Huskies escape with win

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NIU's Tommy Davis returns a punt 42 yards to the Miami 11-yard line during the Huskies' 27-22 win over Miami (Ohio). (Scott Walstrom – NIU Media Relations)

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OXFORD, Ohio – More than anything, the Northern Illinois football team felt relief when it boarded the buses to head back to DeKalb Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies came to Ohio limping after a loss at Toledo a week before and escaped with a 27-22 win over winless Miami (Ohio).

NIU played without quarterback Chandler Harnish, out 2-3 more weeks with an unspecified right knee injury.

And, for most of the game, they played without defensive leader David Bryant, after he was injured on a first quarter cut block.

But the Huskies (4-3, 2-1 MAC West) were able to make enough plays on special teams to move back above .500 heading into a three-game homestand starting with next Saturday's 11 a.m. game with Akron.

"I think our youngsters had a bad taste in their mouths," NIU coach Jerry Kill said. "We had some adversity, we had to do things differently. We found a way to win."

The Huskies returned a punt for a touchdown, returned another to the 11-yard line and blocked both a field goal and extra point in the win.

The RedHawks (0-8, 0-3 MAC) scored two touchdowns in the game's final two minutes – including one on a Hail Mary pass as time expired – but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback as Tommy Davis recovered an onside kick and running back Chad Spann ran over a linebacker on a 40-yard touchdown run.

"When there's nothing else to do, just lower your shoulder and get as many yards as you can," Spann said.

Spann led the Huskies with 156 yards on 21 carries and a pair of touchdowns, giving him 12 touchdowns on the year.

But the real difference for the Huskies came on special teams, where Perez Ashford's 44-yard punt return touchdown sparked NIU's domination in that aspect of the game.

Davis added a 42-yard punt return to the Miami 11-yard line that led to a field goal while Chris Smith blocked a field goal and D.J. Pirkle later blocked an extra point.

The Huskies' passing game was ineffective as DeMarcus Grady stepped in for Harnish and threw for 60 yards on 6-for-10 passing but he also ran for 55 yards on 10 attempts without turning the ball over.

"He gave us a chance to win and that's all we can ask," Kill said.

The Huskies held Miami to a school-record minus-11 yards rushing but it was RedHawks freshman quarterback Zac Dysert that made things interesting, throwing for 348 yards and three touchdowns.

He weathered eight NIU sacks (2.5 from Jake Coffman) and put his team within a score twice in the fourth quarter before falling just short.

"We missed one blitz early, but that goes into how difficult this offense is," Miami coach Michael Haywood said. "I think Zac is getting better each and every week."

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