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{{2025 Mid-American Conference football standings}} |
{{2025 Mid-American Conference football standings}} |
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The ”’2025 Northern Illinois Huskies football team”’ |
The ”’2025 Northern Illinois Huskies football team”’ [[Northern Illinois University]] in the [[Mid-American Conference]] (MAC) during the [[2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season]]. The Huskies are led by [[Thomas Hammock]] in his seventh year as the head coach. The Huskies home games at [[Huskie Stadium]], located in [[DeKalb, Illinois]]. |
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This the Huskies’ last season competing in the MAC as the program will join the [[Mountain West Conference]] as football-only members beginning with the 2026 season.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[ESPN]] |last=Bonagura |first=Kyle |url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/43324617/northern-illinois-join-mountain-west-football-only-26 |title=Northern Illinois to join Mountain West as football-only in ’26 |date=January 7, 2025 |access-date=June 29, 2025}}</ref> |
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==Offseason== |
==Offseason== |
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Revision as of 12:57, 29 November 2025
American college football season
The 2025 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies are led by Thomas Hammock in his seventh year as the head coach. The Huskies played home games at Huskie Stadium, located in DeKalb, Illinois.
This was the Huskies’ last season competing in the MAC as the program will join the Mountain West Conference as football-only members beginning with the 2026 season.[1]
Offseason
Transfers
Outgoing
Incoming
Preseason
The MAC Football Kickoff was held on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at the Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan from 9:00 am EDT to 1:30 pm EDT.[4]
Preseason polls
Coaches Poll
On July 24 the MAC announced the preseason coaches’ poll.[5]
| MAC Coaches poll | ||
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo | 135 (7) |
| 2 | Miami | 131 (3) |
| 3 | Ohio | 123 (3) |
| 4 | Buffalo | 115 |
| 5 | Northern Illinois | 94 |
| 6 | Bowling Green | 81 |
| 7 | Western Michigan | 71 |
| 8 | Eastern Michigan | 68 |
| 9 | Central Michigan | 65 |
| 10 | Ball State | 41 |
| T11 | Akron | 39 |
| T11 | Massachusetts | 39 |
| 13 | Kent State | 12 |
| Coaches poll (MAC Championship) | ||
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo | 6 |
| 2 | Miami | 4 |
| 3 | Ohio | 3 |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 2:30 p.m. | Holy Cross* | ESPN+ | W 19–17 | 10,569 | |
| 6:30 p.m. | at Maryland* | BTN | L 9–20 | 35,331 | ||
| September 20 | 3:15 p.m. | at Mississippi State* | SECN | L 10–38 | 45,803 | |
| September 27 | 2:30 p.m. | San Diego State* | ESPN+ | L 3–6 | 13,512 | |
| October 4 | 2:30 p.m. | Miami (OH) | ESPN+ | L 14–25 | 13,827 | |
| October 11 | 12:00 p.m. | at Eastern Michigan | ESPN+ | L 10–16 | 15,676 | |
| October 18 | 2:30 p.m. | at Ohio | ESPN+ | L 21–48 | 22,293 | |
| October 25 | 2:30 p.m. | Ball State | ESPN+ | W 21–7 | 10,124 | |
| 6:00 p.m. | at Toledo | ESPN2 | L 3–42 | 22,128 | ||
| 6:00 p.m. | at UMass | ESPNU | W 45–3 | 6,155 | ||
| 6:00 p.m. | Western Michigan | ESPN2 | L 19–35 | 4,734 | ||
| 11:00 a.m. | Kent State | CBSSN | L 31–35 | 3,090 | ||
Game summaries
Holy Cross (FCS)
Holy Cross Crusaders (FCS) (0–0) at Northern Illinois Huskies (0–0) – Game summary
| Game information |
|---|
No scoring plays.
|
| Statistics | HC | NIU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 11 | 17 |
| Total yards | 218 | 289 |
| Rushing yards | 63 | 180 |
| Passing yards | 155 | 109 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 17–29–1 | 14–24–1 |
| Time of possession | 26:34 | 33:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Cross | Passing | Cal Swanson | 17/29, 155 yards, TD, INT |
| Rushing | Cal Swanson | 12 carries, 51 yards | |
| Receiving | Max Mosey | 6 receptions, 71 yards | |
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Josh Holst | 12/18, 101 yards, INT |
| Rushing | Chavon Wright | 11 carries, 77 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Dearee Rogers | 7 receptions, 73 yards |
at Maryland
Northern Illinois Huskies (1–0) at Maryland Terrapins (1–0) – Game summary
at SECU Stadium • College Park, Maryland
- Date:
- Game time: 7:30 p.m.
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 35,331
- Referee: Matthew Richards
- TV announcers (BTN): Joe Beninati (play-by-play), Matt Millen (color analyst) and Kylen Mills (sideline)
| Game information |
|---|
MD – Dorian Fleming 12-yard pass from Malik Washington (Sean O’Haire kick), 8:46. Terrapins 10–0. Drive: 6 plays, 47 yards, 2:51.
|
| Statistics | NIU | MD |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 13 | 20 |
| Plays–yards | 70–271 | 64–340 |
| Rushes–yards | 48–180 | 28–86 |
| Passing yards | 91 | 254 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 14–22–0 | 19–36–0 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 33:35 | 26:25 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Josh Holst | 14/22, 91 yards |
| Rushing | Chavon Wright | 27 carries, 90 yards | |
| Receiving | Gary Givens | 2 receptions, 26 yards | |
| Maryland | Passing | Malik Washington | 19/35, 254 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Nolan Ray | 11 carries, 50 yards | |
| Receiving | Dorian Fleming | 4 receptions, 70 yards, TD |
at Mississippi State
Northern Illinois Huskies (1–1) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (3–0) – Game summary
at Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi
- Date: September 20
- Game time: 3:15 PM CDT
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 90 °F (32 °C) • Wind: NW at 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h)
- Game attendance: 45,803
- Referee: Lee Hedrick
- TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Fozzy Whittaker (analyst) and Morgan Uber (sideline)
| Game information |
|---|
|
| Statistics | NIU | MSST |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 23 |
| Total yards | 267 | 452 |
| Rushing yards | 125 | 292 |
| Passing yards | 142 | 160 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 15–25–1 | 12–20–0 |
| Time of possession | 28:05 | 31:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Josh Holst | 14/23, 135 yards, TD, INT |
| Rushing | Chavon Wright | 13 carries, 47 yards | |
| Receiving | DeAree Rogers | 6 receptions, 84 yards, TD | |
| Mississippi State | Passing | Blake Shapen | 12/20, 160 yards, TD |
| Rushing | Fluff Bothwell | 17 carries, 101 yards | |
| Receiving | Anthony Evans III | 4 receptions, 80 yards |
San Diego State
San Diego State Aztecs (2–1) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (1–2) – Game summary
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois
- Date: September 27
- Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: Sunny, 84 °F (29 °C), wind E 9 mph (14 km/h)
- Game attendance: 13,512
- Referee: Chris La Mange
- TV announcers (ESPN+): Jason Ross Jr. (play-by-play) and Tyoka Jackson (analyst)
| Game information |
|---|
No scoring plays
|
| Statistics | SDSU | NIU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 19 | 10 |
| Plays–yards | 66–266 | 57–179 |
| Rushes–yards | 44–151 | 41–122 |
| Passing yards | 115 | 57 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 14–22–2 | 7–16–1 |
| Time of possession | 31:18 | 28:42 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego State | Passing | Jayden Denegal | 13/20, 110 yards, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Lucky Sutton | 17 carries, 88 yards | |
| Receiving | Jordan Napier | 6 receptions, 52 yards | |
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Josh Holst | 6/14, 49 yards |
| Rushing | Telly Johnson Jr. | 16 carries, 53 yards | |
| Receiving | DeAree Rogers | 5 receptions, 51 yards |
Miami (OH)
Miami RedHawks (1–3) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (1–3) – Game summary
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois
- Date: October 4
- Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: NE at 10 miles per hour (16 km/h)
- Game attendance: 13,827
- Referee: Rick Warne
- TV announcers (ESPN+): Jason Ross Jr. (play-by-play) and Tyoka Jackson (analyst)
| Game information |
|---|
|
| Statistics | M-OH | NIU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 22 | 11 |
| Total yards | 367 | 220 |
| Rushing yards | 197 | 114 |
| Passing yards | 170 | 106 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 14–26–0 | 13–28–1 |
| Time of possession | 39:06 | 20:54 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami (OH) | Passing | Dequan Finn | 14/26, 170 yards, TD |
| Rushing | Dequan Finn | 21 carries, 90 yards | |
| Receiving | Kam Perry | 3 receptions, 76 yards | |
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Brady Davidson | 13/28, 106 yards, TD, INT |
| Rushing | Lazaro Rogers | 9 carries, 98 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Dearee Rogers | 4 receptions, 40 yards |
at Eastern Michigan
Northern Illinois Huskies (1–4) vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles (1–5) – Game summary
at Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, Michigan
- Date: October 11
- Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
- TV announcers (ESPN+): Doug Sherman (play-by-play) and Barrett Brooks (analyst)
| Statistics | NIU | EMU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | ||
| Total yards | ||
| Rushing yards | ||
| Passing yards | ||
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | ||
| Time of possession |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving | |||
| Eastern Michigan | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving |
at Ohio
Northern Illinois Huskies (1–5) vs. Ohio Bobcats (3–3) – Game summary
at Peden Stadium • Athens, Ohio
- Date: October 18
- Game time: 3:30 p.m.
- TV announcers (ESPN+): Doug Sherman (play-by-play) and Je’Rod Cherry (analyst)
| Statistics | NIU | OHIO |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 15 | 27 |
| Total yards | 56–293 | 75–538 |
| Rushing yards | 26–132 | 52–333 |
| Passing yards | 161 | 205 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 21–30–0 | 17–23–1 |
| Time of possession | 24:10 | 35:50 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Josh Holst | 21/29, 161 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Telly Johnson Jr. | 11 rushes, 64 yards | |
| Receiving | DeAree Rogers | 7 receptions, 107 yards, 1 TD | |
| Ohio | Passing | Parker Navarro | 17/23, 205 yards, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Sieh Bangura | 22 rushes, 147 yards, 3 TD | |
| Receiving | Chase Hendricks | 10 receptions, 108 yards |
Ball State (Bronze Stalk Trophy)
Ball State Cardinals (3–4) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (1–6) – Game summary
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois
- Date: October 25
- Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind: NW at 9 miles per hour (14 km/h)
- Game attendance: 10,124
- Referee: Chris La Mange
- TV announcers (ESPN+): Jason Ross Jr. (play-by-play) and Forrest Conoly (analyst)
| Statistics | BALL | NIU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | ||
| Total yards | ||
| Rushing yards | ||
| Passing yards | ||
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | ||
| Time of possession |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving | |||
| Northern Illinois | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving |
at Toledo
Northern Illinois Huskies (2-6) vs. Toledo Rockets (4-4) – Game summary
at Glass Bowl • Toledo, Ohio
- Date:
- Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 52 °F (11 °C) • Wind: NW at 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
- Game attendance: 22,128
- Referee: Jeremy Valentine
- TV announcers (ESPN2): Jay Alter (play-by-play) and Rocky Boiman (analyst)
| Game information |
|---|
|
| Statistics | NIU | TOL |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 13 | 23 |
| Total yards | 203 | 443 |
| Rushing yards | 62 | 134 |
| Passing yards | 141 | 309 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 11–29–0 | 25–33–0 |
| Time of possession | 29:42 | 30:18 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Josh Holst | 5/13, 87 yards |
| Rushing | Chavon Wright | 11 carries, 21 yards | |
| Receiving | Rickey Taylor Jr. | 3 receptions, 69 yards | |
| Toledo | Passing | Tucker Gleason | 25/31, 309 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Chip Trayanum | 11 carries, 36 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Junior Vandeross III | 6 receptions, 97 yards, TD |
at UMass
Northern Illinois Huskies (2–7) vs. UMass Minutemen (0–9) – Game summary
at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, Massachusetts
- Date:
- Game time: 7:00 PM EST
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 38 °F (3 °C) • Wind: S at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
- Game attendance: 6,155
- Referee: Rich Edwards
- TV announcers (ESPNU): Cooper Boardman (play-by-play) and Craig Haubert (analyst)
| Game information |
|---|
|
| Statistics | NIU | MASS |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 22 | 17 |
| Total yards | 433 | 262 |
| Rushing yards | 318 | 65 |
| Passing yards | 115 | 197 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 6–8–0 | 25–42–0 |
| Time of possession | 33:41 | 26:19 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois | Passing | Jalen Macon | 3/4, 73 yards, TD |
| Rushing | Jalen Macon | 12 carries, 98 yards, 3 TD | |
| Receiving | Elijah Porter | 1 reception, 67 yards, TD | |
| UMass | Passing | Brandon Rose | 11/20, 101 yards |
| Rushing | AJ Hairston | 3 carries, 23 yards | |
| Receiving | Jacquon Gibson | 6 receptions, 64 yards |
Western Michigan
Western Michigan Broncos (6–4) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (3–7) – Game summary
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois
- Date:
- Game time: 6:00 PM CST
- TV announcers (ESPN2): Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Rene Ingoglia (analyst)
| Statistics | WMU | NIU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | ||
| Total yards | ||
| Rushing yards | ||
| Passing yards | ||
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | ||
| Time of possession |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Michigan | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving | |||
| Northern Illinois | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving |
Kent State
Kent State Golden Flashes (4-7) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (3-8) – Game summary
at Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, Illinois
| Statistics | KENT | NIU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | ||
| Total yards | ||
| Rushing yards | ||
| Passing yards | ||
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | ||
| Time of possession |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving | |||
| Northern Illinois | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving |
