After 50 games, Jacob Waskow will make his first start at NIU, and there are other things to keep an eye on against Central Michigan – Shaw Local

DeKALB – NIU can secure a second straight win of the season with a win over Central Michigan on Saturday.

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

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

Jacob Waskow is starting his career for the first time

During his press conference on Monday, Hammock was emotional while talking about his senior year. 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 these players have spent their entire careers at NIU.

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

“As a coach and as someone who tries to help young people develop, they want Jacob Waskow to start,” Hammock said. “We have seniors on the D-line, and what Jacob Waskow means to this program is that he was just a worker. Nobody knows who Jacob Waskow is. He just worked here and was a solid performer for us. … The fact that people want him to start on senior day just shows the type of people 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 start alongside Waskow, said it made a lot of sense to have Waskow start.

“Jacob literally does everything right,” Hammock said. “Never had any problems outside of the facility. He is great in the classroom. He is a walker. Played his role as a special teams player. Just an all around great guy. He definitely deserves his moment.”

And it goes beyond defenders noticing. Defense attorney Jashon Prophete said people like Waskow play a critical role in building the program’s culture.

“His work goes unnoticed, but like Devonte said, he played his part,” Prophete said. “He’s never the type to complain. He’s the Johnny there whenever you need him. He is there, he is ready for execution. That’s why I think he deserves the chance this weekend.”

Run defense on the rise since the Western Michigan game

NIU’s run defense has been outstanding all year, but has really come into its own since allowing 170 yards against Ball State and 211 yards against Western Michigan in consecutive weeks. The Huskies had not allowed more than 133 in a game before that period and have allowed a total of 137 in the two games since.

“Our defense was proud, right? Western Michigan played pretty well to us and I let them know about it,” Hammock said. “They obviously got back on the practice field, put in a lot of work and played with cleaner technique. In the game against Western Michigan, some players tried to do some things a little more than they would normally have to do.”

NIU enters the game ranked 23rd nationally and second in the MAC, allowing 111.7 yards per game. Their 288 total yards per game rank eighth nationally and first in the MAC. They rank in the top 15 nationally in nine categories, six of them defensive.

Hammock: Improved offensive starts at quarterback

Quarterback Ethan Hampton is coming off one of his toughest games, going 10 for 25 with one 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 handle a lethal offense. Against Western Michigan, he was 13 of 16 with two touchdowns and 156 yards, almost all in the first half. He built a two-minute lead at the end of the first half that turned a 14-14 tie into a 41-28 victory.

“NO. 1, we need to play better at the quarterback position,” Hammock said. “I think that needs to be improved. And we need to improve turnovers, and a lot of our turnovers come from the quarterback position. It’s not about to put pressure on someone, but when you look at it, we need that person to play at a high level. And they played at a high level at times. But we need to play at a high level consistently.

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