SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Northern Illinois University football team erased an early 13-point deficit Saturday afternoon against the San Josè State Spartans at CEFCU Stadium, but two Spartans touchdowns early in the third quarter got the hosts past NIU 30-19.
"It was a tough, hard-fought game that really came down to who made the explosive plays," said head coach
Rob Harley following the game. "Obviously we had a couple catastrophic plays and you're not going to be able to go on the road and beat a good team in our conference doing that. I thought we did some nice things throughout the game and some of those don't show up on the stat sheet."
The Huskies outgained the Spartans on the day with 400 yards of total offense to 316.
Taron Dickens (Miami, Fla./Western Carolina) was 26-for-36 passing for 259 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for a touchdown. Dickens completed a pass to eight different receivers on the day with
La'Don Bryant (Savannah, Ga./Benedictine Military) leading the Huskies with a career-high seven receptions for 55 yards.
DeAree Rogers (Lexington, S.C./Lenoir-Rhyne) had six catches for 86 yards.
Elijah Porter (Ankeny, Iowa/Centennial) had a game-high 85 rushing yards.
San Josè State (5-5, 3-3 MW) took a 7-0 lead with 9:43 to go in the first quarter. On 4
th-and-1 from the NIU five yardline Viliami Teu took a direct snap and ran for a touchdown to cap a nine-play, 59-yard drive. After forcing NIU to punt for the second straight possession, San Josè State put together another nine-play drive to the NIU seven yardline. The Huskies' defense forced the Spartans into a 25-yard field goal try that Trajan Sinatra made to make the score 10-0 with 2:06 left in the opening quarter.
NIU (0-9, 0-5 MW) nearly forced a turnover early in the second quarter. On 3
rd-and-11 from the NIU 29
Matthew Scarlett (Temple Hills, Md./Virginia State) had a sack fumble of San Josè State quarterback Daniel Rolovich. However, the Spartans recovered the loose ball to set up a Sinatra 46-yard field goal that put the hosts up 13-0 at the 11:46 mark of the second.
The Huskies got on the board on their next possession. Dickens started the drive with a 40-yard pass to Rogers to get NIU into SJSU territory at the 41 yardline. After a one-yard rush by
Telly Johnson Jr. (Augusta, Ga./Hephzibah), the junior running back ripped off a 10-yard carry to the Spartans' 30 yardline. Porter then had a 16-yard rush to get the Huskies' into the red zone. Four plays later Johnson scored on a four-yard touchdown run, making the score 13-6 with 8:07 to go and capping a seven-play, 81-yard drive. NIU tied the game on another 81-yard drive. This time Dickens threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver
Zaire McKinney (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) to put the score level at 13-13 with 3:25 to play until halftime. San Josè State went back in front on a Sinatra 46-yard field goal, taking a 16-13 lead into halftime.
"Zaire's touchdown was big," Harley said. "He's a young guy that had some big plays today and that increases confidence when you play well."
NIU had a chance to at least tie the game at the start of the second half. The Huskies' defense forced a three-and-out on San Jose State's first possession, forcing a punt. However, a fumble on the punt was recovered by the Spartans at the NIU 18. The Spartans extended their lead to 23-13 at the 9:32 mark of the third on a Teu one-yard touchdown plunge. The Huskies attempted a fake punt after a drive stalled at the NIU 37 but did not convert. San Josè State took advantage of a short field as Rolovich found Dominique McKenzie for a 29-yard touchdown pass, making the score 30-13 with 6:09 to play in the third.
The Huskies drove all the way down to the San Jose State seven yardline on 10 plays and looked to get back on the board. However, NIU was stopped on a 4
th-and-1 run play and turned the ball over on downs. NIU did tack on a late touchdown, driving 85 yards on 10 plays to put the score at 30-19 in the fourth quarter. Johnson Jr. opened the drive with a 33-yard rush to the NIU 48. Dickens then completed a 17-yard pass to McKinney at the SJSU 45. After a sack Porter had a 17-yard run to the SJSU 26. On the 10
th play of the drive Dickens scored his first touchdown of the season on a one-yard run to get NIU within 11, 30-19, with the two-point try unsuccessful at the 3:55 mark.
Freshman linebacker
Jack Murray (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield East) led the NIU defense with nine tackles. Defensive End
Kole Sneed (Oak Park, Ill./St. Thomas) had a season-high six tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Defensive Tackle
Amari Washington (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) had four tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.
"I thought our defensive line did a nice job," said Harley. "It became a pass-heavy game and when they [SJSU] did run the ball those guys were disruptive inside. It goes back to a mindset and a physicality. Those guys are gaining confidence and you can see that."
Rolovich was 16-for-27 for 231 yards and a touchdown. Teu rushed for 43 yards and two touchdowns. Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa led all players with 11 tackles.
NIU returns to Huskie Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 14 to take on the Nevada Wolf Pack. Kick-off is at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on MW+, the Mountain West's streaming platform. Fans can sign up by
following this link.
Single game seats for Huskie home games start at just $35 for east side general admission tickets. West side general admission seats are $40 while west side reserved seating will begin at $42. All ticket prices will increase by $5 on game day. In addition, the Huskie Stadium Box Office will be cashless on game day, and fans will be unable to select specific locations when purchasing at the box office on the day of game.
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