MUNCIE, Ind. (AP)—Garrett Wolfe, the nation’s Division I rushing leader, ran for a career-high 353 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night as Northern Illinois beat Ball State 40-28.
Wolfe, whose previous high was 325 yards at Eastern Michigan two years ago, raised his total to 1,181 yards in five games this season and his career yardage to 4,417, tops among all active players.
The Huskies (3-2, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) and Cardinals (1-4, 1-1) were tied at 14 at halftime, but Northern Illinois broke the game open in the third quarter with 16 points, including a 48-yard touchdown run by Wolfe.
Wolfe also scored Northern’s first touchdown, a 51-yarder in the first quarter, and the last on a 53-yard run early in the final period. A 37-yard field goal by Chris Nendick pushed the Huskies’ lead to 40-14 before Ball State scored twice in the final 5 minutes on TD passes from Nate Davis to Terry Moss for 41 yards and Darius Hill for 13 yards.
Davis, who had two earlier touchdown passes, was 27-of-38 for 298 yards. Northern’s Phil Horvath was 20-of-28 for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
The game was halted for about 40 minutes in the first half by rain.
Head to Head - Week 5
| Team | Total Yds | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | First Downs | 3rdD% | Pen./Yds | Turnovers | Time of Poss. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois | 610 | 252 | 358 | 24 | 58.3% | 9/70 | 1 | 32:13 |
| Ball State | 385 | 307 | 78 | 21 | 50.0% | 5/50 | 1 | 27:47 |