It was another strong effort for a half from the Northern Illinois Huskies against a Power 5 conference.

In a game similar to the Maryland game two weeks ago, NIU played the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference to a four-point game at halftime, but could not prevent the home Bulldogs from taking control in the second half in a 38-10 loss for the Huskies.

The Huskies were within seven points of the Terrapins 10-3 at the half of that game, but Maryland went on to a 20-9 victory.

This time it was MSU that held a 14-10 advantage at halftime, then outscored NIU 24-0 in the second half.

Even with another good effort, it could not prevent the Huskies from falling below the .500 mark for the first time since 2023 at 1-2. The Huskies are now 1-14 against teams from the SEC.

Below are some observations from the game.

Potential scoring drive ends with interception for NIU

The Huskies came out in the second half in an attempt to keep things close after the Bulldogs scored on a lightning-quick drive to go up 21-10. The Huskies executed a nine-play drive that covered 55 yards and 8:41 down to the MSU 20-yard line.

NIU missed out on points when quarterback Josh Holst threw an interception into the hands of Bulldog Isaac Smith.

The Huskies never got closer than the MSU 36 again, and the Bulldogs scored on their next three possessions to put the game away.

Outgaining Bulldogs in first half

The NIU offense outgained MSU 170-148 in total offensive yards in the first half.

A passing attack that produced 86 yards helped the Huskies stay in the game and only trailed 14-10 at halftime.

NIU held MSU to 35 yards through the air.

That quickly changed in the second half as the Bulldogs hit a big pass play early in the third quarter and had reached 300 yards of total offense by the end of the quarter.

Trading touchdown passes

The Huskies and Bulldogs traded touchdown passes early in the second quarter.

After Holst threw his first touchdown pass of the season, a 24-yard pass to DeAree Rogers, MSU answered back with a 1-yard score from Blake Shapen to Seydou Traore.

First quarter first downs

The Huskies were able to get three first downs on their opening possession, which resulted in the first points of the game.

Telly Johnson Jr. had the biggest gain of the drive with a 32-yard run and was followed by a 13-yard pass from Holst to Rogers and a 6-yard scramble by Holst.

NIU came into the game ranking 132nd in the country in first downs.

Andrew Glass had a 30-yard field goal as the Huskies took a 3-0 lead with 9:41 remaining in the first quarter.

That momentum did not continue to NIU’s second offensive series as it went three-and-out.

Not containing quarterback

After the Huskie field goal to start the game, the Bulldogs answered with a touchdown drive.

NIU had a hard time containing MSU’s Shapen, who broke containment on several plays and had 36 yards rushing in the series.

Brenen Thompson scored for the Bulldogs on a wide receiver rush to the left from 10 yards out at the 3:48 mark of the first quarter.

The Huskies had allowed 74 yards rushing per game coming in, but MSU was able to get 54 yards on the ground in the first drive.

NIU forced a three-and-out defensively as Mississippi State could only gain 2 yards on three plays to close the first quarter.