Final Stats |  Notes

ATHENS, Ohio - Quarterback Drew Hare hit Chad Beebe over the middle with an 18-yard touchdown pass with six minutes to play to lift the Northern Illinois University Huskies to a 21-14 victory over Ohio Tuesday night in Peden Stadium.

With the win, NIU remained in the lead for the Mid-American Conference West Division title and won its fifth straight game to improve to 9-2 on the season, 6-1 in league play. NIU can clinch its fifth straight MAC West title and make its fifth consecutive trip to the MAC Championship game with a win over Western Michigan in the final regular season game of the season. NIU and WMU will meet in Kalamazoo on Friday, Nov. 28th. The game will kickoff at either 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. CT (depending on television).

While Hare's throw on a post route to Beebe provided the winning margin Tuesday, the victory remained in doubt until the Huskie defense stopped a final challenge from the Bobcats. With Ohio driving for a potential game-tying score and facing second and 10 from the NIU 42, wide receiver Landon Smith fumbled after being hit by Huskie linebacker Boomer Mays and NIU's Marlon Moore recovered. The play, which was initially called an incompletion and then overturned on review, gave the Huskies the ball back with 1:57 to play.

Hare picked up 11 yards on three runs, and NIU went into victory formation to leave Athens with a victory for the first time since 1982.

"We made plays when we had to make `em," said NIU Head Coach Rod Carey, who improved to 21-5 as the Huskies' head coach with the win. "On offense, we didn't play particularly well. Ohio had a good [defensive] game plan. They took away everything we wanted to do. We had to make adjustments; I wish we had gotten to them earlier in the game, but when we were able to make them [in the second half], it worked out. I thought the defense played great except for one drive in the first half."

For the second consecutive game, NIU was outgained but not outscored. The Huskies finished the game with 325 yards on 65 plays, while Ohio totaled 344 on 67 plays. Hare was an efficient 15-of-23 passing for 178 yards. In addition to his touchdown pass to Beebe, he hit senior tailback Akeem Daniels on a screen that Daniels took 32 yards for his first touchdown of the season. Daniels, who missed the 2013 campaign due to injury, finished with four carries for 24 yards and two receptions for 46 yards and the touchdown.

"The screen was a great call," Daniels said. "I saw the backside linebacker coming up the middle, and I tried to sell it with my eyes. The offensive line blocked great in the open and the pass was perfect from Drew. We know with what we've done in the league, we're going to get everyone's best shot and tonight was no different. I'm just happy to be back and do whatever I can to help the team get to where we want to be."

Daniels' touchdown came on a drive that started after turnovers on back-to-back plays in the middle of the field by NIU and then Ohio. First, an uncharacteristic fumble by Cameron Stingily, who gained 43 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown in the game, gave OU the ball on the NIU 47-yard line.

But on the next play, Ohio quarterback Derrius Vick was forced out of the pocket and threw a ball that was picked off by NIU's Anthony Brooks for his second INT of the season.

With the score tied at seven, NIU drove 56 yards in seven plays. Hare completed passes to Beebe and Areeros Turner, and ran for 14 yards to convert a big third down from the NIU 47. The screen pass to Daniels and PAT gave the Huskies a 14-7 lead with 9:25 to play in the third quarter.

Ohio tied the game early in the fourth quarter. Vick hit tailback A.J. Ouellette on a nine-yard slant pass for the touchdown on a drive that included a 29-yard run by the quarterback

The teams played a scoreless first quarter. NIU began a drive on its 41-yard line with 1:34 to play in the period after a 29-yard punt by Ohio's Mitch Bonstetter. A five-yard penalty and two quick incompletions brought up third and five but from there, Hare and Brown connected on three straight plays for pick-ups of 14, 16 and 17 yards to the NIU two-yard line.

Following the quarter break, Stingily bulled through the line for a two-yard touchdown run to put the Huskies up 7-0. Stingily scored a rushing touchdown for the fifth straight game and recorded his 11th TD of the year.

Ohio responded behind the running of Ouellette, who finished the game with 127 yards on 25 carries. Starting from their 20, the Bobcats drove 80 yards in eight plays, with Ouellette running for 54 yards on the drive, including on the 12-yard touchdown run.

The Huskies put together drives of seven and eight yards on their next two possessions, but both drives stalled when NIU was unable to convert on downs. Tyler Wedel's punts forced Ohio to start at its 14 and at its one, where they ended the half.

NIU is bowl eligible for the seventh straight season and has won at least nine games for the fifth straight year. For information on the MAC's postseason bowl tie-ins, go to the Postseason Information Center on NIUHuskies.com.

-- NIU --

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