Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 SEPT. 7, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: NORTHERN ILLINOIS classmen stepping up as depth also strengthens NIU's secondary. Preseason first-team All-MAC pick JaVaughn Byrd leads a cornerback group that Ham- mock believes has four players who can start. Byrd picked off 3 passes in 2023, and he broke up 5 more. "We have some excellent corners on this team," Hammock said. "It's about finding the right balance and rotation to allow those guys to play the way they need to play. Last year was about taking a step in the right direction and allowing those guys to continue to develop and get better." On the defense as a whole, Northern Illinois believes it has 19 players who are capable of starting. Hammock's NIU teams have been inconsistent, with a 3-9 campaign in 2022 sandwiched between 2021's MAC championship season and 2023's 7-6 response. But if he can continue to maintain this level of continuity and depth on defense, the Huskies should remain competitive. "Defensively, those guys are playing at a high level," Hammock said. "Not only do we have depth, we have quality depth across the board of guys that can go out there and make big contributions to us playing great defense." RUN THE DANG BALL, BUT THEN WHAT? Hammock can sleep soundly at night knowing his team can run the ball. If nothing else, the Huskies have that baseline for their offense. NIU lost starting center Pete Nygra to Louisville — their only Power Four transfer loss, aside from Gumbs — but it returns a combined 172 games and 114 starts among the starting five on the line. Notre Dame's starting five, enter- ing Week 1 at Texas A&M, had six. That group — which includes second- team preseason All-MAC players John Champe (senior guard), Logan Zscher- nitz (redshirt senior center) and J.J. Lippe (redshirt senior tackle) — helped senior running back Antario Brown become a household name on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Short but well- built at 5-foot-10, 219 pounds — for reference, former Irish workhorse Au- 2024 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 at Texas A&M W, 23-13 Sept. 7 Northern Illinois (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at Purdue (CBS) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 21 Miami (Ohio) (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 28 Louisville (Peacock) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 12 Stanford (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 19 vs. Georgia Tech# TBA Oct. 26 vs. Navy^ (ABC/ESPN) 12 p.m. Nov. 9 Florida State (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 Virginia (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 23 vs. Army* (NBC) 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at USC TBA # at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; ^ at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; * Shamrock Series at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, N.Y. ; Games on NBC are also televised by Peacock Senior running back Antario Brown rushed for 1,296 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 10 touch- downs in 2023. PHOTO COURTESY NORTHERN ILLINOIS ATHLETICS 2024 NORTHERN ILLINOIS SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 Western Illinois W, 54-15 Sept. 7 at Notre Dame (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 21 Buffalo TBA Sept. 28 at NC State TBA Oct. 5 UMass TBA Oct. 12 at Bowling Green TBA Oct. 19 Toledo TBA Oct. 26 at Ball State TBA Nov. 6 at Western Michigan 7 p.m. Nov. 13 Akron 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at Miami (Ohio) TBA Nov. 30 Central Michigan TBA