NC State football scouting report: Northern Illinois

By Ethan McDowell

NC State will host Northern Illinois this weekend in a clash between head coach Dave Doeren’s current and former teams. The Huskies have a clear, defined identity that has remained consistent since the head coach’s tenure there and long before that era as well.

It’s a program that does less with more. Northern Illinois is a physical, run-heavy team that will try to punch the Pack in the mouth. NC State gave up over 500 rushing yards combined against Clemson and Tennessee, and the Huskies will certainly test the program on the ground.

The Mid-American Conference school, led by head coach Thomas Hammock, upset Notre Dame in South Bend earlier this year, defeating the Irish 16-14 in a defensive battle that ended with a blocked field goal for the Huskies in the final minute. Northern Illinois lost a conference game to Buffalo last week, but the Pack’s Week 5 opponent clearly showed it has what it takes to knock off a Power Four school.

5 Northern Illinois players to watch

1) Senior running back Antario Brown

Brown is Northern Illinois’ top playmaker. He leads the team in rushing and receiving this season, and the senior is the clear focus of the Huskies’ offense. To stop the MAC program, NC State must slow down the running back. Coming off a 1,296-yard season in 2023, Brown racked up 241 rushing yards across his first 3 games this fall.

Against Notre Dame, he had 20 carries for 99 yards, while also catching 2 passes for 126 and a touchdown. Northern Illinois uses his explosive skill set at 5-10, 219 pounds in the passing game often. He’s tied for second on the team with 8 targets. Brown forced 16 missed tackles over the past 2 weeks. Buffalo held him to 73 yards on 24 carries, but he did score twice. He’s the engine of this offense.

2) Senior cornerback JaVaughn Byrd

Byrd was a first-team preseason All-MAC pick by Athlon Sports, and he’s living up to those expectations so far this season. His numbers do not jump off the screen, but that’s because teams are clearly avoiding him. Opposing quarterbacks have thrown at him 5 times, resulting in 2 receptions for 12 yards.

He plays nearly all of his snaps on the outside, so expect the 6-foot defensive back to match up against the Wolfpack outside X and Z receivers. Byrd has recorded 11 pass breakups and 3 interceptions during his four-year career at Northern Illinois.

3) Senior tight end Grayson Barnes

Barnes is Northern Illinois’ most-targeted receiver through three games this year. The 6-5, 225-pound former junior college pass catcher caught 10 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown over his first few weeks of the fall. Last year, he hauled 23 receptions, including 5 touchdowns, and he averaged 18.3 yards per reception.

Notre Dame held him to 13 yards, but he has at least 4 catches for 30 yards in his other 2 games this year. Northern Illinois tried to feed him the ball with 9 targets against Buffalo, but that only led to 4 receptions in the loss. He lines up all over the field but mostly in-line or as a slot receiver. His average depth of target is 9.2 yards so far this year.

4) Junior defensive end Nevaeh Sanders

Sanders plays limited snaps for Northern Illinois, but he is rushing the passer at an elite level so far this year. He leads the team with 3 sacks — all of which came against Buffalo last week. The 6-4, 220-pound edge rusher has played 28 snaps this fall, including 22 in pass-rushing situations. Sanders is a role player for this team, but he proved last week he can be a game-wrecking defender.

5) Redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Hampton

Hampton is in his fourth season with Northern Illinois — his first as a starter. He’s playing relatively mistake-free football right now, completing 62.2 percent of his passes for 720 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception. The 6-3 redshirt junior is not much of a dual-threat signal-caller, but he can scramble a bit when needed. His longest rush of the season is 13 yards. Hampton is a strong deep-ball passer this year, launching 9 passes 20 yards or more downfield for 5 completions and 3 touchdowns. His only 2 turnover-worthy plays of this fall have been on throws 9 yards or less.

3 keys to the game for NC State vs. Northern Illinois

1) Find a way to pressure the quarterback

NC State ranks No. 16 in the ACC in sacks with 4. Hampton has not taken a sack so far this season while facing pressure on 21 of 89 dropbacks this fall. When he is feeling the pass-rushing heat, his efficiency drops dramatically. The signal-caller has connected on 7 of 19 passes under pressure. That doesn’t keep him from slinging the ball downfield though.

When facing a blitz, Hampton averages 11.9 yards per attempt — more than 4 yards more than when a defense drops back into coverage. If NC State sends extra defenders, someone needs to generate disruption. The Northern Illinois offense has shown the ability to pick up that pressure, and Hampton has the talent to connect on some big plays.

2) Prepare to play a physical game

Going into this game, Northern Illinois leads the MAC in rushing, passing and total offensive yardage per game. The Huskies are averaging 5.2 yards per carry. NC State’s run defense struggles are well-established on tape. Northern Illinois saw Tennessee and Clemson gash the Pack on the ground, so expect the MAC program to try something similar.

After struggling to shed blocks against the Tigers and missing 20 combined tackles in its two games against Power Four opponents, NC State’s linebackers and defensive backs will have to be ready to step up and out-physical the Huskies when they reach the second level.

3) Avoid a slow start

NC State is averaging 2.5 points in the first quarter this season. Clemson and Tennessee shut the Pack out over the first 15 minutes. Northern Illinois started fast against Notre Dame, putting up 10 of its 16 points in the opening quarter before the Irish adjusted and held the Group of Five squad to 6 the rest of the way. The Huskies have the physical play style needed to control the ball. They held a 9-minute time of possession advantage over Notre Dame. Buffalo defeated Northern Illinois despite holding the ball for 13 minutes fewer than the Huskies. If NC State falls behind early, that could be a tough hole to dig out of.

1 player who could change the game vs. NIU

The emergence of any outside linebacker

NC State’s outside linebackers have not risen to the heights Payton Wilson and Jaylon Scott reached last year. They were the team’s top two tacklers. This year, Sean Brown is second on the team with 27 total stops, but he has struggled to defend the run (42.9 PFF grade) and missed more tackles over his first 4 games at linebacker (5) than he did all of last fall at safety (4). Devon Betty has 10 total tackles (3 solo) so far this year.

Northern Illinois’ run-heavy defense will test the Wolfpack on the ground, and Brown and Betty will also have to show off their coverage skills in this game. More than half of the Huskies’ passing attempts this season have been directed at a tight end or a running back.

Redshirt freshman Kelvon McBride looked solid in limited snaps against Clemson’s backups, and Kamal Bonner saw the field in a limited rotational role over the first few games. If one of those four players can stand out Saturday, it will help the Pack’s chances significantly.