 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 65, TOLEDO 30 The Huskie offense put up 584 yards, including 422 on the ground. Quarterback Chandler Harnish led the Huskie attack as he totaled 162 passing and 149 rushing yards, throwing for one touchdown and rushing for another.
“We had some big plays, we’ve got some speed and the kids performed well,” said NIU Head Coach Jerry Kill. “Games are won by players, not coaches. We’ve got some pretty good players and they’re playing well.”
The Huskies improved to 8-2 on the year, with a 6-0 record in Mid-American Conference play. NIU can secure its first MAC West Championship since 2005 by beating either Ball State or Eastern Michigan on the road over the next two weeks.
Northern Illinois sprinted out to a 28-0 lead in the first half as Chad Spann, Akeem Daniels, and Harnish all rushed for touchdowns. Harnish also connected with Nathan Palmer for a 33-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. The Huskies totaled 295 yards of first half offense, including 175 yards on the ground on 31 carries.
The Rockets, who fell to 6-4 overall and 5-1 in the MAC, scored the first nine points of the second half. Toledo punted after a three-and-out to start the third, burying NIU on its own four-yard line. Toledo’s Alex Johnson sacked Harnish in the endzone three plays later to get the Rockets on the board. On the ensuing drive, the Rockets went 74 yards in six plays, and scored on an 18-yard rush by Adonis Thomas to close the gap to 28-9.
NIU answered with an 80-yard drive, capped by a five-yard Spann touchdown, one of three for the senior on the day. Thomas responded for the Rockets with a 60-yard burst. The score brought Toledo within 19 points with 7:18 left in the third, but that was as close as UT would get. Northern Illinois put back-to-back touchdowns on the board to put the game out of reach.
The first came on a 50-yard run by Daniels, a true freshman from Kissimmee, Fla. After breaking away from the pack on an end-around, Daniels had one man to beat and stopped on a dime to juke safety Diauntae Morrow before continuing to the endzone for his second score of the day.
On Toledo’s next drive, Rashaan Melvin intercepted Terrance Owens, giving the Huskies the ball on their own 45. Harnish threw a 35-yard pass to Perez Ashford on the next play. Three plays later Spann found the endzone for the third time on the day with an eight-yard dash to put NIU up 49-16.
The Huskies would have two more big plays for scores: an 83-yard Tommy Davis kick-off return and a 55-yard sprint by Jasmin Hopkins. Northern Illinois scored four touchdowns of 50 yards or more, and the nine touchdowns were the third-most in a game in Huskie history.
Individually, Spann’s three touchdowns tied a career high. He has totaled 15 touchdowns for the season and 42 in his career, third-most in Northern Illinois history.
Harnish had a 69-yard rush in the in third quarter, the longest of his career, as he gained 149 yards on 13 carries. The junior also completed 11-of-16 passes for 162 yards to mark the third time this season that he has rushed and passed for 100 yards in the same game.
Game story courtesy of NIU Athletics
TOLEDO NOTES
-- Redshirt freshman QB Terrance Owens made his first career start in place of injured Austin Dantin and completed 18-of-38 passes for 186 yards with two TDs. For the season, Owens has seven touchdown passes and only one interception.
-- UT suffered its first MAC loss of the season and dropped to 5-1 against league competition. The Rockets' 5-1 conference mark is still its best since the 2005 season when they also began the MAC ledger with five victories in its opening six contests.
-- Toledo scored a season-high 23 points in the third quarter, bettering its previous high of 17 points on two occasions against Kent State (Oct. 16, third quarter) and Ball State (Oct. 23, second quarter).
-- Toledo was credited with its third safety of the season in the opening stages of the third quarter. UT also had a safety against Arizona (Sept. 3) and Wyoming (Oct. 2).
-- Junior RB Adonis Thomas carried the ball 10 times for a career-high 152 yards, including a pair of TD runs (18 yards, career-long 60 yards) in the third quarter. Thomas has now scored a TD in three of the last four contests. Thomas also topped the century mark for the second time this season and third time in his career, bettering his previous high was 130 yards vs. Ball State (Oct. 23, 2010).
-- Sophomore Eric Page caught seven passes for 67 yards and one score. For the season, Page has 73 catches for 843 yards and moves into eighth place in school history in career receptions (155) and seventh in pass reception yardage (2,002 yards). His season catch total is tied for ninth-best in the single campaign (Stephen Williams in 2007) and reception yardage number in 10th-best in UT annals.
-- Sophomore LB Dan Molls was credited with a career-high 19 stops and has recorded at least double-digit stops on four occasions this season.
-- Senior LB Archie Donald tied his season high with 16 tackles and has now registered at least double-digit stops on 18 occasions in his career. Donald also had 16 tackles vs. Purdue (Sept. 25).
-- Redshirt freshman P Vince Penza averaged an impressive 46.7 yards per boot on six attempts, including a career-high 65 yarder in the fourth quarter.
-- Junior TE Jerome Jones registered his first collegiate TD catch in the waning seconds of the game on a five-yard pass from redshirt freshman QB Terrance Owens.
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