After a historic win over fifth-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana Saturday, the Northern Illinois University Huskies earned a No. 25 ranking in Sunday’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll and on Monday were named the Cheez-It National Team of the Week as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.
The Huskies are ranked for the first time in 11 seasons, since December 8, 2013 when the Huskies were 24th in the AP Poll and 23rd in the Coaches Poll. NIU spent 11 consecutive weeks in at least one of the polls that season. NIU earned 114 points, just two points behind No. 24 Boston College.
NIU earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week honor from the FWAA for the second time with the last such honor on September 16, 2017 following a 21-17 win at Nebraska. The NIU Football team will receive a custom Cheez-It “care package” along with a hand-crafted game ball.
“We’re pleased to be acknowledged for our hard work to this point and for our record,” said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. “It’s great for our fans, for the university and our athletic department. We understand there is a lot of season left, and we are excited to get back to work and get ready to open MAC play against Buffalo on September 21st.”
NIU’s 16-14 win over Notre Dame was the Huskies’ first win over an opponent ranked in the Top Five of a national poll and its seventh over a Top 25 opponent. The Huskies also became the first Mid-American Conference program to defeat a Top Five ranked team.
Kicker Kanon Woodill made a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds to play and Cade Haberman blocked Notre Dame’s last second field goal attempt to give NIU the victory. Antario Brown scored on an 83-yard pass reception from Ethan Hampton en route to his first career 100-yard receiving game and rushed for 99 yards on 20 carries to account for 225 all-purpose yards.
The Huskies defense held Notre Dame to 286 yards, and intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard twice, including Amariyun Knighten’s fourth quarter INT with 5:55 to play that set up the game-winning drive.
The Huskies’ next game is on Saturday, September 21 when NIU opens league play at home versus Buffalo. In celebration of the 19th Boneyard Win in NIU history over Notre Dame, West Side reserved tickets for the Buffalo game are on sale for $19 for a limited time by using the promo code BONEYARD19. In addition, get East Side General Admission tickets for just $12.50 each.
To order tickets for any of NIU’s remaining games anytime, go to NIUHuskies.com/tickets or call 815-753-PACK (7225).