Huskies remain hot, halt Bowling Green's 11-game streak
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DEKALB, Ill. (AP) -- Michael Turner helped Northern Illinois defeat one of the last unbeaten teams in Division I.
Turner rushed for 192 yards on 40 carries to give the Huskies a 26-17 win over No. 20 Bowling Green.
It is the Huskies' second win in 22 tries against a team ranked in the Top 25. Turner also rallied the Huskies (7-3, 6-0 Mid-American Conference) earlier in the season from a 20-point deficit against Miami of Ohio and rushed for 222 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-41 win.
Having a lead throughout was something new for Turner.
"We wanted to keep them down as much as possible,'' Turner said. "It was just a different game, being on top and trying to stay on top instead of coming from behind and getting desperate.''
Instead it was Bowling Green (8-1, 5-1) that looked desperate. The Falcons entered the game with the nation's second-highest scoring offense at 47 points a game, but were forced to throw play after play after falling behind 20-3.
The Falcons, averaging 230 yards rushing a game, finished with 86 yards on 30 carries and running back Joe Alls had had 31 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Receiver Robert Redd said the Falcons may have let their ranking, the first for the school since 1985, go to their heads. Bowling Green entered the game as one of four teams in Division I-A without a loss and had its 11-game winning streak snapped.
"We came into the game and so much stuff was going on and we weren't focused,'' he said. "There was so much hype for this game.''
Quarterback Josh Harris and the Bowling Green offense struggled early running the ball and had just as much trouble throwing it. Harris was 4-of-15 at one point in the first half, overthrowing receivers and frequently passing on the run under a heavy pass rush.
Harris wasn't helped by his receivers, either.
Trailing by 17, Bowling Green drove to the Northern Illinois 15 but Redd dropped a Harris pass in the end zone and the Falcons settled for a 32-yard field from Shaun Suisham.
"Our team was not ready to play in the beginning,'' Bowling Green coach Urban Meyer said. "We can't do that against a good team, and (Northern Illinois) is a good team.''
The Falcons cut the lead to 23-17 with 7:12 to go when Harris threw a TD pass to Redd on fourth-and-7. Harris was 7-of-10 for 64 yards on the 14-play drive that covered 80 yards.
Bowling Green got the ball right back when Huskies quarterback Josh Haldi was hit as he released on a throw and was intercepted.
However, the Falcons failed to move the ball past midfield and Northern Illinois took over on downs when Harris' run fell short on fourth-and-2. Harris was 27-of-52 for 271 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 42 yards on 16 carries.
The low score was a surprise, even to Huskies coach Joe Novak.
"I didn't think we'd hold them to 17,'' he said. "That offense is hard to stop, especially when they've got a quarterback like that.''
Northern Illinois' first touchdown came when Harris' pass to D'Monn Baker was deflected by the tight end and intercepted by safety Justin Dole. The Huskies scored three plays later on Haldi's 12-yard touchdown pass to receiver Dan Sheldon.
Sheldon, who has two punt returns for touchdowns this season, ran back a punt 80 yards to the Bowling Green 11-yard line on the Huskies' next possession. Facing third-and-18, Haldi found receiver Shatone Powers wide open in the corner of the end zone to give Northern Illinois a 17-3 halftime lead.
