# 2022 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

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.

## Preseason

In the league's annual preseason poll, the Huskies were picked to win the West division. They were also picked to win the MAC Championship. 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. Offensive lineman Marques Cox and safety C.J. Brown were named to the second team.

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

## Game summaries
### Eastern Illinois

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

### at Tulsa

| 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%
| 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 |
| Northern Illinois | Rushing | Antario Brown | 20 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD |
| Northern Illinois | Receiving | Cole Tucker | 7 receptions, 123 yards, 1 TD |
| Tulsa | Passing | Davis Brin | 19/32, 322 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT |
| Tulsa | Rushing | Steven Anderson | 18 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD |
| Tulsa | 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 |
| Vanderbilt | Rushing | Ray Davis | 23 rushes, 116 yards, TD |
| Vanderbilt | Receiving | Will Sheppard | 10 receptions, 171 yards, TD |
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Ethan Hampton | 12/19, 124 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Northern Illinois | Rushing | Antario Brown | 8 rushes, 60 yards, TD |
| Northern Illinois | 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 |
| 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 |
| NIU | Rushing | Harrison Waylee | 18 carries, 63 yards |
| NIU | Receiving | Kacper Rutkiewicz | 1 reception, 63 yards |
| Kentucky | Passing | Will Levis | 18/26, 303 yards, 4 TD’s |
| Kentucky | Rushing | Kavosiey Smoke | 12 carries, 85 yards |
| Kentucky | 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

| 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
| 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 |
| Northern Illinois | Rushing | Antario Brown | 16 carries, 160 yards |
| Northern Illinois | Receiving | Kacper Rutkiewicz | 1 receptions, 41 yards |
| Ohio | Passing | Kurtis Rourke | 14/26, 200 yards, 2 TD |
| Ohio | Rushing | Kurtis Rourke | 7 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD |
| Ohio | 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 |