DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois Huskies piled up 374 yards of total offense and 35 points in the first half en route to a 49-21 Mid-American Conference victory over Eastern Michigan Saturday at Huskie Stadium.
The win, NIU’s third consecutive victory, improved the Huskies’ record to 5-3 overall, 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference. Eastern Michigan lost its sixth consecutive game to fall to 1-7, 0-4 in the MAC.
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The win, NIU’s third consecutive victory, improved the Huskies’ record to 5-3 overall, 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference. Eastern Michigan lost its sixth consecutive game to fall to 1-7, 0-4 in the MAC.
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NIU powered out to a 35-0 halftime lead behind rushing scores from Joel Bouagnon and Jordan Huff and three Drew Hare touchdown passes. Meanwhile, the Huskie defense held EMU to 11 first downs and three-of-nine on third down conversions before the break.
“You never underestimate winning in any way, shape or form. It was a great first half in all phases minus the last punt in the first half. It was a really good performance,” Carey said. “The second half was a little sloppy but in key moments, we came up with stops.”
The Huskies opened the game with a 17-play, 70-yard drive that took 5:26 off the clock and ended with a four-yard pass from Hare to Juwan Brescacin as NIU took the early 7-0 lead. Later in the quarter, NIU doubled its lead when Hare hit tight end Shane Wimann from four yards out to conclude a nine-play, 57-yard drive.
NIU scored three times in the second period as Bouagnon (eight yards) and Huff (53 yards) sandwiched rushing touchdowns around an 18-yard Hare to Kenny Golladay hook-up. Bouagnon finished the game with 136 yards on 26 carries as he posted his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, and fifth of the season. Huff added a career-high 128 yards on 13 carries as he averaged 9.8 yards per carry thanks to his career-long 53-yard run.
Hare completed 24-of-38 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns in the game. Redshirt senior Tommylee Lewis led the Huskies in receiving with seven catches for 80 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the third quarter that came less than a minute after Eastern Michigan’s first score of the game.
With NIU ahead 42-7, Eastern Michigan used a pair of Darius Jackson touchdown runs to pull within three scores at 42-21. Juwaun Johnson’s first career interception stopped another EMU drive and the Huskies got a six-yard touchdown run from freshman tailback D.J. Brown to provide the final margin.
“I was a little disappointed in the second half,” Carey said. “We didn’t come out with better attention to detail. I thought our attitude was right coming out of the half and I thought our effort was good, but our mind probably drifted a little bit and that causes you to drift on the fundamentals. Give them credit - they came out and made a couple adjustments and we had to counter back.”
NIU finished with a season-high 322 rushing yards on 59 carries and the Huskies converted 15-of-23 third downs.
The Huskies now move to a midweek schedule for the month of November, beginning Tuesday, Nov. 3 when NIU takes on No. 19 Toledo in the Glass Bowl. Eastern Michigan hosts the Broncos of Western Michigan Thursday.
(Courtesy of NIU Athletics)
“You never underestimate winning in any way, shape or form. It was a great first half in all phases minus the last punt in the first half. It was a really good performance,” Carey said. “The second half was a little sloppy but in key moments, we came up with stops.”
The Huskies opened the game with a 17-play, 70-yard drive that took 5:26 off the clock and ended with a four-yard pass from Hare to Juwan Brescacin as NIU took the early 7-0 lead. Later in the quarter, NIU doubled its lead when Hare hit tight end Shane Wimann from four yards out to conclude a nine-play, 57-yard drive.
NIU scored three times in the second period as Bouagnon (eight yards) and Huff (53 yards) sandwiched rushing touchdowns around an 18-yard Hare to Kenny Golladay hook-up. Bouagnon finished the game with 136 yards on 26 carries as he posted his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, and fifth of the season. Huff added a career-high 128 yards on 13 carries as he averaged 9.8 yards per carry thanks to his career-long 53-yard run.
Hare completed 24-of-38 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns in the game. Redshirt senior Tommylee Lewis led the Huskies in receiving with seven catches for 80 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the third quarter that came less than a minute after Eastern Michigan’s first score of the game.
With NIU ahead 42-7, Eastern Michigan used a pair of Darius Jackson touchdown runs to pull within three scores at 42-21. Juwaun Johnson’s first career interception stopped another EMU drive and the Huskies got a six-yard touchdown run from freshman tailback D.J. Brown to provide the final margin.
“I was a little disappointed in the second half,” Carey said. “We didn’t come out with better attention to detail. I thought our attitude was right coming out of the half and I thought our effort was good, but our mind probably drifted a little bit and that causes you to drift on the fundamentals. Give them credit - they came out and made a couple adjustments and we had to counter back.”
NIU finished with a season-high 322 rushing yards on 59 carries and the Huskies converted 15-of-23 third downs.
The Huskies now move to a midweek schedule for the month of November, beginning Tuesday, Nov. 3 when NIU takes on No. 19 Toledo in the Glass Bowl. Eastern Michigan hosts the Broncos of Western Michigan Thursday.
(Courtesy of NIU Athletics)
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