Honors pouring in for NIU’s football program following upset of Notre Dame

ROCKFORD, Ill. – (WTVO/WQRF) — Honors for the Northern Illinois University football team are pouring in on the heels of the Huskies’ 16-14 upset win Saturday over 5th-ranked Notre Dame.

The team has been named by the All-American Committee of the Football Writers Association of American as the Cheez-It National Team of the Week. This is only the second time NIU’s program has ever received this honor. The last time was in 2017 after NIU won at Nebraska 21-17.

Also on Monday, three NIU players received honors from the Mid-American Conference. Runningback Antario Brown was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week. Defensive lineman Devonte O’Malley was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week. Cade Haberman was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Brown had 225 all-purpose yards agianst Notre Dame including an 83-yard touchdown reception. O’Malley had two sacks and three tackles for loss. Haberman blocked two Notre Dame field goal attempts including Notre Dame’s 63-yard attempt on the final play of the game.

Also Monday, quarterback Ethan Hampton was named to the Davey O’Brien Award’s Great 8 for Week 2. Hampton passed for 198 yards and one touchdown. He also had a key run for a first down on fourth-and-two that kept NIU’s drive alive in the final minute leading to an NIU field goal that turned out to be the game-winning points.

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