Hawai‘i heads to Northern Illinois needing a response to preserve bowl hopes

Hawai‘i visits winless NIU on Oct. 24 and must win its final five games to reach bowl eligibility. Preview coverage highlights NIU’s run and third-down defense as potential openings, but Hawai‘i’s 62.5% red-zone scoring rate remains a major weakness; Chang and Alejado have emphasized execution and avoiding self-inflicted errors.