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2022 Northern Illinois Huskies football
2022 Northern Illinois Huskies football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	West Division
Record	3–9 (2–6 MAC)
Head coach	Thomas Hammock (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Eric Eidsness (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Derrick Jackson (4th season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Nick Benedetto (1st season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
	Seasons ← 2021 2023 →

2022 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Ohio xy	7	–	1	10	–	4
Buffalo	5	–	3	7	–	6
Bowling Green	5	–	3	6	–	7
Miami (OH)	4	–	4	6	–	7
Kent State	4	–	4	5	–	7
Akron	1	–	7	2	–	10
West Division
Toledo xy$	5	–	3	9	–	5
Eastern Michigan x	5	–	3	9	–	4
Western Michigan	4	–	4	5	–	7
Ball State	3	–	5	5	–	7
Central Michigan	3	–	5	4	–	8
Northern Illinois	2	–	6	3	–	9
Championship: Toledo 17, Ohio 7
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2022 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies were led by fourth-year head coach Thomas Hammock and played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.^[1]

Preseason

In the league's annual preseason poll, the Huskies were picked to win the West division.^[2] They were also picked to win the MAC Championship.^[3] Offensive linemen Nolan Porter and Logan Zschernitz, wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph, cornerback Jordan Gandy, and kicker John Richardson were named to the preseason first team.^[4] Offensive lineman Marques Cox and safety C.J. Brown were named to the second team.^[4]

Schedule

The Huskies played four non-conference games with visits to Tulsa and Kentucky and while hosting Eastern Illinois of the FCS and Vanderbilt at Huskie Stadium.^[5]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 p.m.	Eastern Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN+	W 34–27	10,864
September 10	6:00 p.m.	at Tulsa*	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN+	L 35–38	22,113
September 17	2:30 p.m.	Vanderbilt*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CBSSN	L 28–38	14,110
September 24	6:00 p.m.	at No. 8 Kentucky*	Kroger Field Lexington, KY	ESPN2	L 23–31	61,579
October 1	1:00 p.m.	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN (Bronze Stalk Trophy)	ESPN+	L 38–44 ^2OT	10,012
October 8	2:30 p.m.	Toledo	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN+	L 32–52	12,682
October 15	2:30 p.m.	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN+	W 39–10	15,100
October 22	1:00 p.m.	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN+	L 17–24	15,922
November 2	6:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPNU	L 22–35	6,055
November 9	6:00 p.m.	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	W 24–21	8,722
November 16	6:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	CBSSN	L 23–29	5,187
November 26	12:30 p.m.	Akron	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN3	L 12–44	6,288
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 3) released prior to game All times are in Central time

^[6]

Game summaries

Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	3	7	14	27
Huskies	7	14	7	6	34

at Tulsa

Game Two – Northern Illinois Huskies (1–0) at Tulsa Golden Hurricane (0–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	7	14	14	35
Golden Hurricane	7	17	0	14	38

at Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK

Date: Saturday, September 10, 2022
Game time: 6:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 88 °F (31 °C) • Wind: NW 5
Game attendance: 22,113
Referee: Jeremy Valentine
TV: ESPN+
Pregame line: Tulsa –6.5 • Odds to win: Tulsa 82.4%

Game information

First quarter

(10:13) TLSA – JuanCarlos Santana 14 yard pass from Davis Brin, Zack Long kick (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:47; Tulsa 7–0)

Second quarter

(13:02) TLSA – Zack Long 28 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 30 yards, 4:41; Tulsa 10–0)
(8:15) TLSA – JuanCarlos Santana 25 yard pass from Davis Brin, Zack Long kick (Drive:8 plays, 71 yards, 3:11; Tulsa 17–0)
(2:17) NIU – Kacper Rutkiewicz 9 yard pass from Rocky Lombardi, John Richardson kick (Drive: 6 plays, 44 yards, 2:50; Tulsa 17–7)
(0:49) TLSA – Isaiah Epps 20 yard pass from Davis Brin, Zack Long kick (Drive: 4 plays, 69 yards, 1:22; Tulsa 24–7)

Third quarter

(11:44) NIU – Kacper Rutkiewicz 30 yard pass from Rocky Lombardi, John Richardson kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:16; Tulsa 24–14)
(8:54) NIU – Antario Brown 8 yard run, John Richardson kick (Drive: 7 plays, 54 yards, 2:48; Tulsa 24–21)

Fourth quarter

(14:50) NIU – Cole Tucker 33 yard pass from Rocky Lombardi, John Richardson kick (Drive: 8 plays, 78 yards, 4:18; Northern Illinois 28–24)
(10:36) TLSA – Keylon Stokes 1 yard pass from Davis Brin, Zack Long kick (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:14; Tulsa 31–28)
(5:57) NIU – Rocky Lombardi 1 yard run, John Richardson kick (Drive: 7 plays, 40 yards, 3:40; Northern Illinois 35–31)
(0:58) TLSA – Steven Anderson 1 yard run, Zack Long kick (Drive: 5 plays, 52 yards, 0:56; Tulsa 38–35)

Statistics	NIU	TLSA
First downs	19	23
Plays–yards	68–385	69–429
Rushes–yards	37–126	37–107
Passing yards	259	322
Passing: comp–att–int	18–31–1	19–32–1
Time of possession	32:02	27:58

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Illinois	Passing	Rocky Lombardi	18/31, 259 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Antario Brown	20 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Cole Tucker	7 receptions, 123 yards, 1 TD
Tulsa	Passing	Davis Brin	19/32, 322 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Steven Anderson	18 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Keylon Stokes	8 receptions, 135 yards, 1 TD

Vanderbilt

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	7	7	21	3	38
Huskies	7	14	7	0	28

Statistics

Statistics	VAN	NIU
First downs	21	17
Total yards	428	354
Rushing yards	173	151
Passing yards	255	203
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	30:39	29:21

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	AJ Swann	18/28, 255 yards, 4 TD
	Rushing	Ray Davis	23 rushes, 116 yards, TD
	Receiving	Will Sheppard	10 receptions, 171 yards, TD
Northern Illinois	Passing	Ethan Hampton	12/19, 124 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Antario Brown	8 rushes, 60 yards, TD
	Receiving	Cole Tucker	4 receptions, 88 yards, 2 TD

at No. 8 Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
NIU	7	7	0	9	23
• No. 8 Kentucky	7	7	10	7	31

Date: September 24
Location: Lexington, KY
Game start: 7:05 p.m.
Game attendance: 61,579
Game weather: 71°F, Sunny, Wind SW @ 6 mph
Referee: Steve Marlowe
TV announcers (ESPN2): Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (color), Alex Chappell (sideline)

Sources:

Statistics	NIU	Kentucky
First downs	14	18
Total yards	327	406
Rushing yards	128	103
Passing yards	199	303
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	26:17	33:43

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
NIU	Passing	Ethan Hampton	13/25, 196 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Harrison Waylee	18 carries, 63 yards
	Receiving	Kacper Rutkiewicz	1 reception, 63 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Will Levis	18/26, 303 yards, 4 TD’s
	Rushing	Kavosiey Smoke	12 carries, 85 yards
	Receiving	Tayvion Robinson	7 receptions, 147 yards, 2 TD’s

at Ball State

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Huskies	7	17	7	7	0	0	38
Cardinals	0	7	14	17	0	6	44

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	21	14	10	7	52
Huskies	7	0	0	25	32

at Eastern Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	14	6	9	10	39
Eagles	7	0	3	0	10

at Ohio

Northern Illinois Huskies (2–5, 1–2) vs. Ohio Bobcats (4–3, 2–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Northern Illinois	0	6	11	0	17
Ohio	7	3	7	7	24

at Peden Stadium • Athens, OH

Date: Saturday, October 23, 2022
Game time: 2:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: sunny, Temperature:69 °F (21 °C)
Game attendance: 15,922
Referee: Greg Sujack
TV announcers (ESPN+): Anthony Lima, Ryan Cavanaugh
Pregame line: NIU −2.5 • box score, Ohio notes

Game information

First Quarter

(11:50) OHIO – Wiglusz, Sam 8 yd pass from Rourke, Kurtis (Vakos, Nathanial kick) 9 plays, 84 yards, TOP 03:49 (OHIO 7–0)

Second Quarter

(10:49) NIU – Richardson, John 38 yd field goal 12 plays, 34 yards, TOP 05:48 (OHIO 7–3)
(04:07) NIU – Richardson, John 27 yd field goal 10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 04:41 (OHIO 7–6)
(00:19) OHIO – Vakos, Nathanial 31 yd field goal 7 plays, 61 yards, TOP 03:48 (OHIO 10–6)

Third Quarter

(10:56) NIU – Richardson, John 45 yd field goal 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 04:04 (OHIO 10–9)
(04:16) OHIO – Rourke, Kurtis 1 yd run (Vakos, Nathanial kick) 13 plays, 81 yards, TOP 06:34 (OHIO 17–9)
(01:31) NIU – Rutkiewicz, Kacper 11 yd run (Thornton, Shemar pass) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:45 (Tied 17–17)

Fourth Quarter

(07:00) OHIO – Wiglusz, Sam 22 yd pass from Rourke, Kurtis (Vakos, Nathanial kick) 11 plays, 90 yards, TOP 04:26 (OHIO 24–17)

Statistics	NIU	OHIO
First downs	17	20
Total yards	377	354
Rushes/yards	48/267	33/154
Passing yards	110	200
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	9–18–0	14–26–0
Time of possession	32:30	27:30

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Illinois	Passing	Justin Lynch	9/18, 110 yards
	Rushing	Antario Brown	16 carries, 160 yards
	Receiving	Kacper Rutkiewicz	1 receptions, 41 yards
Ohio	Passing	Kurtis Rourke	14/26, 200 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Kurtis Rourke	7 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Sam Wiglusz	6 receptions, 69 yards, 2 TD

Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	14	7	7	7	35
Huskies	0	0	7	15	22

at Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	3	7	7	7	24
Broncos	7	7	7	0	21

Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
RedHawks	2	14	10	3	29
Huskies	10	0	13	0	23

Akron

	1	2	3	4	Total
Zips	0	20	7	17	44
Huskies	6	0	3	3	12

References

^ "Thomas Hammock". NIU Athletics. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
^ "MAC Announces 2022 Football Preseason Media Poll". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^ Olmo, Joe. "NIU picked as preseason MAC favorites". www.wifr.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^ ^a ^b DiTullio, Joe (July 13, 2022). "Preseason All-MAC Teams". The Game Haus. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^ Stoll, Michael. "Football releases 2022 schedule". Northern Star. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^ "2022 Northern Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.