The final Mid-American Conference game for the Northern Illinois University football team came down to the final minute.

Despite a two-score lead in the fourth quarter, the Huskies couldn’t complete a late comeback and fell to Kent State on Friday, 35-31.

Earlier in the drive, Jalen Macon completed a pass to DeAree Rogers on fourth-and-2 to keep the drive alive with 1:55 left. But with 0:40 left, his pass to Gary Givens in tight coverage would be incomplete, and the Huskies (3-9, 2-6) rough season ended with a loss.

Here are five takeaways from the Huskies’ last game before joining the Mountain West next season.

Urwiler’s second turnover gives Huskies key fourth-quarter cushion

Kent State started a drive early in the fourth quarter down 24-20, but on the first play, Quinn Urwiler forced his second turnover of the game, punching the ball out of DaShawn Martin’s hands after a 15-yard catch. Taylor Powell recovered it and came a yard away from returning it for the Huskies’ first defensive touchdown of the game, but was tripped up by Gavin Garcia.

It didn’t matter much as Chavon Wright scored on the first play, taking the direct snap in for a touchdown. It was the first two-score lead for either team at 31-20 with 13:52 left in the game.

Kent State answered with a touchdown on its next drive, then forced a Huskie punt. The Golden Flashes took a 35-31 lead with 4:11 left in the game on a 26-yard run by Gavin Garcia.

Jacob Finley chases down potential game-changing touchdown

On Kent State’s first possession of the third quarter, with NIU up 21-17, Dru DeShields found a wide-open DaShawn Martin. Jacob Finley came out of nowhere to chase him down and tackle him at the NIU 25 and prevent a touchdown.

The Huskie defense held, and the Golden Flashes had to settle for a 28-yard field goal with 6:20 left, cutting the NIU lead to 21-20.

The Huskies got the three points back on the next drive with a 13-play, 55-yard drive that killed 6:58 off the clock and ended with a 33-yard kick by Andrew Glass less than a minute into the fourth quarter.

Urwiler’s senior day includes first interception

The forced fumble wasn’t the first time Urwiler had an impact on his senior day.

After the Huskies punted down 10-7, Kent State took over on its own 24. On third-and-6, Quinn Urwiler picked DeShields, lunging backwards and diving, bobbling but eventually coming away with his first career interception in his last career game.

Two plays into the NIU drive, Chavon Wright went 38 yards for a touchdown. The teams traded touchdowns for the rest of the half, with the Huskies going into the break up 21-17.

Macon added a 9-yard touchdown run with 0:47 left, capping a 10-play, 75-yard drive that used only 3:28 despite being entirely rushes. Kent State called a timeout on a third-and-6 on the NIU 40 with 2:29 left, but Macon picked up 10.

Ground attack leads to first NIU lead

The Huskies took their first lead late in the first quarter on a 2-yard run by Jalen Macon, capping a 12-play, 71-yard drive that ate 6:31 off the clock. They led 7-3 with 2:12 left in the first.

NIU faced two third downs on the drive, needing a yard each time. Macon attempted one pass on the drive, a 7-yard gain to tight end Jason Fowler, the first of the redshirt freshman’s career.

The Golden Flashes answered back with a nine-play, 81-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard pass from DeShields to Terik Mulder and Kent State back on top, 10-7.

Despite multiple early NIU chances, Kent State comes away with first turnover

The Huskies dropped four early interceptions on the first two Golden Flashes’ drives, but a Wright fumble led to the first points of the game.

On the first Kent State drive, Finley had a play on a DeShields pass, but it was low, and he couldn’t come up with it. Two plays later on third-and-8, James Finley IV leapt and couldn’t quite come up with DeShields’ pass. On the fourth down play, Finley nearly came away with a pick on the sideline but couldn’t hold on to the ball.

That failed interception actually worked out for the Huskies, giving them better field position. But on the second play of the drive, Wright fumbled, and the Golden Flashes took over from the NIU 40.

Donte Harrison was close to a diving interception on the next drive, but dropped it. A pass interference call would have negated it anyway, and the drive ended in a field goal, staking the Golden Flashes to a 3-0 lead with 8:49 left in the first quarter.