DEKALB, Ill. – A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns helped lead the Northern Illinois University Huskies to a 24-10 win over Illinois State on Saturday night in the season opener at Huskie Stadium. Senior quarterback Ross Bowers (Bothell, Wash./Bothell), a transfer from California, went 20-of-33 through the air for 299 yards and two touchdowns as head coach Thomas Hammock began his coaching career with a victory.
 
"[I'm] excited about the win," Hammock said. "We expected a four-quarter game and we trained all training camp for these types of situations and elements. Our team did a great job of not flinching and they did a great job of handling the moment.
"We will improve as an offense. Teams make the biggest jump from Week 1 to Week 2. I saw some great things out of the defense and our special teams were solid but as a team I like where we're at."
The Huskies and Redbirds traded a pair of field goals in the first half but neither team found the end zone until late in the third quarter when a Huskie score started a flurry of touchdown drives. 
 
NIU took a 10-3 lead with a nine-play, 92-yard drive, capped by a Bowers to Tyrice Richie (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor/Dodge City CC) 22-yard touchdown pass with 2:11 to play in the third quarter. Illinois State had pinned the Huskies back on their own eight-yard line, but it took NIU just 3:12 to go the length of the field for the score. Bowers was 6-of-8 passing on the drive for 89 yards, connecting with five different receivers.
 
A total of nine receivers caught at least one pass for the Huskies, led by four receptions from junior tight end Mitchell Brinkman (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) for 51 yards.
 
Illinois State answered right back on the next drive as Brady Davis connected with Taylor Grimes for a 42-yard touchdown to tie the game, 10-10, on the second play of the fourth quarter. The Redbirds needed just five plays to go 75 yards on the drive.
 
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Bowers found Richie on a short route before the junior receiver eluded the first defender and raced to the end zone for a 68-yard score, giving the Huskies a 17-10 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter.
 
"We trust our players, nobody panicked," Hammock said. "We're going to throw the ball. [Ross] made a good throw and Tyrice made a good catch and run.  We're not going to play scared." 
 
"(Ross) and I worked on that since the first day he walked on campus," Richie said of the long touchdown play. "I saw that the defensive back was on outside leverage so I ran an out route to make him come down hard and ran inside."
 
The 68-yard touchdown was NIU's longest play from scrimmage since a 73-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Childers to Chad Beebe on October 21, 2017 at Bowling Green. Richie finished the night with three catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
 
After trading a pair of possessions, the Redbirds had the ball, trailing by seven with 2:43 left when sophomore cornerback Jalen McKie (Gurnee, Ill./Waukegan) intercepted a Davis pass and went 32 yards back the other way for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.
 
Davis finished the night 14-of-32 passing for 187 yards for the Redbirds, who rushed for just 51 yards as a team. The NIU defense held Illinois State to just 238 yards of total offense, including six three-and-outs.
 
Freshman Mark Aitken (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood Academy) and senior Kyle Pugh (Chicago Heights, Ill./Bloom Township) tied for the team lead with five tackles. NIU had a total of eight tackles for loss, with Pugh and senior Jack Heflin (Prophetstown, Ill./Erie-Prophetstown) with 1.5 each.
 
In the opening half, NIU took a 3-0 lead with 4:19 to play in the first quarter on a 25-yard field goal by freshman John Richardson (Orland Park, Ill./Brother Rice). A 45-yard completion from Bowers to senior tight end Daniel Crawford (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) gave the Huskies first and goal at the Illinois State nine and four plays later NIU took the three-point lead.
 
The first turnover of the game helped Illinois State even the game at 3-3 with 2:55 left in the first half. A pass from Bowers was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Dylan Drake, giving the Redbirds the ball on the NIU 32-yard line. Illinois State's drive stalled at the Huskie 15 and Sam Fenlason connected on a 32-yard field goal to tie the contest.
 
NIU will now hit the road for the entire month of September, beginning next Saturday, September 7, when the Huskies travel to Utah. Kickoff against the 14th-ranked Utes is scheduled for noon CT and will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.

-- NIU --