Northern Illinois football expert previews the Arizona game, makes score prediction

It’s back to nonconference play for Arizona after an unsuccessful start to the Big 12 schedule. The Wildcats are home to take on Northern Illinois, which until this season was a member of the Mid-American Conference but now for some reason is in the Mountain West. The schools have never met in football.

The Huskies (0-2) are off to a terrible start, getting shut out at Iowa and then falling to Illinois State in their home opener. The school is led by an interim coach, Rob Harley, who was elevated from defensive coordinator in February after Thomas Hammock resigned to take an NFL assistant job.

To better understand NIU, we reached out to Michael Wittmann from SB Nation sister site Mountain West Connection for some insight on one of that league’s four new members. Below are his responsive answers to our apathetic questions:

AZ Desert Swarm: Losing at Iowa is one thing, albeit maybe not by 40 points, but losing at home to an FCS school is a different animal. What went wrong for Northern Illinois in their most recent game, and is it correctable?

Michael Wittmann: “I think Illinois State was more at Northern Illinois’ level of competition, and as we saw, they still couldn’t figure out a way to win. The Huskies were actually only favored by 3.5 points. The other important thing to know: NIU’s old head coach, Thomas Hammock, went to become the Seahawks RB coach in Feb., so they lost a lot of players to the portal late and had a hard time adding many with an interim head coach. My early impression of their offense is that they don’t have quite enough talent to be dynamic, so it’s not easy to fix.”

Quarterback Taron Dickens set records at Western Carolina last season, winning Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year. What about his game stands out the most?

“Dickens didn’t transfer to NIU until July 3rd (after a brief stop at North Carolina), so he didn’t get a full offseason of preparation with his new teammates. He’s athletic and mobile, but his best asset is how quickly he can get the ball out. He’s not the biggest QB, but he can spread the ball around, and the more comfortable he can get in the offense with his receivers, the better the Huskies can be.”

Even with sacks removed from the equation, the Huskies are only gaining 3.1 yards per carry. How productive can the ground game be, and who figures to be the main contributors?

“In 2025, they had two productive running backs that combined for just under 1,600 yards. Telly Johnson Jr. returns from last year’s duo, but a second RB hasn’t stepped up yet. Johnson Jr. is a solid back, but Northern Illinois will need other rushers to help shoulder the load if they want an effective ground game.”

Who are the defensive players Arizona needs to be most concerned with, and how do you think that unit will try to slow down Noah Fifita?

“Northern Illinois’ pass defense hasn’t been awful, allowing 185.5 yards per game, but that could also be a product of who they have played thus far. Although their linebackers are the top two tacklers on the team, defensive backs are in positions three through five. Safety Kvon Convers will be the last line of defense for the NIU defense, so his ability to make open-field tackles will be key. Also, keep an eye on the WRs matched up against junior cornerback Yassine Falke, who has two interceptions through the first two games.”

I’m sure there was a good reason why the Mountain West thought Northern Illinois was a good fit, and vice versa. Can you explain the logic behind the move from the MAC to the MWC?

“From the perspective of NIU, follow the money. While the financial terms of the Mountain West media deal have not been disclosed, a report from 2025 was that the Huskies would make around $5.5 million per year by moving conferences. While that number doesn’t mean much to Arizona fans, and is probably not even accurate now in 2026, anything is a significant increase from the high six-figures they were getting in the MAC.

“From the Mountain West side of things, it’s hard to pinpoint what the main attraction was. NIU made bowl games in three of the four years before they announced NIU to the conference, topping out at nine wins in 2021. They won the MAC that same year, but they weren’t a conference juggernaut in the same way North Dakota State was, nor are they a regional team with some natural rivalries like UTEP. The Mountain West seemed set on expanding quickly, and while they needed a rebuild on the fly before losing all their teams it’s hard to see a long-term advantage from this addition.”

Prediction time. Does NIU pick up its first win of the season and shock Arizona or do the Wildcats get right against a lesser opponent? Give us a score pick.

“Rest assured, Wildcat fans, I’d be shocked if an upset was in the cards. They get to enjoy a get-right game, somewhere in the neighborhood of 45-7.”