DeKALB, Ill. — Moments akin to what head coach Scot Loeffler has preached about all season long are what ultimately plagued his Bowling Green State University football team on Saturday.
Northern Illinois ran all over Bowling Green’s defense, notching 319 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground and getting a huge lift from a kick-return score, and the Huskies held off the Falcons 34-26 in a Mid-American Conference game at Huskie Stadium.
“I told our guys at the end of the game, we’re competitive now, and these games are going to come down to two or three or four plays, and you never know when they’re going to show up,” Loeffler said. “We’ve got to work our tail off in order to push this boulder over the hill and finish games.”
The opening moments of the game were as if one pressed rewind on the opening moments of a few other BGSU games. Unfortunately, so did moments throughout the middle parts of the game.
On Northern Illinois’ first drive, Falcons defensive back Jalen Burton forced a fumble on starting tailback Antario Brown in NIU territory. Jordan Anderson recovered it, and BGSU began with possession at the NIU 36.
The Falcons ran six plays and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown on a sweep play to tight end Christian Sims.
Bowling Green, however, would not find the end zone again until midway through the fourth quarter.
Brown was injured on the play in which he fumbled and, with top tailback Harrison Waylee not available because of an injury, it was Jay Ducker’s time for the Huskies.
For the second week in a row, a freshman reserve entered the game following injury and knifed through the BGSU defense. The true freshman stepped in and carried the ball 33 times for 210 yards. It was the first time an NIU player rushed for 200 or more yards since Jordan Lynch ran for 321 yards against Western Michigan in 2013.
“We knew coming into the game that’s what they were going to do,” linebacker Darren Anders said. “They like to pound the ball down your throat, and they’re a really good team rushing the ball. ... It was more about missed assignments, missed tackles, that we’ve got to clean that up. If we do that, we can play a lot better.”
Northern Illinois quarterback Rocky Lombardi attempted just eight passes in the game, but he made plays when needed. The Michigan State transfer dove past the far-side pylon for a touchdown on a 4th-and-goal play from the BGSU 3 to even the game at 7 with 13:13 to play in the first half.
After a Bowling Green punt, NIU (5-2, 3-0 MAC) took six plays to go 73 yards and take a 14-7 lead on Mason Blakemore’s 17-yard touchdown run. The teams exchanged punts, and three key consecutive plays near the end of the first half changed the tide of the game for the worse for Bowling Green (2-5, 0-3 MAC).
Quarterback Matt McDonald was looking for Javonte Kinsey on the near sideline in the end zone on a 2nd-and-goal from the 5, but Kinsey couldn’t haul it in. McDonald had an open Jaedyn McKinstry in the middle of the end zone on the next play, but the St. John’s Jesuit product dropped the ball, and the Falcons had to kick a field goal and settle for a 14-10 deficit with 1:50 to play until half.
NIU got its explosive play right after. Trayvon Rudolph took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards up the near sideline for a touchdown. It was the first kick-six for NIU since 2016, and it tied for the longest return in program history dating to Nov., 2011.
“I think our guys are tired of seeing four to five plays dictate a game, and we need to be on the other side of those four to five plays,” Loeffler said.
Instead of a 14-14 game at halftime, the Falcons were facing a 21-13 deficit after getting another field goal from Nate Needham, who converted 4 of 4 attempts — from 23, 49, 42, and 42 yards — for a career-high in a single game. Needham remains perfect on field-goal attempts this season at 13 for 13.
The Falcons made just two red-zone trips, and left at least two touchdowns off the board.
“I missed some throws, receivers dropped a couple — the wind was a factor, but we can’t let that affect us,” McDonald said. “There were plays we should have made out there, that I should have made. We’re going to make those plays. We’re so close in all these games, and it’s frustrating right now, but you’ve got to look into the future, and next year we’re going to win these games.”
NIU pulled ahead 31-16 when Lombardi connected with Rudolph for a 20-yard TD with 3:16 left in the third quarter. The teams exchanged field goals to start the fourth quarter and, with 12:55 left, NIU held a 34-19 lead.
Bowling Green prevented a 4th-and-2 conversion by NIU from the BGSU 39, as Davon Ferguson tackled Tyrice Richie one yard short of the sticks — one of a career-high 17 tackles for the senior — for a turnover on downs with 9:24 left.
Bowling Green’s Austin Osborne then made a one-handed grab off a batted pass, sliced through the NIU defense, and trotted into the end zone for a 36-yard TD that cut the deficit to 34-26 with 6:25 to play.
Northern Illinois punted on its final two possessions, but BGSU was unable to get one more big play.
McDonald completed 16 of 41 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown in blustery conditions. Osborne caught five of 11 targets for 63 yards, and Jhaylin Embry had three grabs for 64 yards. Taron Keith rushed 11 times for 39 yards. McDonald paced the Falcons in rushing with 75 yards.
First Published October 17, 2021, 12:52 a.m.
