Visiting Idaho needed all of its six scores Saturday, but one of its best drives on the day didn’t result in any points. It merely preserved a 34-31 Vandals victory that was very much in question after a late Northern Illinois rally pulled the Huskies within three points with 5:51 left to play.
Down 34-16 after a pair of Trey Farquhar field goals early in the fourth quarter, NIU marched 60 yards in nine plays for a touchdown. Quarterback Chandler Harnish kept the drive alive with a 17-yard pass to Marcus Lewis on fourth and three near midfield. Harnish also had a hand in the drive's score, connecting with Landon Cox on a four-yard pass. MikeSalerno’s PAT made it a 34-23 game.
Although Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle’s fumble during a third down sack was recovered by the Vandals, NIU got the turnover it needed one play later when Jordan Delegal blocked a punt. The ball went out of bounds at the one, and Meco Brown scored on the next play. Down by five, the Huskies went for two-points and again turned to Brown, who again found the end zone.
With over five minutes remaining, Idaho needed something to at least stop NIU’s momentum, especially on the Huskies’ home turf. “I thought we were playing well on offense,” Enderle said. “I told the team to just keep doing what they’re doing. We were running the ball well, and we just needed to sustain the drive for the remainder of the game.”
The Vandals utilized the run on their final possession, but also got a big drive-sustaining play through the air on third and three at the Idaho 27 when Enderle hit Eric Greenwood for a 25-yard gain to the Northern Illinois 48. Enderle completed 18-of-23 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions against the Huskies.
“I think our quarterback is pretty good,” Idaho coach Robb Akkey said after the contest. “He has two years of previous experience, and he plays like a veteran. We ran the ball well, and we got some great plays in the throwing game.”
“You look at success, and it really comes down to third down,” Northern Illinois coach Jerry Kill said. “We kicked the ball deep (after Brown's touchdown), and they started on the 20-yard line, and we’re in good shape. You make the guy make a tough pass, and they just executed.”
After the completion to Greenwood, Idaho stayed on the ground with five straight runs by Demaundray Woolridge, who picked up a first down at the NIU seven-yard line to end any Huskies chance for another possession. Idaho had 477 yards of offense, including 207 on the ground. Woodridge, a 5-9, 241-pound senior, accounted for 143 of those yards on with 19 carries.
“They blocked better,” Kill said. “It wasn’t a special game plan or anything. They just blocked better, and that’s why they won the game …. Physically, they took it took us …. They are big up front.”
Most of the game’s scoring took place in the second and fourth quarters. Northern got the only points of the first quarter on a 23-yard Mike Salerno field goalIdaho erupted for 21 points in the second quarter on three Enderle TD tosses. Daniel Hardy scored from 26-yards out and
Deote Jackson tallied on a 21-yard pass. After a seven-yard Chandler Harnish-to-Willie Clark TD pass for NIU, Enderle hit Princeton McCarty on a 58-yard TD play. Salerno’s 50-yard field goal as time expired in the half allowed NIU to stay within eight points at 21-13.
“I thought we were able to move the ball and score some points today, “Harnish said. “The key to the game was the fact that we had to kick field goals. We got inside the 10-yard line a few times, but couldn’t punch it in. We need to get better at finishing drives.”
Woolridge scored from a yard out at 7:59 of the third quarter for the Vandals final touchdown. Salerno booted a 25-yard field goal, but Farquahar answered with two field goals to put the visitors in a seemingly comfortable 34-16 lead with 11:30 remaining in the contest. After the Huskies late scores drew them to within three, Idaho maintained possession with its game-ending drive.
NOTES:
- Harnish completed 17-of-23 for 184 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
- Idaho converted 8-of-13 third down plays. Northern Illinois was good on four of 10 and also converted its only fourth down try.
- The Huskies completed their non-conference schedule in the first four weeks of the season for the first time since going to a 12-game schedule. They finished with a 2-2 non-conference mark after going 1-3 in each of the past two seasons.
Idaho (3-1) hosts Colorado State next.
-Northern Illinois (2-2, 0-0) remains at home next week to host Western Michigan. The Tim Hiller-led Broncos (2-2, 1-0 MAC) defeated Hofstra 24-10 Saturday. Idaho returns home to host Colorado State.
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