The Broncos will look to remain unbeaten in MAC play when they host the struggling Huskies on Wednesday night
In a battle of teams going the opposite direction, the Western Michigan Broncos (5-3, 4-0 MAC) will host the Northern Illinois Huskies (4-4, 1-3 MAC) to open their slate of weeknight #MACtion games on Wednesday night.
The Broncos have won five of their last six games, including four straight, and sit atop the MAC as the only undefeated team in conference play. NIU, meanwhile, has trended downward. After their historic upset of Notre Dame, the Huskies have lost four of their last six gams and dropped two straight, both to their main rivals.
This will be the 50th all-time meeting between the two squads. The Broncos hold a 27-22 lead in the series and are 15-9 when playing at home. However, the Huskies have gone 11-4 in the last 15 meetings.
Game Notes
- Time and date: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Network: ESPN2
- Gambling considerations: WMU (-1.5), with an over/under of 52.5.
- All-time series: WMU leads the all-time series, 27-22, but the Huskies have won the previous two meetings.
- Last meeting: NIU 24, WMU 0 on November 14, 2023
Getting to Know the Huskies
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NIU has used their defense to keep themselves in every game this season but their offense has struggled to find points since their opening week win against Western Illinois. Every game against an FBS opponents has been a one-score game and all four of their losses were by a combined 19 points.
Their usually stout defense did struggle in their last game against Ball State. NIU entered the BSU game as the best team in the NCAA on third down defense, holding teams to 20.5%…however, the Cardinals were able to abuse the Huskies and convert on 10 of their 18 tries. They also had 392 yards, a season high against the Northern defense, and held on to the ball for nearly 35 minutes…the first time this season NIU lost the time of possession battle.
However, even with the off-game last time out, NIU still has the sixth best defense in the FBS, allowing a mere 274.9 yards per game, and the third best defense on third down – with opponents converting on just 25.7% of the time. Their rush defense ranks 24th, giving up just 110.1 yards per game, and their pass defense is even better, ranking tenth in the nation, allowing just 164.8 yards per game in through the air.
NIU has been able to generate pressure on teams, with four Huskies having four or more sacks and five having four or more tackles for loss. Skyler Gill-Howard and Devonte O’Malley lead the way, with both having a team-high six TFL while SGH has four sacks to O’Malley’s 4.5 sacks. The 4.5 sacks is tied for first on the team with two others – Roy Williams and Nevaeh Sanders.
On offense, the Huskies have been able to move the ball – averaging 397.1 yards per game – but that has not translated into points, as they’re managing just 23.4 points per game.
Quarterback Ethan Hampton split time with Josh Holst last week. Hampton, on the season, has 1100 yards and nine touchdowns on 93-160 (58.1%) passes. He has been sacked six times and has thrown five interceptions and fumbled a handful of times as well. Holst, in relief, is more of a dual-threat quarterback and is 41-73 passing (56.2%) with 380 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. On the ground he has run it 30 times for 150 yards and has a TD, all of which are third on the team.
Cam Thompson has become the go-to receiver, leading the team in receptions (25), yards (372), and touchdowns (3). Trayvon Rudolph and tight end Grayson Barnes have also been big targets for the Huskie quarterbacks. Rudolph has 19 grabs for 201 yards while Barnes has 20 receptions and 191 yards with each player having a touchdown catch.
On the ground, Antario Brown and Gavin Williams have been solid for Northern. The duo has combined for over 1000 yards, with Brown netting 516 to Williams’ 488. They each are averaging 4.6 yards per carry while Brown has four TDs and Williams has one.
Getting to Know the Broncos
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Western Michigan has won five of their last six games, including four straight against their MAC foes. In those five wins, WMU has averaged 47.6 points per game and, for the season, they’ve averaged 37.8 points per game which is 18th best in the FBS.
Their 209.0 rushing yards per game ranks 19th best in the NCAA and is actually a few yards better than the Huskies’ 205.9 yards per game on the ground. Their 199.9 passing yards per game is ranked on the lower side, coming in at 92nd in the nation.
The Broncos are one of 13 schools, and the only team in the MAC, to have three players with more than 300 rushing yards and, of those 13 teams, only three schools have done it with only halfbacks (no quarterbacks) – WMU, Iowa State, and UConn.
Jaden Nixon leads the conference with 752 yards on just 104 carries. His average of 7.2 yards per rush is eighth in the nation (min. 50 attempts) and his ten touchdowns leads the MAC. Zahir Abdus-Salaam and Jalen Buckley are also very dangerous. Abdus-Salaam has 379 yards and two scores on his 73 carries while Buckley has 351 yards and four TDs on his 58 rushes.
When they don’t run the ball, quarterback Hayden Wolfe has been real solid. He’s completing 68.8% of his throws and has 1586 yards and 15 touchdowns to just three interceptions and eleven sacks.
Tight end Blake Bosma leads the team in all three major categories, with 30 catches, 329 yards, and six touchdowns. But wideouts Anthony Sambucci and Kenneth Womack are also big targets with Sambucci netting 319 yards and two scores on 25 grabs and Womack having 296 yards and a TD on his 22 catches.
Defensively, WMU has struggled some this season, with their opponents averaging 33.8 points per game (117th in the NCAA) and gaining 430.6 yards per game (also 117th in the NCAA). They are ranked 100th in rushing defense, allowing 173.1 yards per game, and 113th in passing defense, giving up 257.5 yards per game.
Safety Tate Hallock has been a ball-hawk for Western, having three of the Broncos’ five interceptions on the season and being second on the team in tackles, with 49 stops. He also has 4.5 TFL, three pass break ups, and forced a fumble.
Up front Mason Nelson and Corey Walker have been solid as well. Walker has 21 total tackles and leads the team with 3.5 sacks. He also has 3.5 TFL, a pass break up, a QB hurry, and blocked a kick. Nelson has a team-leading 7.5 tackles for loss in addition to his 18 total tackles, two sacks, QBH, and forced fumble.
Prediction
This game will most likely be won by which quarterback can make more plays. I would expect a run-heavy game but, as both teams have near-even rushing stats, it’ll most likely come down to QB play, and the edge goes to WMU – even with the Huskies having a better overall defense.
If you’ve watched NIU play this season, you know that defense will play well and keep it a one-score game…again. The Huskies are great at making sure they play to their opponent’s level and will keep things even. However, with a worse offense and being on the road…the Broncos do get the edge.
NIU – 21
WMU – 27