DEKALB, Ill. (AP)—Garrett Wolfe rushed for 263 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns Saturday as Northern Illinois beat Buffalo 31-13.
Wolfe scored on a 49-yard run on the Huskies’ second offensive play and a 68-yard burst down the sidelines in the fourth quarter. The senior tailback, who surpassed 200 yards for the eighth time in his career, has 630 yards rushing this season.
Northern Illinois (1-2, 1-1 Mid-American) finished with 500 yards of total offense, 344 on the ground.
Quarterback Phil Horvath was 12-of-19 for 156 yards and one interception.
A six-yard toss to wide receiver Marcus Perez and 26-yard field goal by Chris Nendick helped give the Huskies a 17-0 lead at halftime. Perez finished with six catches for 91 yards.
Buffalo (1-2, 1-1 Mid-American) scored on its first possession of the second half when Bulls quarterback Drew Willy guided the team on a 15-play, 91-yard drive that was capped by Steven King’s one-yard run to make the score 17-7.
Willy was 25-of-41 for 250 yards. Bulls wide receiver Terrance Breaux had 104 yards on eight receptions, including a 28-yard touchdown catch with 41.7 seconds remaining.
Wolfe’s backup, Montell Clanton, had 93 yards on 10 carries. Clanton scored on a 58-yard run with 2:15 left in the game.
Northern Illinois, which had given up 35 points in each of its first two games, while allowing nearly 500 yards a game, held Buffalo to 349 total yards. The Huskies’ defense posted four quarterback sacks.
Head to Head - Week 3
| Team | Total Yds | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | First Downs | 3rdD% | Pen./Yds | Turnovers | Time of Poss. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 349 | 250 | 99 | 23 | 50.0% | 3/14 | 0 | 32:15 |
| Northern Illinois | 500 | 156 | 344 | 19 | 40.0% | 7/45 | 1 | 27:45 |