The Northern Illinois Huskies had the lead and momentum heading into the second half. NIU scored on their first four possessions of the game and built up a 28-14 lead early in the third quarter.
However, without senior QB Rocky Lombardi - who went down with a non-contact injury early in the game - NIU went into a more conservative mode...and it ended up costing them. The Commodores scored 24 unanswered points and were able to run out the clock on their way to a 38-28 victory in DeKalb.
After a fantastic first half that saw Lombardi and Ethan Hampton combine for a 13/13 start, NIU transitioned to a more run-heavy offense and short throw offense that didn’t gain them many, if any, yards.