Huskies Dominate Arkansas State 38-20 In GoDaddy.com Bowl

The victory also marked a special moment for the Northern Illinois seniors as the win marked the 34th win for the seniors which set a Huskies program record.  Senior quarterback Chandler Harnish finished 18 of 37 passing for 280 yards and two touchdowns, while his favorite target was wide receiver Martel Moore, who finished with eight receptions for 225 yards and one touchdown.

Northern Illinois made their 12th bowl appearance in school history.  With the win, Northern Illinois is now 5-7 all-time in bowl games, including two consecutive bowl victories.   The Huskies have been to a bowl in four consecutive years and were making their fifth bowl appearance in the last six years, and sixth bowl appearance in the last eight years.

With the win, the MAC improved to 4-1 in bowl games this season to set a new conference record.  Temple defeated Wyoming 37-15 in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl and Ohio dropped Utah State 24-23 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, both games were played on Dec. 17.  Western Michigan lost a 37-32 decision to Purdue in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl on Dec. 27, while Toledo defeated Air Force 42-41 in the Military Bowl on Dec. 28.

After taking a 21-13 lead into the half, the Huskies defense set the tone in the third quarter and the rest of the second half.  Northern Illinois forced four second half turnovers, which they converted into 17 second half points to earn the 38-20 victory.

In the third quarter, Huskies defensive back Jhony Faustin intercepted a deflected pass at the Arkansas State 43-yard line.  On the next play, Harnish went deep with a 43-yard touchdown strike to Martel Moore and the Huskies jumped to a 28-13 lead with 13:30 left in the third quarter.

Midway in the third quarter, Huskies defensive end Stephen O’Neal sacked Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin and forced the fumble at the six yard line, which was recovered by the Huskies Jason Meehan.  Three plays later, the Huskies were forced to attempt a 22-yard field goal by Mathew Sims which hit the left upright and was no good.

Late in the third quarter, Huskies defensive back Rashaan Melvin intercepted Aplin at the Arkansas State 28 yard line on a third and nine play.  Five plays later, Sims converted a 22 yard field goal to open a 31-13 lead with 13:24 left in the fourth quarter.

Arkansas State responded with a seven play, 59 yard scoring drive, capped by a touchdown pass from Aplin to Tyler Stockemer in the right corner of the end zone to cut the Huskies lead, 31-20, with 11:12 left in the fourth quarter.

As the Huskies offense was struggling in the second half, the defense continued to make key plays.  Northern Illinois defensive back Dechane Durante jumped a route and intercepted an Aplin pass and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown with 8:19 left in the fourth quarter to open a 38-20 lead.

Early on the Huskies started slow and showed some rust after not playing since the Marathon MAC Football Championship game. Arkansas State scored on their first three possessions to open 13-0 lead midway through the first quarter.  However, Northern Illinois came to life and scored 21 consecutive points to take a 21-13 lead at the half.

On the opening drive, Arkansas State drove eight plays down to the Huskies 11-yard line and had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Brian Davis to open a 3-0 lead with 11:22 left in the first quarter. 

After forcing a quick three and out by Northern Illinois, Arkansas State once again had to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Davis after driving 40 yards and extending their lead, 6-0, with 7:44 left in the opening quarter.

The RedWolves found the end zone on their third drive of the game as Aplin scored on a two yard touchdown run.  The scoring run capped a three play, 41 yard drive in only 58 seconds as the RedWolves opened a 13-0 lead at the 5:08 mark of the first quarter.

The Huskies finally got their offense going on their third drive and head coach Dave Doeren opened the playbook.  On a fourth and four from the Arkansas State 15 yard line, the Huskies lined up for a 32-yard field goal attempt by Sims and were successful with the fake attempt and pitch to fullback Pat McAvoy for four yards and forward progress gave the Huskies the first down at the 11-yard line.  Two plays later, Harnish found Perez Ashford for a nine yard touchdown pass to cut the lead, 13-7 with 1:00 left in the first quarter.  The Northern Illinois scoring drive covered 77 yards in 11 plays and took 4:12 off the clock.

Northern Illinois rode the momentum with the next series as the Huskies defense forced their first punt of the game and gave Harnish and the offense the ball back at the Northern Illinois 23-yard line. 

Harnish found Ashford for a 33 yard completion and Martel Moore for 32 yards on consecutive plays and the Huskies were quickly at the Arkansas State 11-yard line.  On the completion to Moore, Harnish came off with left leg injury and was replaced by Jordan Lynch.  After two runs and a sack, the Huskies were forced to attempt a 33-yard field goal attempt by Sims, which missed wide left.

On the next Huskies drive, Lynch showed his skills as a quarterback by both running and throwing the ball.   On the first play, Lynch connected with Moore on a 41-yard completion down the right sideline to the RedWolves 37 yard line.  Lynch capped the seven play scoring drive with a three yard touchdown run to give the Huskies their first lead of the game, 14-13, with 4:49 left in the second quarter.

Harnish returned to the lineup on the next series late in the second quarter, however the Huskies were forced to punt after a quick three and out series.  

Special teams miscues by the RedWolves came into play for the Huskies next.

On the ensuing punt, RedWolves punt returner Rod Hall fumble and Northern Illinois gunner Dominique Ware recovered at the Arkansas State 43 yard line.  However, the Huskies couldn’t capitalize and were forced to punt after another three and out series.  On the fourth down punt, the RedWolves were penalized for roughing Huskies punter Ryan Nier and Northern Illinois found new life with the ball at the Arkansas State 25 yard line.   Ten plays later, Huskies fullback Jamal Womble ran for a one-yard touchdown run on the final play of the half to extend the Huskies lead 21-13 at the half.  

The touchdown run on the final play was a gutsy call by Doeren as the fourth and one play with two seconds left before the half could have been a potential field goal kick before the half or the play could have resulted in a defensive stop by Arkansas State from the one yard line with no time left in the half.

In the end, the Huskies scored a key touchdown before the half and took the much needed momentum into the lockerroom and a 21-13 lead.