2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

American college football season

2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football

Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	5–7 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Thomas Hammock (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Eric Eidsness (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Derrick Jackson (1st season)
Base defense	4–2–5
MVP	Mykelti Williams
Captain	Jordan Steckler, Mykelti Williams, Jack Heflin, Daniel Crawford
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium
Seasons← 2018 2020 →

2019 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Miami (OH) x$	6	–	2	8	–	6
Ohio	5	–	3	7	–	6
Buffalo	5	–	3	8	–	5
Kent State	5	–	3	7	–	6
Bowling Green	2	–	6	3	–	9
Akron	0	–	8	0	–	12
West Division
Central Michigan x	6	–	2	8	–	6
Western Michigan	5	–	3	7	–	6
Ball State	4	–	4	5	–	7
Northern Illinois	4	–	4	5	–	7
Toledo	3	–	5	6	–	6
Eastern Michigan	3	–	5	6	–	7
Championship: Miami 26, Central Michigan 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

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.

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
West Division
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)

Rank	Team	Votes
MAC Championship Game
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 Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN+	W 24–10	14,568
September 7	12:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Utah*	Rice–Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	P12N	L 17–35	45,919
September 14	7:00 p.m.	at Nebraska*	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	FS1	L 8–44	89,593
September 28	11:00 a.m.	at Vanderbilt*	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN	L 18–24	24,519
October 5	2:30 p.m.	Ball State	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL (Bronze Stalk Trophy)	ESPN3	L 20–27	10,365
October 12	2:30 p.m.	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN+	W 39–36	18,019
October 19	2:30 p.m.	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	ESPN+	L 24–27	11,710
October 26	2:30 p.m.	Akron	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN3	W 49–0	9,027
November 2	11:00 a.m.	at Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	CBSSN	L 10–48	10,438
November 13	7:00 p.m.	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN2	W 31–28	15,610
November 19	6:30 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN2	L 17–45	5,062
November 26	6:00 p.m.	Western Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPNU	W 17–14	3,568
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 5 released prior to game All 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

References

Gelston, Dan (January 11, 2019). "Temple hires Rod Carey from N. Illinois as coach". AP NEWS. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
"NIU hires Ravens' Hammock as head coach". ESPN.com. January 18, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
"NIU football: Hammock names three new assistant coaches". Daily Chronicle. DeKalb, IL. January 25, 2019.
Carmin, Mike (February 11, 2019). "Northern Illinois hires Purdue assistant Derrick Jackson as defensive coordinator". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Lafayette, IN.
"MAC Announces 2019 Preseason Football Poll". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
"2019 Northern Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 10, 2019.

v t e Northern Illinois Huskies football
Venues	Glidden Field (1903–1948, 1951–1965) Dekalb Township High School football field (1949–1950) Huskie Stadium (1965–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Ball State: Bronze Stalk Trophy
Culture & lore	"Huskie Fight Song" Huskie Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

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