UNLV football prepares for winless NIU team playing with ‘desperation’

Fresh off its second bye week of the season, UNLV football returns to action in Week 9 against Northern Illinois on Halloween night at Allegiant Stadium.

In its first season in the Mountain West after leaving the Mid-American Conference this past offseason, NIU has struggled to find success, entering the matchup winless through seven games and 0-3 in conference play.

The six-time MAC champion is two years removed from a notable upset, when the Huskies defeated then-No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 in South Bend.

Despite NIU’s record, UNLV coach Dan Mullen said a team searching for its first win can be especially dangerous for the Rebels, who are looking to extend their streak of consecutive conference championship game appearances to four.

“We usually get everybody’s best shot,” Mullen said. “Everybody when the schedule comes out and UNLV comes on, that is the game that gets circled for every team, so we got to be ready for that.

“(NIU)’s got really good players. They are really physical on the defensive line and they’ve got one of the top wide receivers in America. They are going to come in here with a little bit of desperation to get a win. They’re kind of backed up into a corner right now and anytime you get backed into a corner that is when people can become really dangerous.”

Through seven games, the Huskies have averaged 301.7 total yards per game and are tied for last in the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game with 106 total points on the season.

Junior quarterback Taron Dickens has completed 138 of 210 pass attempts for 1,364 yards and six touchdowns, but he has also thrown five interceptions and fumbled three times.

NIU’s offensive line has struggled to protect Dickens, allowing 20 sacks through seven games. The Huskies gave up a season-high six sacks against Georgia State and have allowed at least four sacks in three games.

Despite the team’s offensive struggles, the Huskies have two wide receivers among the top seven in receiving yards in the Mountain West. Sophomore La’Don Bryant has recorded 316 yards, while senior DeAree Rogers leads the team with 537.

Rogers also leads the conference with 57 receptions, averaging 9.4 yards per catch with four touchdown receptions. The 5-foot-11 native of Lexington, South Carolina, ranks fourth nationally in receptions, nine behind national leader Malachi Toney, who has 66.

UNLV linebacker Cam Santee said the Rebels will need a coordinated defensive effort to limit the Huskies’ passing game.

“I mean it all comes together with our secondary and our linebackers and even our defensive line,” Santee said. “We have to be able to get pressure on this quarterback so he is getting the ball out quick and maybe making some bad decisions.

“I have faith in our secondary that we will be able to cover everything up deep and then the linebackers will be ready for anything underneath.”

Northern Illinois also enters the matchup with a change in leadership. Thomas Hammock resigned in February to join the Seattle Seahawks after serving as the Huskies’ head coach since 2019. Defensive coordinator Rob Harley was subsequently named interim head coach.

Harley previously held assistant coaching positions at FIU, Pitt and Arkansas State before taking on his first head coaching venture with the Huskies.

Contact Donovan Hicks at [email protected]. Follow @HicksSports on X.