Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 7, 2024 35 GAME PREVIEW: NORTHERN ILLINOIS dric Estimé is 5-foot-11, 227 — Brown rushed for 1,296 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns in 2023. Brown is an easy preseason first- team All-MAC selection, and he has a first-team All-MAC nickname as well: "Slime." He earned it with his performance against Akron Oct. 7, rushing for an as- tounding 280 yards on just 13 attempts, four of which went to the house. The right sideline was Brown's best friend; he broke contain four times and out- raced everyone on his way to the end zone. "It's a nickname my teammates gave me," Brown said. "They said I was form- less and slithery, they said I was slipping out of a lot of tackles. I just ran with it." "Slime" can hurt Notre Dame, much like Central Michigan's run game did when it gave the blue and gold faithful a brief scare last season. The Chippewas punched the Irish in the mouth, scor- ing 14 points in the first half by rushing for 88 sack-adjusted yards before Notre Dame established firm control in the second half. However, if a team like the Irish is prepared and commits to stopping the run, things can get dicey for the Hus- kies. And Hammock knows it. With its uncertain quarterback situ- ation, NIU put an emphasis on finding ways to get the ball to its playmakers in space throughout fall camp. "We obviously know we'll have the ability to run the football, but if some- body wants to pack the box, what are our answers?" Hammock said. "So we've been working on answers to the problems before we see them." While second-team preseason All- MAC wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph is dangerous, Notre Dame's defensive game plan should be clear: Shut down Brown — with strong tackling tech- nique, something that was occasionally an issue last season — and force North- ern Illinois to win through the air. If the Irish do that, they should score enough to leave Week 2 with a comfort- able win. But they can't expect to show up and cruise to victory on the backs of their reputation and recruiting rankings. Notre Dame learned that lesson once. It shouldn't have to learn it again. ✦ Quarterback Competition May Push Into The Season According to Daily Chronicle (DeKalb, Ill.'s local newspaper) Northern Illinois beat writer Eddie Carifio, the Huskies split first- team scrimmage reps between redshirt ju- niors Ethan Hampton and Jalen Macon. Local product Josh Holst, a redshirt freshman, was considered part of the competition but took a backseat. It looks like either Hampton or Macon will replace departed signal-caller Rocky Lom- bardi, now chasing his NFL dream, as NIU's quarterback. But this competition seems close enough — and head coach Thomas Hammock has been secretive enough — that there's a chance the Huskies didn't find real clarity during their Week 1 matchup with Western Illinois. Hampton was Lombardi's backup last sea- son, and he started for an injured Lombardi in 2022. His numbers are nothing to write home about, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt in limited 2023 action. Northern Star (NIU's student-run newspaper) sports reporter Sky- ler Kisellus wrote in May that Hampton's big- gest strength is his experience in the Huskies' system, but he'll need to "fine-tune his ac- curacy" to win the job. Hampton is also not a rushing threat and he's thrown 8 interceptions in seven games the past two seasons, including 4 in a 52-32 loss to Toledo in 2022. Macon, a transfer from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, has a vastly different skill set. He's a large individual at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds. For reference, Notre Dame senior quarterback Riley Leonard is 6-foot-4, 216. Like Leonard, Macon is a dual-threat QB whose athleticism could complement a strong run game. But unlike Leonard, Macon played at the FCS level and was by no means a star there. He threw for a pedestrian 7.1 yards per attempt in 2023 and took an alarming 14 sacks in six games (two starts). Huskies Finished Last Season On The Rise For Northern Illinois, 2023 was a year of runs. The Huskies, fresh off a 3-9 2022 campaign, began it by entering Boston College and stunning the Eagles 27-24 in overtime. Then, they proceeded to lose their next four games, to Southern Illinois, Nebraska, Tulsa and Toledo. At that point, Hammock's seat was heating up. However, NIU turned it around by winning six of its final eight games, culminating with a 21-19 win over Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl. Hammock still appears on most hot seat watch lists — not near the top, but on them nonetheless — as he enters 2024 with a 24-33 record. That does include the unprecedented "COVID-19 year" in 2020, in which a Huskies roster of 71 percent freshmen went 0-6. Regardless, the successful ending to the 2023 season bought Hammock at least one more year. Huskies And … Wildcat? Interesting note from one of Carifio's preseason articles: Apparently, Northern Illinois has worked on its Wildcat formation extensively in fall camp. "Hammock has said he's not showing a lot in open practices, not knowing who is there watching," Carifio wrote. "But one thing that happens frequently is a running back lining up at the QB spot in the Wildcat formation. And with [senior running back Antario] Brown not getting a ton of time on the field in an effort to keep him fresh, Wildcat duties have rotated around with a lot of different guys." Given the lack of clarity under center — and the fact that redshirt senior wide receiver Trayvon Ru- dolph and redshirt junior running back Justin Lynch are both former quarterbacks — Carifio expects a great deal of "chicanery" from NIU's offense. With nothing to lose against the Irish, one would think Hammock and company have some tricks up their sleeve this week. — Jack Soble Redshirt junior Ethan Hampton was vying for the Huskies' starting quarterback job after serving as the backup in 2023. PHOTO COURTESY NORTHERN ILLINOIS ATHLETICS Three Things to Know About Northern Illinois