RALEIGH, N.C. — Northern Illinois lost its second consecutive game since its stunning victory against then-No. 5 Notre Dame, falling 24-17 on Saturday to former coach Dave Doeren and North Carolina State.

The Huskies (2-2) outgained the Wolfpack 283 yards to 171 and held them to 1-for-11 on third-down conversions, but they were done in by four turnovers — two interceptions and two fumbles — by quarterback Ethan Hampton.

‘‘You lose the turnover battle 4-0, and it’s hard to win,’’ NIU coach Thomas Hammock said. ‘‘They blitzed us early and often. We just didn’t make enough plays.’’

The Huskies had been on a six-game streak, dating to last season, of not allowing any sacks. But N.C. State shattered any hope NIU had of extending that run by sacking Hampton four times, matching its total from its first four games combined. All told, the Wolfpack had 12 tackles for loss.

N.C. State opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback CJ Bailey, who was making his second start as a true freshman, midway through the first quarter.

After the Huskies responded with a three-yard touchdown run by fullback Brock Lampe late in the first, the momentum shifted when Wolfpack safety DK Kaufman reached Hampton on a third-down blitz, knocked the ball out of his hand and returned the fumble two yards for a touchdown for a 14-7 lead early in the second.

N.C. State added a field goal to make it 17-7 with five minutes left in the second before Hampton (14-for-29, 159 yards) threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Cam Thompson to pull NIU to 17-14 at the break.

The Wolfpack’s defense provided another boost early in the third when defensive end Devin Vann forced Hampton into a fumble that defensive tackle Brandon Cleveland recovered and returned to the Huskies’ 1. Bailey took advantage of the field position to throw a touchdown pass to KC Concepcion that pushed N.C. State’s lead to 24-14.

Kanon Woodill — whose last-minute field goal beat Notre Dame 16-14 on Sept. 7 — made a 50-yard field goal early in the fourth to cut NIU’s deficit to 24-17, but Wolfpack cornerback Corey Coley intercepted a pass by Hampton in the end zone as time expired to end the Huskies’ hopes of another victory against a power-conference opponent.

‘‘It was a team win,’’ said Doeren, who coached NIU for two seasons (2011-12) before leaving for N.C. State. ‘‘Offensively, obviously, statistics are not good. But we did not turn the football over the whole game, we punted the football really well and we played dominant defense against a really good football team.

‘‘I know people are upset we didn’t have enough yards, this, that and the other. Don’t be mad about winning. That was a hell of a team win.’’

Antario Brown had 114 yards on 28 carries for the Huskies.

After plenty of talking and pregame drama, the Illinois and Penn State football teams are ready to meet on the field Saturday night.

For coach Bret Bielema and the No. 21 Fighting Illini, Saturday’s game will be a chance to assert themselves as a legitimate threat to contend in the Big Ten after a 31-24 overtime win last week against Nebraska. Penn State, No. 8 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, remains a contender for the new 12-team College Football Playoff and in the Big Ten.

Though their game didn’t earn the “College GameDay” treatment — ESPN’s popular pregame show was broadcasting from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, ahead of Saturday night’s game between No. 4 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia — the matchup between Illinois and Penn State is one of the biggest on the Week 5 calendar. The game is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. from Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. The game is broadcast on NBC and streams on Peacock.

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What did ‘GameDay’ say about Illinois-Penn State?

Pat McAfee of the “College GameDay” crew was excited about the Illini, pointing out their solid quarterback play behind Luke Altmyer and receivers Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin. He said the large point spread put the Illini and Bielema “right where they want to be.”

Host Rece Davis brought up Bielema’s oft-discussed comment about “White Out energy, whatever the hell that means” (but left out the full context). Fellow panelist Desmond Howard jumped in and said the Illini were about to “eff around and find out,” highlighting the Penn State offense behind QB Drew Allar.

“I love what I see from this Penn State offense,” Howard said. “It’s gonna be a great game tonight in Happy Valley.”

Here’s who the “College GameDay” crew of McAfee, Nick Saban, celebrity guest-picker Terry Saban and more picked between the Illini and Nittany Lions:

Illinois-Penn State on ‘College GameDay’ | Who Pat McAfee, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit picked:

• Desmond Howard: Penn State
• Nick Saban: Penn State
• Terry Saban: Penn State
• Pat McAfee: Penn State
• Lee Corso: Penn State
• Kirk Herbstreit: Penn State

Wes Huett is Journal Star local sports and news editor. Email him at whuett@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @WesHuett.

The No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) open Big Ten play by hosting the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0), who are off to a surprising undefeated start this season. The Illini and No. 5 Tennessee are the only teams with two wins over ranked teams entering Week 5. Illinois upset Kansas in Week 2, then upset Nebraska last weekend in an overtime affair on the road. The last time Illinois came to Penn State, these teams played to 9 overtimes with the Illini getting the upset over a top-ten Penn State team. Read on for key storylines and how to watch this top-20 matchup on Saturday.

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Illinois

The Fighting Illini have their third 4-0 start since 1950, and it’s an unexpected one as the team has had to go through two ranked teams to get there. Last week’s overtime win at Nebraska was especially impressive to open Big Ten play. Head coach Bret Bielema is in his 4^th season in Champaign, where he’s had an up-and-down tenure. Whether this proves to be an “up” year on Bielema’s record likely depends on the team’s current stretch of games, as five of seven contests between Week 2 and Week 9 are against ranked opponents.

Illinois’ success is largely thanks to strong – though sometimes inconsistent – defensive play and an efficient Luke Altmyer at quarterback, who is the only player in FBS with at least 10 pass TD and no interceptions. It’s a huge turnaround for Altmyer, who threw 10 interceptions last season. Penn State will be the toughest defense he’s faced so far, though, and last year he threw four interceptions to the Nittany Lions.

Illinois’ defense, especially in the secondary, will look to challenge Penn State’s pass game on Saturday. Entering Week 5 the Illini have seven interceptions on the season, tied for the most in the Big Ten. CB Xavier Scott and safety Miles Scott (no relation) are the stars of the secondary; after the Scott duo combined to force 4 turnovers in the team’s Sept. 7 win over Kansas, head coach Bret Bielema referred to them as “the new ‘Scott & Scott Law Firm.’”

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Penn State

The No. 9 Nittany Lions begin conference play this weekend. Penn State is seen as one of the primary beneficiaries of conference realignment and the new 12-team Playoff, as the team now has a path to the Big Ten title game without having to go through both Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten East. Even when those divisions existed, Penn State recently finished in a top-12 rank repeatedly but was never selected for the Playoff, unable to crack the top four. Now, the path appears to be clear for them.

The team has shown big improvements and changes on offense under new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who has brought a creative style that has helped bring more big plays out of the unit led by QB Drew Allar. Allar’s most telling stat might be that he is second in FBS this season in yards/attempt, a far cry from an offense that rarely stretched the field in 2023. The pass game benefits from a strong duo in the backfield in RBs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton.

How to watch the Illinois Fighting Illini vs the Penn State Nittany Lions

• When: Saturday, September 28
• Where: Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (Pregame coverage begins at 7:00pm ET)
• Watch: NBC, Peacock

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