2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football team


The 2019 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies were led by first-year head coach Thomas Hammock and played their home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois. They competed in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.

Previous season

The Huskies finished the 2018 season 8–6, 6–2 to win the West Division. In the MAC Championship game, they defeated Buffalo. The received a bid to the Boca Raton Bowl where they lost to UAB.
On January 11, 2019, head coach Rod Carey accepted the head coach position at Temple. On January 18, the school hired NIU alum and Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Thomas Hammock as the new head coach. Hammock was a star running back for the Huskies from 1999 to 2002.
On January 25, Hammock announced the hiring of former South Dakota State offensive coordinator Eric Eidsness to the same position. On February 11, Derrick Jackson was announced as the new defensive coordinator. Jackson had spent the previous two seasons as cornerbacks coach and defensive recruiting coordinator at Purdue.

Preseason

MAC media poll

The MAC released their preseason media poll on July 23, 2019, with the Huskies predicted to finish in third place in the West Division.
West Division

MAC Championship Game

Schedule

Northern Illinois' 2019 schedule will begin on August 31 with a non-conference home game against Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They will then play three consecutive non-conference road games against Utah of the Pac-12 Conference, Nebraska of the Big Ten Conference, and, after a bye week, Vanderbilt of the Southeastern Conference. In Mid-American Conference play, the Huskies will play home games against Ball State, Akron, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan; and road games against Ohio, Miami, Central Michigan, and Toledo. They will not play East Division members Bowling Green, Buffalo, or Kent State as part of the regular season.

Personnel

Coaching staff

NIU coaching staff as of December 1, 2018.

Illinois State

at Utah

at Nebraska

at Vanderbilt

Ball State

at Ohio

at Miami (OH)

Akron

at Central Michigan

at Toledo

Eastern Michigan

Western Michigan