NIU 37, Kent State 27: 5 takeaways as the Huskies dramatically seal a bowl bid

KENT – The NIU defense, which had struggled all game, came up big late to preserve a 37-27 win over upset-minded Kent State and make the Huskies (6-6, 5-3) bowl eligible for the second time in the last three years.

Jashon Prophete broke up a pass near his own 40 on a fourth-and-2 play with 1:49 to thwart a late drive, and then the NIU pass rush, led by James Ester, forced a defensive touchdown on KSU’s final, last-ditch possession in the waning seconds to help the Huskies escape Kent with a much-needed victory.

It was a crazy, bizarre, entertaining game. In the end, the Huskies are going bowling.

Here are five takeaways from Saturday’s game:

Brown looks just fine

After leaving the Western Michigan victory in the second half with an injury, Antario Brown was in the starting lineup and made an immediate impact on the game’s first play from scrimmage, darting 39 yards behind the right side of the Huskies’ line to set up the game’s first points – a Kanon Woodill 32-yard field goal.

NIU nearly scored one play prior to the kick, but Gavin Williams bobbled a pass from Rocky Lombardi at the 3-yard line to force a field goal attempt.

Following three Lombardi completions on its next offensive series, Brown got NIU’s first touchdown of the day on a 24-yard burst out of the wildcat formation to give the Huskies a 10-0 lead at the 4:07 mark of the opening quarter. Brown finished the first 15 minutes with 68 yards on five carries. On the two plays prior to Brown’s score, Rocky Lombardi reeled off an 11-yard scamper from the KSU 39, then hit Trayvon Rudolph with a quick 9-yard pass to the right.

No shutout for the NIU defense

After blanking Western Michigan in its last game, the Huskies’ defense gave up a 77-yard scoring drive to the Golden Flashes’ offense that culminated in a TD reception in the back of the end zone that was well covered.

Two big plays set up the score. First Gavin Garcia gashed the defense with a 31-yard rush. Then after the Huskies defense stiffened and forced a field goal attempt, KSU, who entered with the lowest-scoring offense in the FBS, performed a little trickery, with kicker Andrew Glass taking a flip from holder Josh Holder and scurrying to his right for a first down to keep the drive alive.

Big plays were a theme throughout the afternoon, however, as the Golden Flashes regained the lead with 10:23 to go in the game when Gardner Jr. scored on a 50-yard catch and run.

First half mistakes hurt the cause

Ahead 10-7 early in the second quarter, NIU was on the verge of expanding the lead to 13-7 when Woodill stepped on the field for a 40-yard attempt. However, Lombardi had trouble placing the snap down cleanly which led to an aborted attempt. Woodill ended up with the ball and was tackled at the Golden Flashes 32.

A great 45-yard catch by Kyle Thomas, which saw a KSU defender bobble it into the waiting hands of Thomas at the 30, went for naught.

That miscue did not lead to any further KSU points, but the Huskies were not as lucky when Lombardi and Brown failed to execute a handoff at the mesh point. The Golden Flashes picked up the loose ball near the NIU 32 and returned it to the 13.

On the very next play, Luke Floriea, who made a sensational grab in the back corner of the end zone for his team’s first score, took a reverse flip 13 yards for the go-ahead score at 7:53 of the second quarter. Suddenly, the heavy underdog Golden Flashes had the lead for the first time of the afternoon. The hosts added a field goal inside the final minute of the half – set up by a 40-yard pass to a wide-open Trell Harris on a blown coverage.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Huskies encountered more special teams problems when Woodill’s 43-yard field goal sailed wide right. It prevented NIU from going up by seven points at 27-20.

NIU starts the second half with a bang

The Huskies’ special teams kicked off to begin the third quarter and jarred the ball loose on the return. Initially, the call on the field was runner was down. However, the play was reviewed and the call was overturned, giving NIU possession at the 16. Three plays later, Lombardi threw a dart to Grayson Barnes in the front of the end zone to pull the Huskies even at 17-all following Woodill’s PAT.

The momentum was short-lived as KSU connected on a couple of key passes, the most significant being a 45-yard long ball to Jameel Gardner Jr. that carried the ball down to the 8. The NIU defense did yield any more yards on the march, but Glass was still able to boot the easy 25-yard field goal to give KSU the lead once more. It marked only the third time all season that the Golden Flashes had reached the 20-point plateau.

Rudolph’s experience shows on key drive, and Williams’ workload increases

With a bowl berth on the line and trailing by three points midway through third quarter, the resilient Lombardi guided his offense. Following a bad snap that he fell on, and a poor pass that should have been picked off as two defenders collided into each other, Lombardi rolled to his right on a third-and-15 from his own 46 and unleashed a throw that Dane Pardridge was able to adjust to and catch at the 1. Lombardi ran in for the TD on the next play to give the Huskies a 24-20 lead with 3:37 showing in the third quarter.

Gavin Williams, who carried just twice in the first half, ran seven times in the third quarter, including five in a row at one point. Through three quarters, he had amassed 71 yards. In the fourth, on maybe his team’s most crucial possession of the season, Williams followed up a Randolph 34-yard end around with a 15-yard bolt to the 2 to set up Lombardi’s 1-yard score with 4:45 left to give the Huskies a 31-27 lead.