Huskies zip past Akron in second half
Running game turns tide in windy conditions
DEKALB – It certainly wasn't as easy as the final stats made it look.
The Northern Illinois football team ran 20 more plays, held the ball for 14 more minutes and had two runners top 100 yards rushing in Saturday's 27-10 win over Akron in gusting, swirling winds at Huskie Stadium.
Somehow, though, NIU entered the fourth quarter trailing the Zips 10-6.
"What I've learned is you stay the course," said Huskies coach Jerry Kill, whose team climbs to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference West. "Eventually something good has to happen. Somebody has to step up and make a play. Chad (Spann) stepped up and made a heck of a run."
It came early in the fourth quarter.
Facing third-and-1 from the Akron 28-yard line, the junior running back took a handoff from quarterback DeMarcus Grady and went right, between guard Joe Pawlak and tackle Panan Tense. A pile at the 20 seemed to stop his progress, but somehow the 5-foot-9-inch, 197-pound junior bounced to his right and sped the rest of the way untouched, returning the lead to Northern Illinois.
"We knew we had to get the running game going," said Spann, who finished with 125 yards rushing on 21 carries. "On third-and-short, I wasn't going to be denied a first down. I got some blocks and then (wideout) Landon Cox made sure I got in."
It was the second straight game and third time this season Spann has topped 100 yards rushing. He added a 2-yard scoring run on the next possession and the bulk of the fans in the crowd of 10,148 were able to breathe easy. Spann now has 13 rushing scores and 14 for the season.
Grady, starting his second game in place of the injured Chandler Harnish (knee), also topped the century mark, carrying 20 times for 109 yards.
"It's difficult to defend what they're doing with the running game," said Akron coach J.D. Brookhart, whose team fell to 1-7 and 0-4. "You've got a quarterback that changes things. You have to respect the pass but you have to commit to (stopping) the run. When the quarterback is a major part of the run game, it changes your defensive scheme."
Grady completed 10 of 18 passes for 62 yards.
"(The winds) affected a lot of deep balls," he said. "I didn't want to baby it but then I was afraid I'd overthrow it."
Kill couldn't have asked for anything more in the first half, except touchdowns.
The Huskies ran 24 plays to just eight for the Zips in the first quarter while eating up 11:33. NIU struggled to finish drives, however, and led just 6-0 at halftime after senior kicker John Salerno converted two of three field goals.
After having a 37-yard field goal blocked on the opening possession, he was good from 22 yards with 2:41 left in the first quarter to cap a 46-yard drive. He then connected from 37 yards with 2:50 left in the half.
"It was a crosswind coming from both tunnels," Kill said. "You didn't know when it was with you and when it wasn't."
At that point, Akron had been limited to 38 yards of offense on 13 plays.
The Zips drove 42 yards on the final possession of the half, but Branko Rogovic was wide left on his 38-yard field goal attempt.
Akron got untracked in the third quarter, marching 55 yards after the second half kick before settling for a 34-yard Rogovic field goal.
The Zips then scored on a halfback option pass from Alex Allen to Andre Jones (six catches, 154 yards) that covered 80 yards and gave the visitors the short-lived 10-6 lead.
"It was a huge play and shift in momentum," Brookhart said. "We got a stop after that and had a big opportunity but couldn't convert."
That's because NIU senior defensive end Brandon Bice sacked freshman quarterback Patrick Nicely and stripped the ball. It was recovered by safety Tracy Wilson at the NIU 20.
