The No. 23 Northern Illinois football team improved to 5-0 on the season with a 38-24 victory over Kent State, continuing its run as the Mid-American Conference’s most dominant program.
Huskies junior running back Cameron Stringily ran wild against the Golden Flashes (2-4, 1-2 MAC), rushing for 266 yards on 37 carries with two touchdowns. Northern Illinois tallied a total of 698 yards of offense, 454 of which came on the ground to win its first conference game.
Stringily amassed the most yards on the ground by a Huskies running back in almost seven years, coming short of a record held by running back Garrett Wolfe. The dominance on the ground set the tone for starting quarterback Jordan Lynch, who chipped in 94 rushing yards of his own.
Kent State proved troublesome for the Huskies, taking a lead when Tyshon Goode caught a 28-yard pass from Colin Reardon to take a 21-17 lead in the third quarter. But Lynch led scoring drives of 10, 15 and 10 plays in the second half, securing the victory and spoiling the Golden Flashes homecoming weekend.
Northern Illinois will host Akron this Saturday at Huskie Stadium with the opportunity to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 22 games.
CMU downs Miami
Central Michigan got its first victory in MAC play Saturday, defeating Miami (Ohio) 21-9. Sophomore running back Saylor Lavallii rushed for a career-high 151 yards and added two touchdowns in the win.
Miami (0-5, 0-1 MAC) had no answers to the running attack as the Chippewas (2-4, 1-1) rushed for 184 yards, accounting for all three touchdowns on the day. After the Red Hawks took their second lead of the game midway through the third quarter on a fumbled punt return, the Chippewas answered back on the next possession. They drove 84 yards on 16 plays, capped off by Lavallii’s second score of the day.
Miami fired head coach Don Treadwell Sunday, just a day after the program’s fifth straight loss of the season. Treadwell’s tenure ended after just 29 games in which his team compiled a record of 8-21.
Central Michigan will finish their three-game road trip next Saturday when it travels to face Ohio.
Ball State upsets Virginia
Ball State stunned Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia, using a prolific offensive performance en route to a 48-27 road victory.
Trailing 17-7 in the second quarter, Ball State (5-1, 2-0 MAC) mounted its comeback by scoring 17 unanswered points to take a 24-17 lead. Quarterback Keith Wenning led the offense, throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass and running 1-yard for another within the run.
The game was then tied 24-24 with 7:09 left in the third before Jahwan Edwards rushed for his second touchdown of the game to put the Cardinals back ahead by a touchdown. Edwards rushed for 161 yards on 24 carries. It was a lead they would not relinquish.
Wenning found receiver Jordan Williams with 10:02 remaining in the fourth quarter for a 72-yard touchdown. It was Ball State’s longest passing play of the day and cemented its lead at 41-27, a lead it would not relinquish.
Tyler Fiedler can be reached at [email protected].
