DEKALB, Ill. – Junior quarterback Marcus Childers (Adairsville, Ga./Adairsville) threw for three touchdowns and junior running back Tre Harbison (Shelby, N.C./Crest/Virginia) ran for a pair as the Northern Illinois University Huskies recorded their first shutout since 2012, blanking Akron, 49-0, on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 26) at Huskie Stadium.

Harbison rushed for 158 yards on 31 carries and the NIU defense added a pair of touchdowns while holding the Zips to just 145 yards of total offense; pitching its first shutout in 93 games (Nov. 3, 2012 vs. UMass: 63-0).

"I'm proud of the effort of our young men," said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. "These guys have been grinding the last few weeks to continue to get better and follow the message of the way we prepare and the way we practice. That's indicative of how we play, and we played a clean football game for the most part."

NIU (3-5, 2-2 MAC) scored on its first possession of the game as Harbison capped off a 14-play, 74-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown. The junior running back had six carries for 29 yards on the drive and gave the Huskies a 7-0 lead with 6:08 to play in the opening quarter.

The Huskie lead was still 7-0 when sophomore cornerback Devin Haney (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill) intercepted a pass from Akron quarterback Zach Gibson on the first Zips drive of the second quarter.

It took NIU just one play to convert the turnover into points as Harbison cut through the middle of the Akron (0-8, 0-4) defense and went 30 yards for his second touchdown of the day, giving the Huskies a 14-0 lead.

After a three-and-out by the Akron offense, NIU tacked on another touchdown as Childers connected with redshirt freshman Brett Bostad (Kennedale, Texas/Kennedale) from five yards out, giving the Huskies a 21-0 lead to take into halftime. Bostad's catch was the first of his career.

The NIU defense allowed just 56 total yards in the first half and held Akron to 0-of-5 on third downs.

NIU's first drive of the second half stalled just past midfield but Huskie junior punter Matt Ference (St. Louis, Mo./Lafayette) pinned Akron at its own three-yard line.

On the first play of the drive, the Zips fumbled inside their own end zone and senior safety Trayshon Foster (Tuscaloosa, Ala./Tuscaloosa Academy) jumped on it for a Huskie touchdown, the first of his NIU career.

Following another three-and-out by Akron, the NIU offense marched 70 yards in 11 plays, capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Childers to junior tight end Mitchell Brinkman (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central). The Huskies ran the ball on each of the first 10 plays of the drive, with Haribson getting six carries while Childers and sophomore running back Jordan Nettles (Romeoville, Ill./Romeoville) split the other four.

Brinkman had two catches for 36 yards, Nettles finished the contest with 71 yards rushing on 12 carries.

"My goal was to run it 50 times a day," said Hammock. "We knew the weather was going to be a factor, and we wanted to to lean on our offensive line and our running backs, and those guys came through. They played well."

On the fourth play of the fourth quarter, Childers connected with junior Corey Lersch (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) for a three-yard touchdown, finishing an eight-play, 48-yard drive.

Childers went 7-of-9 through the air in the game for 71 yards while also gaining 36 yards on nine carries.

NIU closed the scoring with 9:43 left in the fourth when freshman linebacker Nick Rattin (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) stepped in front of a pass from Robbie Kelley and returned it 31 yards for a Huskie touchdown.

"Our defense and our young players are really improving," said Hammock. "We see it in practice and our young guys – if given an opportunity – are going to make plays. I was impressed with Nick's (Rattin) run after the catch – we certainly may need to use him on offense – Devin Haney the same thing, the run after the catch. He looked good with the ball in his hands.

"Our goal is to get the ball in their hands and make picks and create fumbles. We left a couple of balls on the ground that we could've picked up, but with the defense that we have and the guys we have out there playing, you can see the real potential."

Akron's Brandon Lee rushed for 76 yards, 38 of which came in the fourth quarter. The Zips had just seven first downs, one shy of the NIU record for fewest allowed in a game.

Next week, NIU will travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to meet Central Michigan on Saturday, November 2. Kickoff against the Chippewas is slated for 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.