Notre Dame football schedule deep dive: Week 2 tilt against Northern Illinois

Let’s say Notre Dame football defeats Texas A&M in Week 1. What are the chances for a trap game when they host Northern Illinois?

Thomas Hammock’s Huskies went 7-6 last year, capping off the season with a win in the Camellia Bowl over Arkansas State. NIU finished 2nd in the MAC West behind Toledo, and this year returns a core of 32 seniors. Nine starters return on each side of the ball.

Highlighting the returners is 2023 All-MAC First Team runningback Antario Brown for his senior season. Brown ranked 15th nationally in rushing last season with 1,296 yards and is looking primed for another strong campaign in 2024.

The big story in preseason camp for the Huskies: Quarterback. Rocky Lombardi held the starting role for the past three seasons. With Lombardi off to the UFL, Hammock has some thinking to do. There are five quarterbacks on the roster, three juniors, that are fighting to hear their number called in Week 1.

Notre Dame football hoping to avoid a trap game

The 2024 MAC Football Coaches Preseason Poll places NIU in third place, tied with Bowling Green with 92 points apiece. Non-conference games with Notre Dame and NC State will test the Huskies before gearing up for a conference schedule that includes all three of the other top Preseason MAC teams (Miami (OH), Toledo, Bowling Green).

Hammock has done a fine job in his five years at the helm. When the 2020 season saw the Huskies go 0-6 (a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic), he came back the next season to win the MAC Championship. In 2022, NIU went 3-9. Last year, Hammock won his first bowl game. The trend suggests NIU is due for a down year, but a large core of upperclassmen returning could break that trend.

NIU has a chance to make noise in the MAC in 2024. Defeating Notre Dame football in Week 2, however, will be a tall task.