DEKALB, Ill. (AP)—Northern Illinois tailbacks Justin Anderson and David Bryant combined for 208 yards rushing to a 27-20 victory over Kent State on Saturday.
Anderson, who cracked the 1,000 yard rushing mark on the season, had one touchdown rushing and one receiving, which helped Northern Illinois (2-8, 1-5 Mid-American Conference) snap their five game losing streak. Bryant rushed for a career-high 110 yards on 28 carries.
Kent State (3-7, 1-5) dropped its fifth straight game despite the performance of running back Eugene Jarvis, who broke the Kent State single-season rushing record with 170 yards on 20 carries on Saturday.
The Huskies held on to win despite a number of miscues throughout the game, including three first half turnovers, a botched snap on a field goal attempt seconds before halftime and a missed field goal in the fourth quarter.
Huskies quarterback Dan Nicholson was 21-28 for 275 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. His first touchdown came on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Justin Anderson, following a 79-yard drive sparked by a flea-flicker to Matt Simon for 50 yards.
Nicholson added another passing touchdown in the second quarter, connecting with sophomore tight end Reed Cunningham to make the score 21-7.
Kent State quarterback Giorgio Morgan, who ran for a touchdown in the first quarter, was injured on a fumble in the second quarter and did not return to the game.
Backup quarterback Jon Brown led the Golden Flashes to a score on his first drive, connecting with freshman halfback Alan Vanderink on a 1-yard touchdown pass which brought Kent State within a touchdown.
Kent State’s Nate Reed and NIU’s Chris Nendick both had two field goals in the second half.
The Golden Flashes had an opportunity to tie the score in the final minutes of the game, but linebacker John Tranchitella intercepted a Jon Brown pass on the Huskies’ ten yard line and NIU was able to run out the clock.
The Huskies have won nine times in a row against the Golden Flashes when playing in DeKalb.
Head to Head - Week 11
| Team | Total Yds | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | First Downs | 3rdD% | Pen./Yds | Turnovers | Time of Poss. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State | 363 | 159 | 204 | 25 | 28.6% | 3/15 | 2 | 26:11 |
| Northern Illinois | 510 | 275 | 235 | 28 | 46.7% | 6/70 | 3 | 33:49 |