DeKALB | After a week where the Huskies dominated their competition, NIU’s defense fell flat as it as it lost to Idaho 34-31.

Things started off fine for the NIU’s (2-2) offense as it marched 79 yards on 12 plays to start the first quarter. But the Huskies couldn’t finish the drive, stalling out at the Idaho 6-yard line. NIU was forced to settle for a field goal.

The Huskies would have to settle for another field goal in the second half the game from Idaho’s 8-yard line.

“That’s definitely a huge stat for us that we need to get better at,” said NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish. “If we finish drives I think we’ll give ourselves a better chance to win.”

While the Huskies offense was able to move the ball, as it produced 312 yards of offense, their defense was unable to prevent the Vandals (3-1) from doing so. After missing a 52-yard field goal on its first drive, Idaho scored touchdowns on its next three drives.

Vandal quarterback Nathan Endrele was nearly perfect in the first half. The junior completed 11-of-13 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns. Each touchdown went to a different Idaho player. Overall the quarterback was 18-23 for 270 yards.

“I think our o-line is playing real well,” Enderle said. “I thought we were playing well on offense.”

NIU was able to respond after two of Idaho’s scoring drives in the first half. Down 14-3, Harnish broke out a quarterback keeper and rushed into the endzone. The touchdown was called back, however, because of a holding call on Huskie wide receiver Marcus Lewis. The quarterback was able to get his offense back on track, however, completing a third down pass to wide out Willie Clark for a seven yard touchdown pass.

Harnish finished the game going 17-23 for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The quarterback also led NIU with 13 rushing attempts and 62 rushing yards.

NIU kicker Mike Salerno kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to bringing the score to 21-13.

But the kick was under some controversy, as the officials struggled with how much time was left on the clock multiple times during the final second of the drive. Both NIU head coach Jerry Kill and Idaho head coach Robb Akey met with officials before half.

“The clock said zero twice. The reason I was concerned about it was because the clock went zero,” said Akey. “They got a tough job to do and I think the officials did a hell of a job today. I have no problem.”

The Vandals used that kick as motivation, however. After the half, Idaho marched down the field on 12 plays for 76 yards and the touchdown. The drive took 7:01. Overall the Vandals won the time of possession game 34:13 to 25:47.

Up by three scores, things looked out of reach for NIU in the fourth quarter. But a nine play 60-yard drive, which resulted in a four-yard touchdown pass to Landon Cox, gave new life to the Huskies

Kill elected to kick the ball deep, putting faith in his defense, after the score. The group responded by producing its first three-and-out of the game with 6:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Huskie linebacker Jordan Delegal then gave NIU another boost by blocking Idaho’s punt. Sitting at the Vandals' one-yard line, Huskie running back Me’co Brown rushed in for a touchdown and then scored a two-point conversion. The score brought the game within a field goal.

“I don’t like the fact that it went from a three score game to what it was,” said Akey. “I think that’s a darn good football team we played against today.”

NIU was then forced to kick the ball deep again, as Idaho had its hands team on the field. Faced with third-and-three, Enderle elected to through a fade pass to wide Vandal wide receiver Eric Greenwood. The pass was good for 25 yards, and let Idaho continue its drive, which it sustained to run the clock out.

“We had them third down and it looks like we have them in good shape,” said Kill. “You make them throw the toughest pass in football and they execute. They just flat out out executed us.”

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.