The Huskies are seeking their third straight victory, as they pulled out two straight wins to close the regular season and reach bowl eligibility. Arkansas State, meanwhile. is looking to bounce back after closing the regular season with a 35-21 loss at Marshall. A-State and Northern Illinois are . . .
The Camellia Bowl will mark the ninth all-time meeting between A-State and NIU, with the Huskies holding a 7-1 advantage in the series. The two sides last met on Jan. 8, 2012 in the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Ala., with NIU taking a 38-20 decision.
-- A- State is coached by Butch Jones. Among his 11 years of head-coaching experience are pervious stops at Tennessee, Cincinnati and Central Michigan. He was also an assistant for three years at Alabama.
-- The Red Wolfes' longest winning streak was three games during mid-to-late September. They never lost more than two straight.
-- A-State's most recent outing was a 35-21 loss to Marshall back on Nov. 25. The Thundering Herd jumped out to a 28-0 lead and led 28-7 at intermission. Although Arkansas State allowed just one Marshall second half score. the Red Wolves could not catch MU.
-- Marshall outgained A-State 493-305 but had just three more first downs.
-- Freshman Jaylen Raynor completed 19 of 38 passes, good for 263 yards with one TD and one interception.
-- Four players had at least three receptions. Corey Rucker led the way with five catches totaling 87 yards.
-- Marshall held A-State to just 42 yards rushing as the Red Wolves averaged just 1.4 ypc.
-- Thurman Geathers ranks fourth among Sun Belt Conference defensive players with 42 quarterback pressures. A-State is 5-0 this season when getting 14 or more pressures (sacks, quarterback hits or quarterback hurries) in a game.
-- The Red Wolves have used 40 different starters this season, 19 on offense and 21 on defense.
-- 9 Of the 86 total players to appear in a game for A-State this season, 70.9 percent (61 of 86) are in their first or second year in the program. 0 A-State is among 10 teams nationally -- the only Group of Five program -- with five or more true freshmen to play in every game.
-- The Red Wolves opened the season with a 73-0 setback at Oklahoma, but took a 77-31 win over Texas State in the next to last game of the regular season. A-State became the first team since 2008 to score and allow 70 or more points against and FBS opponent. A-State earned the 77-31 victory over Texas State without a passing touchdown, but they also outscored the Bobcats 28-7 without the offense stepping on the field for a 17-minute stretch. In that 17:01 stretch, A-State scored three defensive touchdowns and returned a kickoff for a score.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (6-6, 5-3 MAC)
-- The Huskies are coming off a 37-27 win over Kent State Nov. 25.
After building up 10-0 first quarter lead, the Huskies surrendered 17 straight points before intermission. Kent State led 27-24 until QB Rocky Lombardy put the Huskies in front with a 1-yard TD run at 4:45 of the final stanza. A fumble recovery as time expired expanded the final margin to 10 points.
-- Lombardi completed 9 of 18 passes totaling 183 yards with one tD. He also ran nine times for 19 yards and two scores.
-- Gavin Williams led a robust Huskie ground game which averaged 6.1 ypc and totaled 243 yards. Williams recorded 17 carries for 103 tota yards (6.1 ypc). Antario Brown logged 11 rushes for 89 yards (8.1 ypc).
-- Led by first team selections Nolan Potter (OT) and Antario Brown (RB), five Huskies were named to the 2023 All-MAC team by league head coaches. James Ester (DT) and JaVaughn Byrd (CB) both earned second team selections, while wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph made the third team.
-- The Huskie defense has made one of the most significant turnarounds in the nation, holding seven opponents to two touchdowns or less, including a 24-0 shutout of Western Michigan.
-- NIU ranks sixth nationally in fewest passing yards allowed (164.6/game), 11th in pass efficiency defense (114.35) and 21st in total defense (316.9 yards/game), just one season removed - and with seven returning starters on defense - from its 2022 final rankings of 100th, 125th and 79th, respectively.
-- Senior quarterback Rocky Lombardi wraps up a seven-year collegiate career in Montgomery after four years at Michigan State and three with the Huskies. Lombardi has started 29 games under center for NIU and will leave as one of the Top 10 passers in school history.
-- Wide receiver and kick returner Trayvon Rudolph added wildcat quarterback duties in 2023. At Central Michigan, Rudolph caught a season-high eight passes for 170 yards with a 72-yard touchdown and returned a pair of kickoffs for 39 yards. A week later versus Ball State, he gained a season high 69 yards rushing on three carries with a 35-yard rushing TD vards while compiling 149 all-purpose yards.
-- With 68 stops on the season, defensive end Ray Thomas leads all FBS linemen in total tackles and is the only defensive lineman to lead his team in tackles.