 After trailing early, Northern Illinois scored 31 consecutive points on the way to an impressive 38-20 win over Arkansas State. The GoDaddy.com Bowl championship allowed NIU to finish with an 11-3 record.
HUSKIES FINISH WITH NINE-GAME WIN SKEIN
NIU, the 2011 Mid-American Conference champions, won its ninth straight game to complete its second consecutive 11-3 campaign. In winning their ninth, the Huskies snapped Arkansas State's nine-game winning streak as the Red Wolves finished the season 10-3.
"Our guys never flinched," said NIU head coach Dave Doeren. "It was a lot of fun. I am proud of the Huskies, the entire team, our fans and how we represented Northern Illinois. We started to run our plays better and stopped beating ourselves.”
HARNISH SHAKES OFF INJURY
Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish, who earned the game's Most Valuable Player Award after passing for 274 yards on 18-of-36 passes with two touchdowns, had to leave the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury.
In his absence, sophomore Jordan Lynch put the Huskies ahead for the first time by directing a seven-play, 78-yard touchdown drive. On the drive, Lynch hit Martel Moore with a 41-yard reception for one of his eight catches on the day before scoring himself on a three-yard touchdown run. Lynch's score and the ensuing PAT put the Huskies ahead to stay, 14-13.
NIU extended its lead to 21-13 just before halftime on a one-yard run by Jamal Womble on fourth down with no time left on the clock. Womble's score came after Arkansas State twice gave NIU the ball back in the final minutes of the half, first on a muffed punt that was recovered by Dominique Ware and second on a roughing the punter call.
'TWO SCORES IS NOTHING FOR US' -- DOEREN
"We stopped beating ourselves and started playing our game," Doeren said. "Our coaches called an aggressive game, and we made a couple of plays that swung the momentum. Two scores is nothing for us. We've been down way more than that this year."
In addition to Harnish's Most Valuable Player Award, Moore was named the game's offensive MVP. Redshirt freshman Dechane Durante, whose 36-yard interception return and touchdown with 8:19 to play sealed the NIU win, was the defensive MVP. Punter Ryan Neir, meanwhile, pinned ASU inside its 20 yard line four times on his eight punts, and just one of his punts was returned. He was the special teams MVP.
Moore's 224 receiving yards ranks as the third-highest single game total in NIU history. Included in his haul was a 43-yard touchdown pass on a double reverse early in the third quarter to give the Huskies a 28-13 lead. His score came after the teams traded interceptions to open the period.
NIU extended the lead to 31-13 early in the fourth quarter on Mathew Sims' 22-yard field goal before ASU's Taylor Stockemer caught a 16-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 11:12 remaining to end a string of 31 consecutive points by the Huskies. That catch pulled the Red Wolves within 11 points at 31-20 before Durante's INT completed the win.
HUSKIES FORCE FIVE TURNOVERS
The Northern Illinois defense, which forced five turnovers on the day, flexed its muscle early, holding ASU to Brian Davis field goals of 32 and 36 yards on its first two drives. The Wolves got into the end zone on their third possession with a two-yard run by quarterback Ryan Aplin to finish a three-play, 41-yard drive. They would not, however, reach the end zone again until the fourth quarter.
NIU's first touchdown came on a nine-yard hook-up between Chandler Harnish and Perez Ashford in the final minute of the first quarter.
Harnish finished the season with 3,216 passing yards on 237-of-384 completions with six interceptions and 28 touchdowns. He also registered 1,379 rushing yards on 194 carries and 11 touchdowns on the ground. Overall, he totaled 4,595 yards and was responsible for 39 scores.
SENIOR CLASS LEAVES ITS MARK
The game provided a fitting end for 19 NIU seniors, who finished as the most successful senior class in school history with 35 wins and four consecutive bowl games. NIU won back-to-back bowl games for the first time since taking the 1983 California Bowl and 2004 Silicon Valley Classic.
NOTES:
-- Jordan Lynch, seeing his first extensive action since the Bowling Green game on Nov. 8, led NIU on a 78-yard touchdown drive that ended in his third rushing touchdown of the season. Lynch completed each of his four passes in the game, including a 41-yard pass to Martel Moore on the drive, and has the highest passing yardage total of his career with 64 yards.
-- Arkansas State gained just 28 net yards on 29 attempts to average less than a yard per rush.
-- Martel Moore went over the 100-yard mark in receiving for the third time this season. Huskie receivers have six 100-yard games in 2011-12. Moore's 224 yards is the seventh 200-yard game in school history and ties for the third-highest single-game yardage total ever at NIU.
-- Martel Moore's 224 yards set an NIU bowl record for receiving yards, surpassing Hugh Rohrschneider's total of 113 versus Missouri State in the 1963 Mineral Water Bowl, Nov. 30, 1963.
-- The Huskies tied the NIU bowl record for touchdowns scored with five, set at the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl , Dec. 18, 2010.
-- Harnish, already the Huskies' single season leader in passing yardage in a season, became NIU's second 3,000-yard passer. He broke the Northern Illinois record for passing yards in a season, previously held by George Bork, who set the record in 1963 with 3,077 yards. Harnish finished the year with 3,216 yards.
-- Ryan Neir completed his first career pass on a four-yard toss to Pat McAvoy that converted a fourth down on a fake field goal.
-- Womble scored the first rushing touchdown of his NIU career, and his second overall score, to close out the first half. Womble's TD was his first since a 58-yard receiving score versus Army in the first game of the season.
-- NIU set team single season records for net yards gained (6,664), touchdowns (68), passing yards (3,386), passing attempts (408), points per game (38.3) and first downs (333)
-- Northern Illinois got interceptions from cornerbacks Rashaan Melvin and Jhony Faustin in the second half. It was Melvin's third INT of the season and Faustin's second. The two intercepted passes in back-to-back games.
-- Northern Illinois intercepted a season-high three passes, tying the previous high set against Ohio Dec. 2, 2011 in the Marathon MAC Championship.
-- Dechane Durante scored his first career touchdown on a 36-yard interception return in the fourth quarter. Durante's INT was his third of the season. The interception return was NIU's first since Nabal Jefferson brought an interception back 25 yards for a score versus Kent State (10-8).
-- The Huskies forced a season-high five turnovers (3 interceptions, two fumble recoveries) tying the mark set at Buffalo Oct. 22, 2011 (two interceptions, three fumble recoveries).
Courtesy of Northern Illinois Athletics |
