To say that both the Akron Zips and Northern Illinois Huskies are in desperate need of victory is an understatement. UA is off to its worst start since 2010 after being shut out last Saturday at home by Buffalo 21-0. NIU, meanwhile, has lost five of its last six games.
One of those . . .
THE SERIES: Saturday’s game is the 19th lifetime meeting, with NIU holding a 10-5 edge. The Huskies have won the last five matchups, including last year’s encounter at InfoCision Stadium, 36-26.
UA’s has beaten NIU in DeKalb in MAC play only once, that being in 1996 24-17. The Zips last win in the series was the 2005 MAC Championship Game in Detroit, 31-30
at
Northern Illinois Huskies (2-5, 1-2 MAC)
Saturday October 26 – 3:30 p.m. ET
Huskie Stadium – DeKalb, Illinois
ESPN3
ABOUT AKRON
>> The Zips saw their record fall to 0-6 for the first time since 2010 when they were shutout last Saturday by the Buffalo Bulls 21-0
>> UA was blanked for the first time since the start of the 2017 at Penn State (52-0). It was the first both at home and in a MAC game since October 15, 2016 by Western Michigan, 41-0
>> Redshirt freshman QB Zach Gibson made his first collegiate start, completing 22-of-39 passes for 193 yards. He was sacked four times and threw an interception.
>> On the afternoon, the Zips offense gained a season low 196 yards.
>> Freshman WR Julian Hicks led receivers with nine catches for 51 yards.
>> The UA defense allowed the Bulls only 254 yards -- a season low.
>> Senior LB John Lako registered 11 total tackles (six solo) and leads the MAC with 79 total stops (36 solo)
>> UA has lost 11 straight overall and five in Mid-American Conference play dating back to last season.
ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS
>> The Huskies were in action last Saturday at Miami, losing to the Redhawks 27-24. The RedHawks scored 14 points in the third quarter to take the lead for good. NIU scored a touchdown with 2:44 remaining but fell short by the three point margin.
>> NIU opened the season with a home win over FCS member Illinois State. Since then, it has lost five of six games. The lone victory was on the road at Ohio, defeating the Bobcats for the second consecutive season, this time by a 39-36 count, with the winning field goal coming on the game’s final play.
>> The Huskies are led by first year head coach Thomas Hammock, who returned to his alma mater after Ron Carey decided to take the head coaching position at Temple.
>> Hammock spent the last five seasons with the NFL Baltimore Ravens.
>> NIU is averaging 21.4 points and 382.4 yards of total offense per game. The Huskies have used two quarterbacks so far in 2019 -- Marcus Childers and senior transfer Ross Bowers from Cal-Berkeley. Bowers started against MU and has completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 1,726 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions to date. He left the MU game, however, after getting shaken up on a run.
>> The running game is headed by Tre Harbison, who has gained 546 yards and has scored five touchdowns. Cole Tucker leads the receivers with 29 catches for 408 yards and a score.
>> The defense is allowing 29 points and 370.6 yards per contest. Senior DB Mykelti Williamson has 52 total tackles (26 solo) with a pass breakup and a forced fumble.