“You know this Notre Dame team? The team that won last week against Texas A&M? Turns out they have a history of not playing up to that standard in the following week. That’s why the AD set up this game for them. This whole game is a trap.”
Northern Illinois at Notre Dame (-28)
Notre Dame Stadium
Notre Dame, Indiana
Date: Saturday, September 7th, 2024
Time: 3:30 PM ET
TV: NBC (and also Peacock)
Vegas Corner
This game opened with a four TD spread for the Irish, which is no surprise considering Marcus Freeman and Co are coming off of their biggest win as a regime. Circa Sports seemed to report some action getting the number up to 30.5 for the Irish there, but everywhere else seems to be settling in at around 28 points for the Irish. The Over/Under seems steady as well at 44.5. That seems to mean that Vegas expects this to be a 35-7(ish) type of game for the Irish.
Weather Report
There looks like a cool Saturday in Notre Dame Stadium. There appears to be a slight chance for rain showers to cool off the summer heat, but those look more likely for Friday into Saturday, leading to a much more cooler atmosphere for the tailgaters and the fans piling into the Stadium from both sides.
Series History
In a trend that has started among some MAC programs, this is the first encounter between the team from DeKalb and the team from Notre Dame, despite their distance being a little less than 200 miles. The Irish seemed to have sought after MAC programs for early season games as they have also had first time encounters recently with Central Michigan, Bowling Green, and Ball State.
Fun Fact
What do current Northern Illinois HC Thomas Hammock, current Minnesota HC PJ Fleck, and retired NFL RB Michael Turner have in common? They all played together for Northern Illinois from 2000-2002 before Hammock graduated.
Hammock as a player, who was a solid backup for future NFLer Michael Turner
Coaching Staff
Thomas Hammock is in his fifth season at the helm for the Huskies. He was previously the RB coach for the Baltimore Ravens and the RB Coordinator for Wisconsin during the era of James White (now an assistant on staff), Melvin Gordon, and Montee Ball. He has turned his experience as RB coach and recruiter to turn the Huskies into a ground and pound team, turning around a team that was one of the youngest in 2021 towards a MAC Championship. He also became the first coach to lead them to a bowl win in over a decade.
Leading Hammock’s offense is Offensive Coordinator Wesley Beschorner. Beschorner is in his second season as the Huskies OC, and also coaches the RBs. The former head coach of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was actually only hired as the Passing Game Coordinator and RB coach last January. He took over OC duties during the 2023 season, after their poor 1-4 start. Berchorner has taken the ball and ran with it, taking over for current NIU Coach Eric Eidsness.
For defense, Nick Benedetto completed his full transition to full time DC this past season, as co-DC Derrick Jackson left for a similar position at Bowling Green. Benedetto was coach of the Secondary since 2022 and also held the co-DC title along with Jackson. He has helped bolster the defense and made them opportunistic, improving their turnover margin from -6 in 2021 to +4 in 2022.
Portal
Unlike Texas A&M the previous week, Hammock runs a program that is very much a throwback. They boast 32 seniors, 20 of those who spent their entire careers under Hammock in Northern Illinois. That second number trails only future Irish opponents Navy and Stanford for most in the FBS. That being said, they do have some portal contributors in LB Christian Furhman (SE Missouri St) and TE Jake Appleget (from Nebraska) from both ends of Division I.
Top Men
QB Ethan Hampton:Â The big question coming into the season for NIU was who would replace long time starter Rocky Lombardi. It seems like Hammock found his choice in the redshirt junior. Starting for the first time since 2022, Hampton torched an overmatched Western Illinois secondary for 328 yards and 5 TDs. Those numbers do not seemed replicable against the Irish secondary, but it’s worth noting coming into the game
RB Antario Brown:Â The All-MAC First Teamer returns for his senior season and is one of the biggest contributors of the offense. Coming off his breakthrough season, Brown looks to continue his pace coming into his biggest game of his young career. He was named MVP during Spring practice and looks to establish the offensive identity this Saturday.
WR Trayvon Rudolph:Â The Hornug Award Watch player NIU’s most dynamic player on the field. While Brown will be in between the tackles, the Redshirt Senior Rudolph will look to try and spice up the offensive output with end arounds and running routes. Rudolph scored both on the ground and through the air in last week’s game, and will certainly be a target for the Irish secondary.
S Jashon Prophette: Number one in the program and number one in the hearts of Husky fans, the true senior is the heart and soul of the defensive backfield for NIU. He is starting in his fourteenth consecutive game for the Huskies. With no Faison going for the Irish, it’s not hard to imagine that Prophette will keep his eyes on Beaux Collins and the rest of the Irish receivers.
Matchup to Watch
Northern Illinois OL vs Notre Dame DL
In lieu of a good matchup and bad matchup for the Irish, it seems more appropriate to note the big matchup that will change the game. It seems like that based on NIU’s staff and players that they will want to run the ball to limit possessions and get the Notre Dame defense tired to make mistakes. Considering the backgrounds of Hammock, Beschorner, and ability of Rudolph and Brown, running the ball is going to be that number one priority.
That is why it is imperative for the Irish to continue their dominant line play to continue their winning ways. This will be a test for the DL and LBs to ensure that sure tackling and limited yards after contact give the Irish more chances to score and ensure a comfortable game for the Irish and their supporters.
Prediction
With all of the above being said, there is something to be said that this NIU team, while talented and hungry, does not quite stack up against the Irish. It may not be a trap game in the way that 2022 Marshall was or 2023 Duke (after both Ohio State games), but this is a team to be taken seriously. The Huskies call games against Power 4 teams “Boneyard Games.” This team, under Hammock, has notched some big wins and pushed teams to the brink in previous Boneyard Games.
All that being said, I do think the Irish’s defensive front can shut down the rushing attack of NIU, and the Irish rushing attack can prolong drives and break down the Huskies defense. I also think that 28 points is a large spread to cover against a good team like NIU, but it shouldn’t get any closer than that.
I just watched trap yesterday so opening this website to that thumbnail killed me
One of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen
Calling games against high major schools “boneyard games” is fucking sick
On board with this take. Sleepy Irish team leads by 10 at half and wins by 20-28.
Did see this on Caesar’s at +30 earlier this week and put in the token emotional hedge.
Besides being a first spotcheck on how HCMF and his staff are going to approach the post-stirring victory hangover challenge, this is also going to be a significant measuring stick of the progress that’s been made on keeping the crowd properly engaged and at least somewhat loud. That’s going to be especially evident to the players if we are not, since they were just at a remarkably loud Aggie game. And the coach discussed this very topic at some length in his Monday presser, with a remark on the importance of knowing when and how to cheer.
The challenge of course will be the crowd itself, with judging from the paucity of comments on this thread, a lack of excitement to be predicted.
Is anyone on the board going to be at the game? I’d be very interested in how this aspect goes. I’m absolutely not expecting miracles from a MAC game crowd, but am interested in whether the efforts to produce some fan enthusiam generate any.
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