Sept. 12, 2015
Recap |
Final Stats |
Quotes |
Photo Gallery 
Recap | Quotes | Final Stats
*** The NIU football team defeated Murray State 57-26 on Saturday afternoon at Huskie Stadium. The Huskies improved to 32-1 in their last 33 games in DeKalb. It was the most points scored by the Huskies since Nov. 3, 2013 when they scored 63 points at Massachusetts.
*** After scoring 38 points last week against UNLV and adding 57 on Saturday, NIU has tallied 95 points in its first two games, which is the most in the opening two games of a Huskie football season since the 1963 campaign, when NIU opened with 116 total points in its first two games on its way to an undefeated season and an NCAA College Division national championship.
*** Sophomore defensive back Mayomi Olootu capped the game's scoring with a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown with 58 seconds to play. It was the first interception return for a score by a Huskie since Anthony Brooks returned a pick 21 yards to the end zone at Ball State on Nov. 5, 2014. It was Olootu's first career INT.
*** With 358 yards on 29-of-38 passing today, Drew Hare recorded the first back-to-back 300-yard passing games by an NIU quarterback in at least 15 seasons. (Will conduct record search.) His 358 passing yards is the ninth-most in a single game in school history, just behind last week's 360-yard effort.
*** Quarterback Drew Hare also threw a career-high four touchdown passes today. His previous best was three TD throws versus UNLV last year. Hare's four touchdown passes is the most by a Huskie QB since Jordan Lynch threw four TD passes versus Eastern Michigan on Oct. 26, 2013.
*** Christian Hagan's PAT miss in the first quarter was the first miss of his career. He had made 28 straight PATs in his career up to that point. It was the first miss by a Huskie kicker since last year's Miami game (10-18-14). Hagan later had a PAT blocked.
*** Shane Wimann scored his second touchdown of the season on a four-yard reception in the first quarter and added another touchdown reception with a three-yard catch just before halftime. NIU tight ends now have four TD catches through two games this season.
*** NIU's Kenny Golladay's 55-yard touchdown catch and run was the first of his young Huskie career and the longest TD reception by a Huskie since Aregeros Turner caught a 65-yard TD pass from Drew Hare versus Western Michigan last year (11-28). Golladay added a 33-yard touchdown catch to close out the Huskies' next drive.
*** WR Kenny Golladay recorded his second consecutive 100-yard receiving day with eight catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He is the first Huskie receiver to have back-to-back 100-yard games since Da'Ron Brown had 128 and 138 yards versus Northwestern and UNLV, respectively, in 2014.
*** With two receiving TDs today, both Shane Wimann and Kenny Golladay became the first Huskie players to catch two touchdown passes in a game since Juwan Brescacin had two touchdown grabs versus Central Michigan (10-11-14) last season.
*** Freshmen running backs D.J. Brown and Marcus Jones both saw their first collegiate action in the Murray State contest. Brown ran 10 times for a team-high 55 yards on the day, while Jones rushed once for nine yards.
*** The Huskies finished the game with 43 carries for 254 yards as a team, improving to 46-3 in their last 49 games in which they rush the ball 40 times or more. No player had more than 55 yards but four had at least 49.
*** NIU redshirt freshman Renard Cheren recorded his first career quarterback sack, dropping Murray State QB KD Humphries for an eight-yard loss in the second quarter; Cody Sullivan and Rajshawn Mosley also notched their first career sacks.
*** Paris Logan's interception in the end zone, which maintained the Huskies' 13-10 lead at the time, was the fifth of his career and NIU's second interception of the season. His last INT was in the MAC Championship game versus Bowling Green.
*** Jordan Huff's 46-yard touchdown run was the first of his career; the Mobile, Alabama product also had a career high for rushes (4) and yards (52) in the game.
*** Aregeros Turner had a career-long 49-yard run in the first quarter.
*** Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Graham made his NIU debut in the fourth quarter. Graham, a product of Wheaton, Ill., finished 2-of-3 passing for 31 yards and added two rushing yards on five attempts with a long carry of 12 yards.
*** NIU's 643 yards of total offense were the most by the Huskies since last year's win over Miami (Ohio) and are the 11th-most in a single game all-time.
