DEKALB, Ill. – The NIU Huskies trailed by just nine at halftime, but two third quarter takeaways helped Central Michigan score 24 unanswered points to start the second half on its way to a 40-10 victory over NIU on Wednesday night (Nov. 11) at Huskie Stadium.
"Obviously this falls squarely on my shoulders," said NIU head coach
Thomas Hammock. "I take full responsibility for the way we played, we have to play better. It's unfortunate, the way our kids have practiced and got themselves prepared, at the moment we are just not reaping the rewards.
"We have to be better on offense, we have to be able to move the ball, we have to be able to stay on the field on third down. We have to be able to score in the red zone to give our defense a chance."
Kyle Pugh (Chicago Heights, Ill./Bloom Township) made a game-high 14 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, his highest total in a game since 2017. Deveren Rayner (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central), making his first career start, and
Jordan Hansen (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) each made seven tackles.
Central Michigan (2-0, 2-0 MAC) struck first with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Richardson to Dallas Dixon on the first drive of the contest. The Chippewas needed just two plays to go 76 yards to open the scoring.
Richardson was 13-of-19 passing in the contest for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
Late in the first quarter, the Huskies moved to the Central Michigan 23-yard line but were unable to convert on fourth and three, turning the ball over on downs as the Chippewas took a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
A mishandled snap on a punt deep in NIU (0-2, 0-2 MAC) territory was knocked out of the back of the end zone by the Huskies for a Central Michigan safety with just over two minutes left in the opening half, giving CMU a 9-0 lead at the intermission.
Central Michigan added to its lead with a 12-play, 94-yard drive to start the second half. Kobe Lewis capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run as the Chippewas took a 16-0 lead.
A Huskie fumble on the ensuing kickoff gave the ball back to the Chippewas inside NIU territory and CMU converted with a 40-yard field goal to take a 19-point advantage.
Late in the third quarter, NIU turned the ball over on downs near midfield and, on the second play of the drive, Central Michigan added another score as Richardson connected with Lew Nichols on a screen pass that went 58 yards for the score.
Nichols added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter before
John Richardson (Orland Park, Ill./Brother Rice) got the Huskies on the scoreboard with a 45-yard field goal.
Nichols finished with a game-high 91 yards on 12 carries.
Andrew Haidet (Plano, Texas/John Paul II/Houston Baptist) led NIU on an 8-play, 73-yard drive in the fourth quarter, finished with a 31-yard touchdown reception by
Dennis Robinson (Hollywood, Fla./South Broward).
Harrison Waylee (Johnston, Iowa/Urbandale) had four carries for 28 yards on the drive while
Erin Collins (Plant City, Fla./Armwood/Hutchinson CC) added nine yards on two carries on the scoring drive.
Ross Bowers (Bothell, Wash./Bothell/California) was 16-of-32 passing for 139 yards and
Tyrice Richie (Chicago, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor/Dodge City CC) recorded a game-high seven catches for 70 yards.
NIU will hit the road for the first time in the 2020 season on Wednesday, November 18, as the Huskies travel to Ball State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU.
