San Diego State football opponent preview: Northern Illinois

Current, future Mountain West members to square off

Northern Illinois Huskies head coach Thomas Hammock. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

This will be more than just a garden-variety intersectional matchup. While it’s the first game in a home-and-home series that will see the Huskies make a trip to San Diego in 2031, it’s also an interesting meeting between current and future members of the Mountain West Conference. 

After this season, San Diego State is heading to the new-look Pac-12, along with current MW foes Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and Utah State. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois will be one of the new teams added by the MW to fill the void. 

The Aztecs are 6-0 in a series that dates to 1967 and have outscored the Huskies 228-96, including a 34-28 win in San Diego in their most recent meeting in 2017. 

The Huskies went 8-5 last year, including a shocking 16-14 upset at Notre Dame in the second game of the season. They were 4-4 to finish sixth in the MAC, the league noted for playing Tuesday and Wednesday night games on the ESPN family of networks. They beat Fresno State 28-20 in two overtimes in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise.

Game 4: San Diego State at Northern Illinois

Date: Saturday, Sept. 27

Kickoff time: TBA

Location: DeKalb, Ill.

Streaming: TBA

Northern Illinois offense preview

Beating Notre Dame came at a high cost to the Huskies. Pretty much the entire team entered the transfer portal, so it could be a rough final go-round in the MAC.

Then again, if the Huskies could win at South Bend, maybe coach Thomas Hammock can fashion a roster that will be competitive in their final season in the MAC.

The Huskies ran the ball last year and are expected to run it again this year. Telly Johnson returns after rushing for 480 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman.

Presumed starting quarterback Josh Holst passed for 593 yards and two touchdowns and also showed promise as a dual-threat QB by running for 230 yards.

How far the Huskies go will depend on their O-line, and they’ll have to substantially rebuild there, as well. 

Northern Illinois defense preview

The Huskies finished fourth in overall defense by holding opponents to 284.6 yards per game and 14th in scoring defense at 18.54 points. And, of course, many of their key players left via the portal.

The Huskies turned to the portal to fill in the gaps, and to build around the few returning players, including defensive lineman Roy Williams. He had a robust 38 tackles, as well as 6 ½ sacks, good for second on the team. 

Cornerback Jacob Finley had 38 tackles and one interception, and linebacker Quinton Urwiler had 32 tackles.