# 2023 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2023 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies are led by fifth-year head coach Thomas Hammock and played their home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois. They finished the regular season 6–6 and 5–3 in conference play They played Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl, who they beat 21–19. The Northern Illinois Huskies football team drew an average home attendance of 9,456 in 2023.

## Preseason
### Preseason polls
#### Coaches Poll

On July 20, the MAC announced the preseason coaches poll. Northern Illinois was picked to finish third in the West.
East :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Ohio | 63 (9) |
| 2 | Miami | 52 (2) |
| 3 | Buffalo | 51 (1) |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 35 |
| 5 | Akron | 26 |
| 6 | Kent State | 19 |
West :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Toledo | 66 (11) |
| 2 | Eastern Michigan | 55 (1) |
| 3 | Northern Illinois | 38 |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 37 |
| 5 | Ball State | 27 |
| 6 | Western Michigan | 23 |
Coaches poll (MAC Championship) :
| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Toledo | 7 |
| 2 | Ohio | 4 |
| 3 | Buffalo | 1 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 11:00 a.m. | at Boston College* | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | ACCN | W 27–24 $^{OT}$ | 30,122 |
| September 9 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 24 (FCS) Southern Illinois* | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN+ | L 11–14 | 13,114 |
| September 16 | 6:00 p.m. | at Nebraska* | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | FS1 | L 11–35 | 86,875 |
| September 23 | 11:00 a.m. | Tulsa* | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | CBSSN | L 14–22 | 10,321 |
| September 30 | 2:30 p.m. | at Toledo | Glass BowlToledo, OH | ESPNU | L 33–35 | 23,417 |
| October 7 | 2:30 p.m. | at Akron | InfoCision Stadium–Summa FieldAkron, OH | ESPN+ | W 55–14 | 8,216 |
| October 14 | 3:00 p.m. | Ohio | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPNU | W 23–13 | 11,143 |
| October 21 | 2:30 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN+ | W 20–13 | 9,458 |
| October 31 | 6:00 p.m. | at Central Michigan | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPNU | L 31–37 | 9,625 |
| November 7 | 6:00 p.m. | Ball State | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL (Bronze Stalk Trophy) | CBSSN | L 17–20 | 6,282 |
| November 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Western Michigan | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPNU | W 24–0 | 6,417 |
| November 25 | 11:00 a.m. | at Kent State | Dix StadiumKent, OH | ESPN+ | W 37–27 | 5,427 |
| December 23 | 11:00 a.m. | vs. Arkansas State* | Cramton BowlMontgomery, AL (Camellia Bowl) | ESPN | W 21–19 | 11,310 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 2) released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at Boston College

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 27 |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
at Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
* Date: September 2, 2022
* Game time: 11:04 pm CDT
* Game attendance: 30,122
* Referee: Billy Williams
* TV announcers (ACCN): Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst)
| Statistics | NIU | BC |
| First downs | 21 | 19 |
| Plays–yards | 78–338 | 66–314 |
| Rushes–yards | 48–166 | 28–146 |
| Passing yards | 172 | 168 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 14–30–0 | 17–38–1 |
| Time of possession | 36:53 | 23:07 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| NIU | Passing | Rocky Lombardi | 13/29, 165 yds |
| NIU | Rushing | Gavin Williams | 15 rushes, 61 yds |
| NIU | Receiving | Kacper Rutkiewicz | 5 receptions, 46 yds |
| BC | Passing | Thomas Castellanos | 13/28, 138 yds, 2 TDs, INT |
| BC | Rushing | Thomas Castellanos | 9 rushes, 74 yds, TD |
| BC | Receiving | Lewis Bond | 4 receptions, 40 yds, TD |

### Southern Illinois

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Salukis | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Huskies | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 11 |
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois
* Date: September 9, 2023
* Game time: 2:32 pm CDT
* Game attendance: 13,114
* Referee: Matt Packowski
* TV: ESPN+
| Statistics | SIU | NIU |
| First downs | 12 | 19 |
| Plays–yards | 50–217 | 72–360 |
| Rushes–yards | 26–73 | 34–63 |
| Passing yards | 144 | 297 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 16–24–0 | 23–38–3 |
| Time of possession | 24:01 | 35:59 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| SIU | Passing | Nic Baker | 16/24, 144 yds |
| SIU | Rushing | Ro Elliott | 9 rushes, 62 yds |
| SIU | Receiving | Aidan Quinn | 2 receptions, 47 yds |
| NIU | Passing | Rocky Lombardi | 23/38, 297 yds, TD, 3 INTs |
| NIU | Rushing | Antario Brown | 22 rushes, 66 yds |
| NIU | Receiving | Kacper Rutkiewicz | 6 receptions, 139 yds, TD |

### at Nebraska

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Cornhuskers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
at Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska
* Date: September 16, 2023
* Game time: 6:00 pm CDT
* Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind: North at 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 86,875
* Referee: Chris Coyte
* TV announcers (FS1): Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Mark Helfrich (analyst)
| Statistics | NIU | Neb |
| First downs | 12 | 23 |
| Plays–yards | 149 | 382 |
| Rushes–yards | 22–26 | 44–224 |
| Passing yards | 123 | 158 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17–36–1 | 14–24–0 |
| Time of possession | 23:43 | 36:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| NIU | Passing | Rocky Lombardi | 11/28, 73 yds, 1 INT |
| NIU | Rushing | Antario Brown | 8 carries, 16 yds |
| NIU | Receiving | Davis Patterson | 2 rec, 30 yds |
| Neb | Passing | Heinrich Haarberg | 14/24, 158 yds, 2 TD |
| Neb | Rushing | Heinrich Haarberg | 21 carries, 98 yds |
| Neb | Receiving | Thomas Fidone II | 4 rec, 42 yds, 1 TD |

### vs Tulsa

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Hurricane | 2 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 22 |
| Huskies | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois
* Date: September 23, 2023
* Game time: 11:00 am CDT
* TV: CBSSN
| Statistics | Tul | NIU |
| First downs | 17 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | –281 | –295 |
| Rushes–yards | 48–179 | 41–167 |
| Passing yards | 102 | 128 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 8–20–2 | 17–29–2 |
| Time of possession | 27:48 | 32:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tul | Passing | Cardell Williams | 8–20, 102 yards, 2 INT |
| Tul | Rushing | Anthony Watkins | 23 carries, 91 yards, 1 TD |
| Tul | Receiving | Kamdyn Benjamin | 4 receptions, 53 yards |
| NIU | Passing | Ethan Hampton | 13–23, 97 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| NIU | Rushing | Justin Lynch | 8 carries, 84 yards, 1 TD |
| NIU | Receiving | Grayson Barnes | 3 receptions, 40 yards |

### vs Ohio

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Huskies | 7 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 23 |
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL
* Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: cloudy, Temperature:53 °F (12 °C), Wind:Southwest 17 mph
* Game attendance: 11,143
* Referee: Andrew Speciale
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Drew Carter, Dustin Fox
* Pregame line:Ohio -5.5; O/U 45.0 • Ohio notes, boxcore
| Statistics | Ohio | Northern Illinois |
| First downs | 16 | 13 |
| Total yards | 254 | 302 |
| Rushes/yards | 159 | 172 |
| Passing yards | 159 | 172 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 22–36–3 | 15–23–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:15 | 31:45 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Ohio | Passing | Kurtis Rourke | 23/36, 159 yards, 3 INT |
| Ohio | Rushing | O'Shaan Allison | 11 rushes, 43 yards |
| Ohio | Receiving | Sam Wiglusz | 4 receptions, 37 yards |
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Rocky Lombardi | 15/23, 172 yards, 1 TD |
| Northern Illinois | Rushing | Gavin Williams | 10 rushes, 55 yards, 1 TD |
| Northern Illinois | Receiving | Grayson Barnes | 2 receptions, 66 yards, 1 TD |