The NIU football team snapped a six-game losing streak on Saturday, knocking off Ball State 21-7 at Huskie Stadium to claim the Bronze Stalk.

The trophy will be staying in DeKalb for a while. With the Huskies (2-6, 1-3 Mid-American Conference) joining the Mountain West next year, they’re not scheduled to face the Cardinals any time soon.

The Huskies improved to 2-9 in regular-season trophy games under Thomas Hammock.

Here are five takeaways from the game.

A rare two-score win

The last time a Bronze Stalk game was decided by more than one score was in 2017, when the Huskies won 63-17.

It was the first double-digit win for the Huskies since a 29-16 win against Akron on Nov. 13, 2024.

The Huskies got the ball inside the red zone twice in the game but couldn’t score, keeping them from a potentially bigger win. The last time they won by more than two scores was a 54-15 win against Western Illinois at the start of last year. The last time they beat an FBS team by more than two scores was a 24-0 win against Western Michigan on Nov. 14, 2023.

Time-consuming drive stakes Huskies to a lead in the third

The Huskies started aggressively out of the gates in the third quarter, facing a fourth and 1 on their own 31, converting on a direct snap to Chavon Wright.

They converted a third and 9, third and 4, and third and 7 later on the drive - the last conversion a 7-yard touchdown run by quarterback Josh Holst.

James Finley intercepted Kiael Kelly on the next drive, but the Huskies were forced to punt. Joedrick Lewis fumbled the return and Marc Pretto recovered it.

This time the Huskies capitalized off the turnover when Holst found DeAree Rodgers on a screen he turned into a 14-yard touchdown as the Huskies went up 21-7 with 13:59 left in the fourth.

A late interception by Jasper Beeler sealed the win and gave the Huskies three takeaways in the win.

Chance to take the lead fumbled away

With the game tied at 7-7 late in the first half, the Huskies were on a long drive, aided mostly by a 36-yard run by Holst. Facing a third and 9 on the 22, Telly Johnson fumbled at the end of a 4-yard run, giving the ball back to the Cardinals and ending any chance for the Huskies to regain the lead.

The Cardinals had a chance to score on the drive before. A pass interference on a Kelly deep attempt to Donovan Hamilton bailed them out of a third and 16 and gave them the ball at the NIU 33. Carson Holmer missed a 45-yard field goal to keep things tied.

Red zone interception gets Ball State on the board

Up 7-0 late in the first, the Huskies were driving and facing a third and 4 on the NIU 9. Holst rolled out right and tried to get the ball to Gary Givens, but he forced the ball into tight coverage and Lewis intercepted the pass.

The Cardinals followed with their best drive of the game, going 80 yards in 11 plays, eating 5:13 of the clock and coming away with a touchdown to tie things up at 7-7 with 13:30 left in the first half.

The Cardinals only faced one third down on the drive, a third and 1 on the 19 that resulted in a 19-yard pass from Kiael Kelly to TJ Horton.

NIU goes up early

The Huskies jumped out to an early lead, forcing a three-and-out on the Cardinals’ first drive thanks in part to a Filip Maciorowski sack.

On the third play of the next drive, Johnson went 53 yards up the left side for a touchdown and a 7-0 NIU lead barely 3 minutes into the game.

The Huskies had 191 yards in the first half, 89 of which came on two plays - the Johnson run and Holst’s scramble later in the half.