December 17, 2023
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NIU to play Arkansas State in Camellia Bowl

By Eddie Carifio
Northern Illinois' Rocky Lombardi scrambles through the Western Michigan defense near the goal line to set up a touchdown during their game Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Huskie Stadium at NIU in DeKalb.

Northern Illinois' Rocky Lombardi scrambles through the Western Michigan defense near the goal line to set up a touchdown during a mid-November game in DeKalb. (Mark Busch)

The last time NIU won a bowl game, it was against Arkansas State after the 2011 season.

This year, the Huskies will get another shot at the Red Wolves. The game will be Dec. 23 in Montgomery, Alabama.

“We are certainly excited about the opportunity to play in the Camellia Bowl against a quality Sun Belt opponent in Arkansas State,” said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock, who will complete his fifth season at NIU in the bowl game. “We’re looking forward to a very competitive football game and extended time with this team. Every bowl experience is unique and different; it’s a great reward for the way you played throughout the season and an excellent way to send your seniors out the right way. We have the opportunity to finish the season with a championship.”

Arkansas State and NIU played in the GoDaddy.com Bowl after the 2011 season, with the Huskies winning 38-20. It was the last time the Huskies won a bowl game.

NIU has been to seven bowl games since. This will be the second bowl game under Hammock.

The Huskies became bowl eligible in the last game of the regular season, winning 37-27 against a Kent State team that finished 1-11 and without a win against an FBS team. The Huskies led by three points, but the Golden Flashes had the ball late. NIU got a defensive touchdown on the last play of the game.

Although it was technically not a one-score game, the Huskies played in multiple one-score games this year. They were 2-5 in such games.

It was the second straight year they went 2-5 in one-score games after going 7-3 in such games en route to winning a Mid-American Conference title in 2021. Their last bowl game was also a one-score game, a 47-41 loss to Coastal Carolina in the 2021 Cure Bowl in which a controversial officiating call cost the Huskies a shot at a tying play.

The Huskies did have success this year against bowl-bound teams. They were 3-1 against teams that qualified for a bowl, the only loss a two-point defeat at Toledo. NIU beat Boston College, Ohio and Eastern Michigan.

After beating BC to start the year, the Huskies dropped four straight games, including to FCS Southern Illinois. They won their next three but fell to 4-6 after losses to Central Michigan and Ball State, both of which finished with losing records. NIU won its last two games to qualify for a bowl.

The Huskies have had three starters announce they are entering the transfer portal since the season ended. Technically, Devin Lafayette, CJ Brown and Trayvon Rudolph are eligible to play in the bowl game, but traditionally players in the portal don’t play in their soon-to-be-former team’s bowl game.

The Huskies (6-6, 4-4 MAC) will play in a bowl game for the 20th time in school history and for the 15th time as an FBS team, with 14 of those 15 appearances since 2004.

Arkansas State is 6-6 on the season and finished 4-4 in the Sun Belt Conference to tie for second place in the West Division. The Red Wolves, who are making their first bowl appearance since 2019 and 18th all-time, feature a true freshman quarterback in Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Jaylen Raynor. ASU previously played in the Camellia Bowl in 2017 and in 2019.

NIU leads the all-time series between the teams 7-1, including three games played as members of the Big West Conference from 1993 to ‘95.