The Toledo Rockets are a perfect 3-0 at home so far this season and will look to keep that streak in tact when the Northern Illinois Huskies travel to the Glass Bowl to take on their rivals this Saturday afternoon. And, while the Rockets might not have as much beef with NIU as they do with Bowling Green, Toledo will still be amped up for this one and look to keep their lead in the MAC West.
Before 2009 this series was a very one sided affair, with Toledo winning 29 of the first 37 games since the two schools began competing in 1967. However, since the start of 2010, the Huskies have actually dominated the series, winning nine of the last 13 meetings and cutting into the massive Rocket lead.
This weekend’s match up is between teams trending in different directions. The Huskies started the season with a narrow win but have lost their last three contests while Toledo started with narrow loss but have since won their previous three games.
The Huskies are caught between a Rocky and a hard place, as they were forced to bench their starting quarterback, Rocky Lombardi, after just one quarter against Tulsa last week. Lombardi has struggled this season with his accuracy (completing just 51% of his throws) and holding on to the football – he fumbled the ball into the endzone, untouched, for a safety last weekend that led to his benching. He is 51-100 on the year with 566 yards and just one touchdown to four interceptions.
His replacements, Ethan Hampton and, at times last weekend, Justin Lynch, have done an alright job but the offense has not been able to get much going. Hampton is now 19-31 for 147 yards and has two TDs to two interceptions while Lynch is 1-1 for seven yards and a score but has made a big impact on the ground, rushing for 96 yards and another TD on 11 carries.
Kacper Rutkiewicz leads the Huskies receiving corp, with 14 receptions for 204 yards and a score. Four players are tied in second place with eight grabs – tight end Chris Carter (118 yards, TD), Davis Patterson (77 yards), Trayvon Rudolph (48 yards, TD), and Gavin Williams (40 yards). And pair of players – Jalen Johnson and Grayson Barnes – have snagged seven passes for 52 and 83 yards, respectively.
NIU’s normally formidable run game has also been lacking this season, with the Huskies netting just 2.9 yards per carry and averaging just 105.5 yards per game. Antario Brown has rushed 64 times for 184 yards and a single TD (2.9 yards per carry), while Gavin Williams has carried it 25 times for 101 yards. But Lynch has been their best player on the ground, as he is netting 8.7 yards per carry and is closing in on the century mark for the season.
Defensively the team has shown a vast improvement from last season but has been put in bad situations and been on the field for long stretches that they have given up points but not nearly as many yards.
Teams are scoring 23.8 points per game against NIU which is down from 32.8 points per game a year ago. The Huskies are sitting at 26th in the NCAA, holding opponents to just 298.2 yard per game – which is another big improvement, as NIU gave up 395.7 yards per game in 2022.
Opponents are converting just 37% of their third downs against this defense, which has really helped the Huskies stay in most games. Last season the Huskies were one of the worst teams in the NCAA, allowing conversions on 44.2% of third down tries.
Raishein Thomas has been a beast up front for NIU. He leads the team in tackles, with 26, has 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries, and a pass break up. Fellow d-lineman, George Gumbs, has also played well, wracking up a team-leading 2.5 sacks, 3.5 TFL, a forced fumble, and a QBH to go along with his 13 total tackles.
In the secondary, NIU has a trio of solid players in Nate Valcarcel, Jordan Hansen, and Devin Lafayette. They are the team’s second, third, and fourth leading tacklers with 19, 18, and 17 stops respectively. They each have at least one TFL and Valcarcel has a pick while Lafayette has forced a fumble and Hansen has a sack on the season.
