YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Northern Illinois University football team rushed for a season-high 216 yards on Saturday but the Eastern Michigan Eagles outscored the Huskies 10-0 in the fourth quarter to come away with a 16-10 victory at Rynearson Stadium.

"Our players are laying it on the play and playing as hard as they can play, we're just not getting the results we want," said head coach Thomas Hammock following the game. "There were plays to be made and we took some shots down the field. We have to learn from this and see what we can do to create some more opportunities."

Sophomore running back Telly Johnson Jr. (Augusta, Ga./Hephzibah) rushed for a season-high 137 yards on 12 carries, including an 80-yard touchdown run to highlight his third career 100-yard rushing game. Freshman quarterback Brady Davidson (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) threw for 96 yards in his second consecutive start. Gary Givens (Tampa, Fla./Valparaiso) led the Huskies with three receptions for 42 yards. Defensively Jasper Beeler (Farmington, Mich./Saginaw Valley State) led NIU with a career-high 11 tackles. Roy Williams (Crestwood, Ill./Shepard) and Muhammad Jammeh (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) each had a career-high nine tackles with Williams adding a tackle for loss.

Down 6-3 at halftime, NIU (1-5, 0-2 MAC) had a chance to wrest the momentum away from the Eagles early in the third quarter. Donte Harrison (Washington, D.C./Shepherd) intercepted Eastern Michigan quarterback Noah Kim deep in Huskies territory, returning the pick 11 yards to the NIU 17 with 9:56 to go. NIU drove the football to its own 37 yardline but was forced to punt. The Huskies defense forced a three-and-out to give the offense the ball at the NIU 20. Johnson then broke through the right side of the line on the first play of the drive and went a career-long 80 yards to the end zone to put NIU up 10-6 with 4:26 remaining in the quarter.

"I just waited behind Evan Malcore for the hole to open up and just ran," Johnson said of his touchdown run, the longest for an NIU Huskie since Antario Brown had an 80-yard touchdown at Toledo in 2023.

Eastern Michigan (2-5, 1-2 MAC) took the lead back midway through the fourth quarter. A six-yard touchdown pass from Kim to tight end Josh Long capped a nine-play, 64-yard drive that gave the Eagles a 13-10 lead with 8:31 remaining. The Eagles then got a turnover as Davidson  was intercepted by Bryce Llewellyn who ran the ball back to the NIU 15 with 7:48 to go. The Huskies held Eastern Michigan to a 28-yard field goal from Rudy Kessinger to stay within a touchdown at 16-10 with 5:40 left.

The Huskies had a chance to tie the game with 2:18 to go, getting the ball at their own 20 yardline after a touchback on a punt. On third-and-six from the 24 Davidson found DeAree Rogers (Lexington, S.C./Lenoir-Rhyne) for a 17-yard pass to move the chains to the 41 yardline. NIU got an extra five yards on an EMU delay of game penalty. Davidson made another big throw on fourth-and-four from the EMU 48, connecting with Givens for a 21-yard reception to the 27 yardline with under a minute to go in the game. However, the drive stalled their as four straight incompletions led to a turnover on downs and one Eastern Michigan kneel down to end the game.

Eastern Michigan scored first on a 35-yard field goal by Rudy Kessinger with 7:16 to go in the first quarter. Jacob Finley (Birmingham, Ala./Hoover), who had nine tackles in the game, forced the Eagles into the kick after stopping Porter Rooks from getting a first down on 3rd and 10 from the NIU 17.

The Huskies tied the game on their next drive, going 62 yards on 15 plays in 8:36. Andrew Glass (Wheeling, W. Va./Kent State) knocked a 30-yard field goal through the uprights with 13:40 to go in the second quarter to make the score 3-3. Running Back Chavon Wright (Opa Locka, Fla./Charleston) kept the drive alive by converting two fourth downs, including a fourth-and-one from NIU's own 34 yardline. The Eagles took back the lead at the 1:42 mark of the second quarter when Kessinger made a 49-yard field goal to make the score 6-3.

NIU outgained its opponent for the second time this season, compiling a season-high 310 yards of total offense to EMU's 296. The Huskies were 3-for-5 on fourth down and 4-for-16 on third down as the Eagles were 6-for-16 on third down. NIU also committed no penalties in the game for the first time since Nov. 13, 2013 against Ball State. Kim threw for 147 yards as running back Dontae McMillan rushed for 104 yards.

The Huskies are back on the road next Saturday, Oct. 18 to take on the Ohio Bobcats. Kickoff from Peden Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. CT with the game broadcast on ESPN+.

—NIU—