new defensive coordinator.^[4] Jackson had spent the previous two seasons as cornerbacks coach and defensive recruiting coordinator at Purdue.

Preseason

MAC media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 23, 2019, with the Huskies predicted to finish in third place in the West Division.^[5]

West Division Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place) 1 Toledo 127 (15) 2 Western Michigan 112 (5) 3 Northern Illinois 103 (3) 4 Eastern Michigan 83 5 Ball State 43 6 Central Michigan 36 (1)

MAC Championship Game Rank Team Votes 1 Ohio 13 2 Toledo 7 3 Western Michigan 2 4 Northern Illinois 1 Central Michigan 1

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 p.m.	No. 15 (FCS) Illinois State*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN+	W 24–10	14,568
September 7	12:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Utah*	Rice–Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	P12N	L 17–35	45,919
September 14	7:00 p.m.	at Nebraska*	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	FS1	L 8–44	89,593
September 28	11:00 a.m.	at Vanderbilt*	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN	L 18–24	24,519
October 5	2:30 p.m.	Ball State	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL (Bronze Stalk Trophy)	ESPN3	L 20–27	10,365
October 12	2:30 p.m.	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN+	W 39–36	18,019
October 19	2:30 p.m.	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	ESPN+	L 24–27	11,710
October 26	2:30 p.m.	Akron	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN3	W 49–0	9,027
November 2	11:00 a.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	CBSSN	L 10–48	10,438
November 13	7:00 p.m.	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN2	W 31–28	15,610
November 19	6:30 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN2	L 17–45	5,062
November 26	6:00 p.m.	Western Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPNU	W 17–14	3,568
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to game All times are in Central time

^[6]

Game summaries

Illinois State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 15 (FCS) Redbirds	0	3	0	7	10
Huskies	3	0	7	14	24

See also: 2019 Illinois State Redbirds football team

At Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	7	10	0	0	17
No. 13 Utes	0	21	7	7	35

See also: 2019 Utah Utes football team

At Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	5	3	0	8
Cornhuskers	10	20	7	7	44

See also: 2019 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

At Vanderbilt

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	0	10	8	18
Commodores	14	0	7	3	24

See also: 2019 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

Ball State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	3	14	10	27
Huskies	14	3	0	3	20

See also: 2019 Ball State Cardinals football team

At Ohio

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	10	0	12	17	39
Bobcats	7	14	0	15	36

See also: 2019 Ohio Bobcats football team

At Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	3	7	7	7	24
RedHawks	0	7	14	6	27

See also: 2019 Miami RedHawks football team

Akron

	1	2	3	4	Total
Zips	0	0	0	0	0
Huskies	7	14	14	14	49

See also: 2019 Akron Zips football team

At Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	3	7	0	0	10
Chippewas	21	17	0	10	48

See also: 2019 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

At Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	7	7	14	3	31
Rockets	7	0	0	21	28

See also: 2019 Toledo Rockets football team

Eastern Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	7	24	7	45
Huskies	0	7	3	7	17

See also: 2019 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	7	7	14
Huskies	3	7	0	7	17

See also: 2019 Western Michigan Broncos football team

References

1. Gelston, Dan (January 11, 2019). "Temple hires Rod Carey from N. Illinois as coach". AP NEWS. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
2. "NIU hires Ravens' Hammock as head coach". ESPN.com. January 18, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
3. "NIU football: Hammock names three new assistant coaches". Daily Chronicle. DeKalb, IL. January 25, 2019.
4. Carmin, Mike (February 11, 2019). "Northern Illinois hires Purdue assistant Derrick Jackson as defensive coordinator". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Lafayette, IN.
5. "MAC Announces 2019 Preseason Football Poll". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
6. "2019 Northern Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.