Idaho breaks down in the fourth quarter as Northern Illinois barely escapes Moscow with a win
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Northern Illinois (0-1) / 7 / 0 / 0 / 14 /
21
Idaho (1-1) / 0 / 7 / 0 / 7 /
14
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Idaho star receiver Najee Lovett made an insane touchdown grab on the fade to tie the game
-- The Idaho Vandals learned today what it's like to come oh so close to a win and come up just short.
In their first home game of the 2013-2014 season, Idaho hosted the Northern Illinois Huskies in a game that turned out quite differently than expected. The Huskies were supposed to roll the Vandals, or at the least have a high scoring shootout, given the porous defensive showings both schools have had thus far this season and Northern Illinois' position in the preseason Top 25.
Instead, fans in Moscow were treated to an increasingly rarer game of close, defensive football as the two schools combined for 35 points and the teams headed into the fourth quarter tied at 7 a piece. Unfortunately for Idaho, Northern Illinois made plays when it mattered most and sealed the victory late in the fourth behind Jordan Lynch's 75 yard touchdown toss to Da'Ron Brown and Dechane Durante's subsequent interception.
For Idaho, the youngsters continued to get involved with the offense, with true freshman Reuben Mwehla getting his first collegiate touches in both the running and passing games and redshirt frosh QB Chad Chalich continuing to show flashes of potential. Not to be outdone by the young guns, senior Najee Lovett stepped up and displayed why he's a team leader, making the highlight of the day for Idaho with a tough catch on a wonderfully executed fade route. Apart from these bright spots, however, Northern Illinois mostly stifled the Vandal offense. "We'll be experimenting with different formations, plays and packages." said Idaho offensive coordinator Isaac Butcher "We had too many plays that did not accomplish enough and we need to generate more positive plays. We have a lot of talent here to make it work, it's up to me to get them where they need to be."
Speaking of getting where they need to be, the Vandals' much maligned defense mostly held against the more talented Huskies offensive attack. They contained Northern Illinois' top 2 offensive threats for most of the game, keeping them under 4 yards a rush and a sub 50% completion percentage until Brown managed to get behind Idaho's secondary and take Lynch's pass to the house. Additionally, Idaho held NIU to a 40% scoring rate in the RedZone, holding the Huskies when backed up on their side of the field for most of the game. While the letdown at the end needs to be improved upon and shows how far Idaho still has to go, the game already represents significant progress for the defense after giving up an average of 40.5 points the first two weeks.
Next week, Idaho "travels" to nearby Pullman to take on the rival Washington State Cougars while Northern Illinois hosts FCS #8 Eastern Illinois.
Scoring Summary:
| Scoring Team | Quarter | Time | Play Summary | Score |
|---|
| Northern Illinois | 1st | 2:44 | J. Lynch, 2 yard run (M. Sims kick) | 7-0 |
| Idaho | 2nd | 6:58 | N. Lovett, 1 yard pass from C. Chalich (A. Rehkow kick) | 7-7 |
| Northern Illinois | 4th | 6:10 | J. Lynch, 0 yard run (M. Sims kick) | 14-7 |
| Idaho | 4th | 4:26 | R. Runner, 1 yard run (A. Rehkow kick) | 14-14 |
| Northern Illinois | 4th | 1:51 | D. Brown, 75 yard pass from J. Lynch (M. Sims kick) | 21-14 |
Team Stats
| Stat | Northern Illinois | Idaho |
|---|
| Score | 21 | 14 |
| First Downs | 14 | 16 |
| Total Offense | 346 | 282 |
| Rushes - Yards - TD | 49-186-2 | 25-70-1 |
| Comp - Att - TD | 7-13-1 | 26-39-1 |
| Passing Yards | 160 | 212 |
| 3rd Down Conv | 6-13 (46%) | 9-16 (56%) |
| 4th Down Conv | 0-0 (0%) | 0-0 (0%) |
| 2-Point Conv | 0-0 (0%) | 0-0 (0%) |
| RedZone - TD - FG | 5-2-0 (40%) | 4-2-0 (50%) |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 1 |
| Intercepted | 0 | 1 |
| PR Yards | 15 | 8 |
| KR Yards | 18 | 48 |
| Total Yards | 379 | 338 |
| Punts - Average | 5 - 42.4 | 6 - 44.8 |
| Penalties - Yards | 3-25 | 0-0 |
| T.O.P. | 13:27 | 18:33 |
Players of the Game:
| Team | Offense | Defense |
|---|
| Northern Illinois | Jordan Lynch, QB | Dechane Durante, SS |
| Idaho | Najee Lovett, WR | Maxx Forde, DE |
Northern Illinois Player Stats
Jordan Lynch 7-13, 160 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 15 carries, 50 yards, 2 TD, sacked 0 times
Cameron Stingily 30 carries, 119 yards, 2 receptions, 27 yards
Da'Ron Brown 1 reception 75 yards, 1 TD, 1 carry, 6 yards
Dechane Dutante 10 tackles, 1 INT
Jimmie Ward 5 tackles, 2 PD
George Rainey 3 tackles, 3 TFL, 2.0 sacks
Idaho Player Stats
Chad Chalich 23-39, 212 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 6 carries, 3 yards, sacked 2 times
James Baker 10 carries, 27 yards, 3 receptions, -1 yard
Najee Lovett 9 receptions, 72 yards, 1 TD
Michael LaGrone 5 receptions, 59 yards
Roman Runner 1 receptions, 20 yards, 4 carries, 13 yards, 1 TD
Reuben Mwehla 2 receptions, 16 yards, 1 carry, 10 yards
Maxx Forde 8 tackles, 3 TFL
Up Next:
Washington State (1-2)
yeah, this is gonna be a rough season. Wyoming is legit as a team though, curious to see how their year turns out
