# 2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

The 2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by first-year head coach Thomas Hammock the Huskies compiled an overall record of 5–7 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for third place in the MAC"s West Division. The team played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

## Offseason
### Coaching changes

On January 11, 2019, head coach Rod Carey accepted the head coach position at Temple. On January 18, the school hired NIU alum and Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Thomas Hammock as the new head coach. Hammock was a star running back for the Huskies from 1999 to 2002.
On January 25, Hammock announced the hiring of Eric Eidsness, the offensive coordinator for South Dakota State, to the same position. On February 11, Derrick Jackson was announced as the new defensive coordinator. Jackson had spent the previous two seasons as cornerbacks coach and defensive recruiting coordinator at Purdue.

## Preseason
### MAC media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 23, 2019, with the Huskies predicted to finish in third place in the West Division.
West Division :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Toledo | 127 (15) |
| 2 | Western Michigan | 112 (5) |
| 3 | Northern Illinois | 103 (3) |
| 4 | Eastern Michigan | 83 |
| 5 | Ball State | 43 |
| 6 | Central Michigan | 36 (1) |
MAC Championship Game :
| Rank | Team | Votes |
| 1 | Ohio | 13 |
| 2 | Toledo | 7 |
| 3 | Western Michigan | 2 |
| 4 | Northern Illinois | 1 |
| 4 | Central Michigan | 1 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 15 (FCS) Illinois State* | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN+ | W 24–10 | 14,568 |
| September 7 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 13 Utah* | Rice–Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | P12N | L 17–35 | 45,919 |
| September 14 | 7:00 p.m. | at Nebraska* | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | FS1 | L 8–44 | 89,593 |
| September 28 | 11:00 a.m. | at Vanderbilt* | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | SECN | L 18–24 | 24,519 |
| October 5 | 2:30 p.m. | Ball State | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL (Bronze Stalk Trophy) | ESPN3 | L 20–27 | 10,365 |
| October 12 | 2:30 p.m. | at Ohio | Peden StadiumAthens, OH | ESPN+ | W 39–36 | 18,019 |
| October 19 | 2:30 p.m. | at Miami (OH) | Yager StadiumOxford, OH | ESPN+ | L 24–27 | 11,710 |
| October 26 | 2:30 p.m. | Akron | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN3 | W 49–0 | 9,027 |
| November 2 | 11:00 a.m. | at Central Michigan | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | CBSSN | L 10–48 | 10,438 |
| November 13 | 7:00 p.m. | at Toledo | Glass BowlToledo, OH | ESPN2 | W 31–28 | 15,610 |
| November 19 | 6:30 p.m. | Eastern Michigan | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPN2 | L 17–45 | 5,062 |
| November 26 | 6:00 p.m. | Western Michigan | Huskie StadiumDeKalb, IL | ESPNU | W 17–14 | 3,568 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Illinois State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 15 (FCS) Redbirds | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Huskies | 3 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 24 |

### At Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| No. 13 Utes | 0 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

### At Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| Cornhuskers | 10 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 44 |

### At Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 18 |
| Commodores | 14 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 24 |

### Ball State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 27 |
| Huskies | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 20 |

### At Ohio

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 10 | 0 | 12 | 17 | 39 |
| Bobcats | 7 | 14 | 0 | 15 | 36 |

### At Miami (OH)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| RedHawks | 0 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 27 |

### Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Zips | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Huskies | 7 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 49 |

### At Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Chippewas | 21 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 48 |

### At Toledo

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 7 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 31 |
| Rockets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 28 |

### Eastern Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 7 | 7 | 24 | 7 | 45 |
| Huskies | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |

### Western Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Broncos | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Huskies | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |