Football

Huskies Set to Face Fresno State in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

DOG TREATS  
  • The NIU Huskies make their 21st bowl appearance all-time and 16th as a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision team when they take on Fresno State in the 2024 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
  • NIU is bowl eligible for the 19th time this century and has played in 15 bowls games since 2003, more than any other Mid-American Conference team.
  • NIU and Fresno State last played in the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl in Boise with the Huskies taking a 3-2 lead in the all-time series between the schools with a 40-17 win on the blue turf.  
  • There are 16 seniors listed as starters on the Huskies' depth chart for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and 22 on the depth chart, including all three specialists. NIU will not have any player start the bowl game who has not started a game before.
  • Eleven current Huskies have played in 50 or more games at NIU while the defense features seven players with at least 100 career tackles, led by senior Jaden Dolphin's 208 stops.
  • NIU is the only team in the FBS that has not allowed a 100-yard rusher this season, or in its last 16 games, dating back to the 2023 game at Central Michigan.
  • Opponents have averaged just 6.6 points per game in the second half versus NIU this year. The Huskies have three second half shutouts (Akron, Bowling Green, Central Michigan) and have not allowed a second half touchdown in its last three games.
  • Senior defensive tackle Devonte O'Malley, a first team All-MAC selection in 2024, has recorded a sack in six of NIU's last eight games and has eight on the season, the highest total by a Huskie since Sutton Smith's 15 in 2018. O'Malley's 21 career sacks are sixth at NIU all-time.
  • Eight Huskies, led by first team selections Devonte O'Malley (DT), Nate Valcarcel (S) and J.J. Lippe (OL), were named to the 2024 All-MAC team. Offensive linemen Logan Zschernitz and John Champe along with defensive end Roy Williams, earned second team recognition.  
  • NIU has held 20 of its last 25 opponents over the last two seasons to 25 points or less, including 11 of its 12 2024 foes with Western Michigan the only team to surpass 25 points against the Huskies this season.
  • The Huskies rank second in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in third down conversion percentage defense with opponents converting just 25.9 percent of their third down chances in 2024. Only four teams have converted more than three first downs against NIU this season.
  • Redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Holst, a walk-on, makes his third start of the year versus Fresno State and has seen action in six games on the season.

BOWLING IN BOISE: The NIU football program makes its 21st bowl appearance all-time and its 16th as a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision team in the 2024 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. A year ago, NIU defeated Arkansas State, 21-19, on December 23, 2023 to earn its first bowl win in 13 seasons, since the GoDaddy.com Bowl win over Arkansas State on January 8, 2012.  

TWO-BY-TWO (ALMOST): NIU's 2024 season largely played out in pairs. After winning its first two games, including the historic 16-14 win over No. 5 Notre Dame in South Bend on September 7, NIU dropped its next two games - a 20-23 overtime loss to Buffalo and a 24-17 loss at NC State in a game which saw NIU commit four turnovers. The Huskies came back, winning at home versus UMass, and holding Bowling Green to seven points for its first MAC win. The next week in DeKalb, Toledo scored just 13 but held NIU to six; then heartbreak at Ball State as the Cardinals made a 52-yard field goal with two seconds on the clock, just 13 seconds after NIU had taken a 23-22 lead. The two-by-two trend continued as MACtion got underway as the Huskies took out Western Michigan and Akron by the largest scoring margins in MAC games on the year. After losing at Miami, 20-9, NIU broke the string with a 24-16 Senior Day victory at home over Central Michigan.  

HUSKIE BOWL FACTS: NIU will play in a bowl game for the 13th time in the last 17 seasons in 2024, dating back to a 2008 Independence Bowl appearance. NIU is 5-10 as an FBS program and 6-14 all-time in bowl games. The Huskies appeared in a MAC-record eight consecutive bowl games from 2008-15 and NIU's 13 bowl appearances since 2008 and 15 since 2003 lead all MAC teams (see chart page 5). The Huskies' modern bowl history began at the California Bowl when the 1983 MAC Champions earned a 20-13 win over Cal State Fullerton. NIU reached six or more wins but was not selected for a bowl in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 (with 10 wins!) and 2005 (despite playing in the MAC Championship game).

HAMMOCK'S BOWL HISTORY: NIU head coach Thomas Hammock, a Huskie alum who was inducted into the NIU Hall of Fame in 2022, never had the opportunity to play in a bowl game during his playing days at NIU (1999-2002), but has coached in 10 bowl games during his college coaching career, including two Rose Bowls during his time at Wisconsin, in the 2006 Poinsettia Bowl as a NIU assistant. Hammock now has led NIU to three bowl games as head coach.
 
WINNERS: NIU secured bowl eligibility with its win over Akron on November 13th in Huskie Stadium and guaranteed its 19th winning season this century (25 years) with its win over Central Michigan in the 2024 season finale. The Huskies rank among the Top 30 FBS programs in the country in wins over the last 15 seasons, with five conference championships, 11 winning seasons and 11 bowl appearances, including in 2024. The Huskies are bowl eligible for the third time in the last four seasons. NIU's 14 bowl appearances since 2003 and five MAC Championships lead all MAC teams.

THE LAST MEETING: Quarterback Chandler Harnish and running back Chad Spann each scored two rushing touchdowns as NIU wrapped up the 2010 season with a 40-17 win over Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl. Harnish threw for a season-best 300 yards and ran for 72 yards on 10 carries. His two touchdowns came in the first half along with a 22-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Skarb that put the Huskies up 23-10. Spann rushed for 95 yards and scored his two touchdowns in the second half. Senior defensive end Jake Coffman had a career-high three sacks, all in the first half, as part of a defensive effort that included six sacks and 14 tackles for loss. NIU gained 503 yards of total offense, averaging 9.1 yards per play.  

SERIES HISTORY: NIU and Fresno State meet for the sixth time ever and for the second consecutive time in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl as the teams played in what was then the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise on December 18, 2010. That win gave NIU a 3-2 edge in the all-time series. Each team is 1-1 at home with two-game sets in 1972-73 and in 1990-91. The closest game of the five played between the teams was the first, which the Bulldogs won 9-6 in DeKalb. NIU tied the series with a 24-15 win the next year in Fresno. Stats from the 1990 game are prominent in the Huskie single game records listing as NIU triumphed 73-18 in one of the highest-scoring games in school history.

DOGS IN IDAHO: Including its 2010 bowl win in Boise, NIU is 3-2 all-time in games played in the Gem State with the other four games all played in Moscow, Idaho, which is located approximately 300 miles north of Boise, versus the University of Idaho. The football Huskies last played in Idaho in 2013 with NIU claiming a 45-35 win over Idaho at the Kibbie Dome on September 14 en route to an undefeated regular season behind Heisman Trophy finalist Jordan Lynch.

CALIFORNIA COMPETITION: NIU is 12-15 all-time against teams from California, including its 3-2 mark versus Fresno State. Six of the losses have come to San Diego State as NIU is 0-6 versus the Aztecs all-time with the most recent meetings in 2016-17. NIU has a 4-5 record all-time against Long Beach State and defeated San Jose State (18-17, 1995) and Cal Poly (47-30, 2011) in their only meetings. NIU is 2-1 versus Cal State Fullerton and split a pair of games with Pacific. The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl marks the third time NIU has played a California team in a bowl game (Fresno State twice, Cal State Fullerton in 1983).

LAST TIME OUT: In the 2024 regular season finale, NIU scored three rushing touchdowns in the first quarter to take a 19-0 lead over Central Michigan on Nov. 30, taking down the Chippewas 24-16 for a Senior Day victory. The Huskies held CMU to 204 yards of total offense, including just 51 in the second half. Telly Johnson Jr. rushed for a game-high 84 yards on 20 carries while senior Gavin Williams had 65 yards on six carries as well as three receptions for 26 yards. Cade Haberman blocked his third kick of the season on the PAT after the Chippewas' first touchdown which JaVaughn Byrd returned for two points.

ALL-MAC: Eight Huskies, including three offensive linemen and five members of NIU's outstanding defense, were selected to one of three 2024 All-MAC teams by league coaches. Seniors J.J. Lippe (OL), Devonte O'Malley (DL) and Nate Valcarcel (S) were named to the first team, the most first team selections for NIU since 2018. Junior defensive end Roy Williams and senior offensive linemen John Champe and Logan Zschernitz earned second team honors and cornerback JaVaughn Byrd and defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard were recognized on the third team. NIU's eight All-MAC players was the highest number of Huskies to make the team since 2021.