ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES NOTES:
1ST AND 10
1 A-State and Northern Illinois are among seven FBS teams that won three or fewer games in 2022 and earned a bowl appearance in 2023.
2 The Red Wolves play their 11th bowl game as an FBS member carrying a 4-6 record in the previous 10 played. This is the third time to play in the Camellia Bowl and seventh appearance in a bowl game in Alabama.
3 A-State is 6-0 this season when converting 30 percent or more of its third downs offensively.
4 Thurman Geathers ranks fourth among Sun Belt Conference defensive players with 42 quarterback pressures.
5 A-State is 5-0 this season when getting 14 or more pressures (sacks, quarterback hits or quarterback hurries) in a game. The Red Wolves had a season-high 25 pressures at ULM.
6 The Red Wolves have used 40 different starters this season, 19 on offense and 21 on defense.
7 Jeff Foreman is the seventh A-State wide receiver to top 2,000 career receiving yards. For his career, Foreman has 100 receptions for 2,015 yards in 57 games played.
8 Of the 333 points scored by A-State this year, 80 percent (267) are by players in their first or second year in the program, including 128 (38 percent) by first-year players.
9 Of the 86 total players to appear in a game for A-State this season, 70.9 percent (61 of 86) are in their first or second year in the program.
10 A-State is among 10 teams nationally — the only Group of Five program — with five or more true freshmen to play in every game
THE ARKANSAS STATE – NIU SERIES
The Camellia Bowl will mark the ninth all-time meeting between A-State and NIU, with the Huskies holding a 7-1 advantage in the series. The two sides last met on Jan. 8, 2012 in the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Ala., with NIU taking a 38-20 decision. The other seven meetings came between 1990 and 1996, including thre as Big West Conference opponents between 1993 and 1995. A-State’s lone victory in the series came 28-21 in 1995.
BOWL HISTORY
A-State is 7-9-1 all-time in bowl games, 4-6 in FBS bowl matchups. The Red Wolves won their last bowl appearance, a 34-26 victory against FIU in the 2019 Camellia Bowl. This is the third appearance in the Camellia Bowl with A-State 1-1 in the previous two appearances, a 35-30 loss to Middle Tennessee in 2017 and a 34-26 win over FIU in 2019. A-State played in seven bowl games from 1951-70, including the Pecan Bowl (1968, 1969, 1970), Tangerine Bowl (1952, 1954) and Refrigerator Bowl (1951, 1952). A-State played in the 2005 New Orleans Bowl and bowl games from 2011-19, including the GoDaddy Bowl (2011*, 2012*, 2013*, 2014*, New Orleans Bowl (2015), Cure Bowl (2016), Camellia (2019, 2017) and Arizona Bowl (2018).
BOWL ELIGIBLE:
With a 77-31 win over Texas State, A-State earned bowl eligibility. The Red Wolves will play in their 11th bowl games as a FBS member; 2005 New Orleans Bowl, 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl, 2012 GoDady.com Bowl, 2013 GoDaddy Bowl, 2014 GoDaddy Bowl, 2015 New Orleans Bowl, 2016 Cure Bowl, 2017 Camellia Bowl, 2018 Arizona Bowl, 2019 Camellia Bowl and 2023 Camellia Bowl.
BY THE NUMBERS:
A-State is 6-1 this season when producing 400-plus yards total offense … Red Wolves are 8-1 under head coach Butch Jones when scoring 35 or more points … A-State is 6-0 when leading after the first quarter, at halftime and after the third quarter this season … The Red Wolves are 6-2 when rushing for 100 or more yards this year after doing so a combined seven times (4-3) in the previous two seasons.
AN A-STATE WIN WOULD:
Improve the Red Wolves to 5-6 in FBS Bowl Games … Make A-State 8-9-1 all-time in bowl games … Give A-State a winning season for the first time since 2019 and 11th time since joining the FBS level in 1992.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES NOTES:
DOG TREATS
• For the 12th time in the last 16 years, the NIU Huskies are “bowling” as they take on Arkansas State in the 2023 Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. The game is a rematch of the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, which the Huskies won 38-20. That game marked NIU’s last bowl victory. • NIU clinched its bowl berth with a 37-27 win at Kent State on Thanksgiving Weekend to finish the regular season with a 6-6 record. NIU won five of its last seven games with five of NIU’s six losses on the season coming by a total of 22 points. • Led by first team selections Nolan Potter (OT) and Antario Brown (RB), five Huskies were named to the 2023 All-MAC team by league head coaches. James Ester (DT) and JaVaughn Byrd (CB) both earned second team selections, while wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph made the third team. • NIU is 2-1 all-time in games played in Alabama and has come away with wins its last two visits – a 19-16 upset win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2003 and the 38-20 bowl win over Arkansas State in Mobile. The Huskies’ lost at Auburn, 31-14, in 2000. • The Huskie defense has made one of the most significant turnarounds in the nation, holding seven opponents to two touchdowns or less, including a 24-0 shutout of Western Michigan. • NIU ranks sixth nationally in fewest passing yards allowed (164.6/game), 11th in pass efficiency defense (114.35) and 21st in total defense (316.9 yards/game), just one season removed – and with seven returning starters on defense – from its 2022 final rankings of 100th, 125th and 79th, respectively. • Senior quarterback Rocky Lombardi wraps up a seven-year collegiate career in Montgomery after four years at Michigan State and three with the Huskies. Lombardi has started 29 games under center for NIU and will leave as one of the Top 10 passers in school history. • With 68 stops on the season, defensive end Ray Thomas leads all FBS linemen in total tackles and is the only defensive lineman to lead his team in tackles. No defensive lineman has ever led NIU in tackles for a season (records since 1971). • The “Voice of the Huskies” – radio play-by-play broadcaster Bill Baker – will retire following the 2023 football season, his 44th behind the mic for NIU. The Camellia Bowl game will mark Baker’s 520th – and final – NIU football broadcast. • Since 2008 every freshman class has left NIU with at least one MAC Championship. The Huskies’ five MAC Championship game wins are more than any other current league member and NIU has made a record nine appearances in the game.
BOWLING IN ‘BAMA: The NIU football program makes its 20th bowl appearance and its 15th as a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision team in the 2023 Camellia Bowl. In its last bowl appearance, NIU dropped a 47-41 decision to Coastal Carolina in the 2021 Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida. NIU’s last bowl victory came in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, where the Huskies defeated Camellia Bowl foe Arkansas State, 38-20, on January 8, 2012.
ELEVATOR SEASON:
The 2023 NIU Football campaign has seen its ups and downs. After the season-opening overtime “Boneyard” Win over Boston College, the Huskies dropped their next three non-conference contests and a two-point decision at MAC West foe Toledo before rebouding to win its next three games. A pair of tight losses at Central Michigan and in last second fashion to Ball State followed, before NIU came back to shut out Western Michigan and clinch its bowl berth at Kent State. The Huskies won five of their last seven games and lost five games by a total of 22 points.
HUSKIE BOWL FACTS:
NIU will be playing in its 12th bowl game in the last 16 seasons dating back to a 2008 Independence Bowl appearance. NIU is 4-10 (FBS) and 5-14 overall in bowl games. The Huskies appeared in a MAC-record eight consecutive bowl games from 2008-15 and NIU’s 12 bowl appearances since 2008 and 14 since 2003 lead all MAC teams (see chart page 5). The Huskies’ modern bowl history began at the California Bowl when the 1983 MAC Champions earned a 20-13 win over Cal State Fullerton. NIU has won at least six games 18 times since 2000, but were not selected for a bowl in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 (with 10 wins!) and 2005 (despite playing in the MAC Championship game).
HAMMOCK’S BOWL HISTORY:
NIU head coach Thomas Hammock, a Huskie alum, never had the opportunity to play in a bowl game during his playing days at NIU (1999-2002) but has coached in nine bowl games during his college coaching career, including two Rose Bowls during his time at Wisconsin, in the 2006 Poinsettia Bowl as a NIU assistant and as head coach of the 2021 Huskies in the Cure Bowl.
SERIES HISTORY:
NIU and Arkansas State meet for the ninth time in the Camellia Bowl and will play in a postseason bowl game in Alabama for the second consecutive game. The Huskies are 7-1 all-time versus the Red Wolves. The teams met annually from 1990-96, including three times (1993-95) as members of the Big West Conference. NIU won the first five games between the teams, shutting out ASU in 1990 and 1992. Arkansas State defeated the Huskies in 1995 in DeKalb, 28-21.
THE LAST MEETING:
After falling behind 13-0 in the first quarter at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, NIU scored the next 31 points en route to a 38-20 GoDaddy.com Bowl win over Arkansas State. NIU quarterbacks Chandler Harnish and Jordan Lynch combined to throw for 338 yards on 22-of-36 passing. Harnish completed touchdown passes of nine and 43 yards to Perez Ashford and Martel Moore, respectively, while the Huskie defense recovered two ASU fumbles and intercepted three passes.
SUN BELT FOES:
NIU is 13-7 all-time versus teams that currently make up the Sun Belt Conference, with Arkansas State and former MAC opponent Marshall the Huskies’ most frequent opponents. In addition to its 7-1 record versus the Red Wolves all-time, NIU is 4-4 against Marshall, with the last meeting in the 2014 Boca Raton Bowl and 1-1 versus Southern Miss. NIU has a bowl win over Troy (in the 2004 Silicon Valley Classic) and a bowl loss to Coastal Carolina (in the 2021 Cure Bowl).
DOGS IN ALABAMA:
NIU is 2-1 all-time in games played in Alabama, including a memorable 19-16 upset win over the No. 21 Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa in 2003. The Huskies’ other win in the state came in Mobile in the 2012 GoDaddy.com Bowl, a 38-20 win over Arkansas State on January 8 as NIU finished the season with a 11-3 record. NIU fell to No. 20 Auburn, 31-14, on September 23, 2000 in Auburn.
