After 50 games, Jacob Waskow to make first NIU start, plus other things to watch against Central Michigan

DeKALB – NIU can guarantee itself a second straight winning season Saturday with a victory over Central Michigan.

The Huskies have dropped four of their last games five against Central Michigan (4-7, 2-5), last winning 39-38 on the road in 2021. Their last home win against the Chippewas was a 24-16 decision in 2018. They’ve also dropped eight of their last 10 to CMU.

Kickoff against the Chippewas is 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Huskie Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Here are three storylines to watch for the Huskies.

Jacob Waskow to make first career start

During his press conference on Monday, Hammock was emotional when talking about his senior class. It was the first class he fully recruited, and the 30 seniors the team will honor before Saturday’s game is a school record. Twenty of those players have spent their entire career at NIU.

Hammock told the story of how the defensive line came to him and asked that Jacob Waskow – a senior walk-on from Canton who earned a scholarship – start at defensive tackle. Waskow has played 50 games in his career, almost entirely on special teams. He’s never started and has six tackles.

“As a coach and somebody that is trying to help young people develop, for them to want Jacob Waskow to start,” Hammock said. “We’ve got seniors on the D-line, and what Jacob Waskow has meant to this program, he’s just been a worker. No one knows who Jacob Waskow is. He just worked here and has been a solid performer for us. ... For those guys to want him to start on senior day, it just shows you the type of guys we have in the program.”

Of the 30 seniors, only 10 have played in 50 or more games. The nine other than Waskow have all made at least 14 starts.

Devonte O’Malley, a senior who leads the team with eight sacks and will be starting alongside Waskow, said it makes a lot of sense to let Waskow start.

“Jacob literally does everything right,” Hammock said. “Never had problems outside the facility. He’s great in the classroom. He’s a walk-on. Played his role as a special teams players. Just an all-around great guy. He definitely deserves his moment.”

And it goes beyond the defensive linemen who notice. Defensive back Jashon Prophete said guys like Waskow are pivotal in building the program’s culture.

“His work goes unnoticed, but like Devonte said, he played his role,” Prophete said. “He’s never the guy complaining. He’s Johnny-on-the-spot whenever you need him. He’s there, he’s ready to execute. So I think he deserves the opportunity this weekend.”

Run defense surging since Western Michigan game

The NIU run defense has been outstanding all year, but has really come on since allowing 170 yards against Ball State and 211 yards against Western Michigan in back-to-back weeks. The Huskies hadn’t allowed more than 133 in a game before that stretch and have allowed 137 total in the two games since.

“Our defense had pride, right? Western Michigan ran the ball pretty well on us, and I let them know about it,” Hammock said. “They obviously came back to the practice field and put a lot of work in and play with cleaner technique. In the Western Michigan game we had some guys trying to do some things a little extra than what they normally need to do.”

NIU enters the game 23rd nationally and second in the MAC, allowing 111.7 yards per game. They are eighth nationally and first in the MAC with 288 total yards per game. They’re in the top 15 nationally in nine categories, six of which are defensive.

Hammock: Improved offense starts at quarterback

Quarterback Ethan Hampton is coming off one of his toughest games, going 10 for 25 with an interception for 75 yards in a 20-9 loss at Miami (Ohio).

Hammock said Hampton will start against the Chippewas, and he has shown he can manage a lethal offense. Against Western Michigan, he was 13 of 16 with two touchdowns and 156 yards, almost all in the first half. He led a two-minute drive at the end of the first half that broke a 14-14 tie in an eventual 41-28 win.

“No. 1, we have to play better at the quarterback position,” Hammock said. “I think that needs to be improved. And we have to improve turnovers, and a lot of our turnovers come from the quarterback position. Not to throw anybody under the bus, that’s not the point, but when you look at it, we need that person to play at a high level. And they played at high level in spurts. But we need to consistently play at a high level.

“You look at the Western Michigan game, the game Ethan had, he was very efficient, managed the game, made explosive plays. That’s what we need on Saturday.”