With 1:25 left in the first half, NIU head coach Jerry Kill called a timeout to decide whether the Huskies should go for it on fourth-and-one on Western Michigan’s 20-yard line.

He opted to go for it, and instead of just getting the first down, running back Chad Spann found a hole and sprinted for a 20-yard touchdown run, his second of three touchdowns on the day.

The run put NIU up 21-3, and it was a sign of how things would go for the Huskies as they defeated the Broncos 38-3.

The win got NIU (3-2, 1-0 MAC) going in the right direction to start MAC play. And after the tough loss at home to Idaho, this was a good way to prove the Huskies learned from their mistakes against the Vandals.

“This was a big win for us to bounce back because Idaho was a very tough loss,” NIU quarterback Chandler Harnishsaid. “To get this victory was huge, especially because it was a MAC West game. I think this definitely is going to set us in the right direction.”

Homecoming 2009 was literally a homecoming for Spann, who went without a touchdown for the first time in the season against Idaho. The junior running back had three Saturday, which gives him 10 scores on the year. He is now tied for first in the nation with Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs.

“My offensive line does a great job of keeping [the defense] off of me,” Spann said. “I just put that extra effort in there, I might see a little hole or a crease somewhere and try and get through there the best I can.”

Spann led all rushers with 132 yards. The Huskies had 266 total yards rushing for the day.

As impressive as the running game was, the defense may have put on the best show, holding WMU (2-3, 0-1 MAC) quarterback Tim Hiller to only 176 passing yards.

“We got back to the fundamentals,” Kill said.

The Huskies also forced Hiller to fumble once and throw three interceptions, one that was returned 79 yards for a touchdown by defensive end Jake Coffman.

“We played as bad as we could have played,” Broncos head coach Bill Cubit said. “They were a better football team than us mentally and physically. We weren’t tough enough.”

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