Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 7, 2024 37 GAME PREVIEW: NORTHERN ILLINOIS the quarterback is at this time," Hammock said in the lead-up to the Western Illinois game. "The decision was made." It was a decision that took so long to make be- cause Hammock said he felt he had a lot to work with to replace longtime starter and former Michi- gan State signee Rocky Lombardi. "I like where the quarterback position is," Ham- mock said. "It is the best room that we've had since I've been there." Hammock said he feels NIU has three quarterbacks with which it can win games: redshirt junior Ethan Hampton, redshirt freshman Josh Holst and Arkansas Pine-Bluff transfer Jalen Macon. They're made better by an offensive line that has collectively started more than 100 games. Any quarterback is only as good as the players he's throwing the ball to, though, and the Huskies' wide receiver spot is a mixed bag. It consists of 13 scholarship players, six of whom registered playing time at NIU in 2023 and four of whom are true freshmen. There are also two trans- fers who both led their respective FCS institutions in receiving yards last fall, Kenji Lewis with 429 at Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Andrew McElroy with 525 at St. Thomas. The returning name to know is Trayvon Rudolph, who had 51 catches for 531 yards and 2 touchdowns as a redshirt junior last fall. NIU wide receivers coach Joseph Hawkins said Rudolph, who had a better PFF receiving grade in 2023 (68.0) than any return- ing Huskies wideout, has become the unquestioned leader of the Northern Illinois pass-catching corps. "We will go as far as he takes us," Hawkins said. "As long as he is locked in, the group is gravitating toward him." It'll be difficult for him to take the Huskies very far at all against a Notre Dame team that ranked No. 1 nationally in pass efficiency defense. The primary orchestrators of that statistic are back, from coordinator Al Golden calling the shots to the havoc-creators up front along the defensive line Senior linebacker Jaden Dolphin, a former walk-on safety, finished second on the team with 61 tackles and made a team-high 41 solo stops for Northern Illinois last season. PHOTO COURTESY NORTHERN ILLINOIS ATHLETICS Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 30, Northern Illinois 7 With the way Northern Illinois finished last season, and the fact that it returns nine starters from a defense that finished third in the Mid-American Conference in fewest yards allowed, Notre Dame better not sleep on this talented opponent, especially with the Irish coming off an emotional game at Texas A&M. After a tough 1-4 start in 2023, sixth-year Huskies head coach Thomas Hammock stabilized things and finished the season with six wins in his final eight games — including three straight to end the year — to finish 7-6 and with a 21-19 win over Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl. The Fighting Irish depth will still overwhelm Northern Illinois. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 44, Northern Illinois 0 The Fighting Irish are 6-0 against MAC opponents since 2010, winning by an average score of 41-17 despite a couple close contests being mixed in. With Marcus Freeman's recruiting operation humming along, there is a clear tal- ent disparity on display when Notre Dame takes the field against a MAC foe. The ugly loss to Marshall two years ago is still seared into the minds of Irish fans, but Notre Dame took care of inferior opponents in convincing fashion last year and I expect that to continue in 2024. The Huskies will be breaking in a new starting quarterback this year — they hadn't settled on a starter heading into their season opener — so I expect the veteran Irish defense to dominate in this matchup. Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 38, Northern Illinois 13 When the Irish have recently hosted MAC teams at Notre Dame Stadium, the victories have been a mixed bag of results. In 2018, Notre Dame narrowly escaped losing to Ball State by pulling through for a 24-16 victory. Then, the Irish avoided an upset by beating Toledo 32-29 in 2021. Northern Illinois has been known to play power conference programs closely. However, I like the outcome of this year's game to be comparable to Notre Dame's 41-17 win against Central Michigan last season. Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 38, Northern Illinois 10 The Fighting Irish have never lost to a Mid-American Conference opponent. They're not going to do so now, especially in a home-opener two years after losing to Marshall, a Sun Belt team, in the same situation. Mike Denbrock's offense is built to feast on lesser competition. Al Golden's defense is manufactured to completely shut it down. Look for Riley Leonard to have a stellar performance in his first Notre Dame Stadium game, even against a Huskies defense returning nine starters who helped the unit rank in the top 25 of all FBS teams in yards allowed per game last season. This'll be one of those statements that shows just how much of a different class the Irish are in and one that sets the tone for Notre Dame to beat up on similar foes in subsequent weeks in the near future. Mike Singer: Notre Dame 45, Northern Illinois 13 The Fighting Irish have stumbled a bit when facing MAC opponents in recent years, but Notre Dame should cruise past the Huskies. Look for a big game from the ND running backs, and it should be rather easy for the Irish defense to slow down NIU. Jack Soble: Notre Dame 41, Northern Illinois 14 The Huskies can run the ball and play defense, which is why it wouldn't be a shock if the first quarter ends 7-7 or something along those lines. Expect NIU to ride senior running back Antario Brown — who has never averaged fewer than 6.1 yards per carry in a season — and its experienced offensive line. However, Notre Dame is the better team on both sides of the ball and should run away with this one. NIU is strong on the defensive front and at cornerback, but look for senior tight end Mitchell Evans to exploit the soft middle. Staff Predictions