Behind junior running back Antario Brown’s 280 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns, NIU football (2-4, 1-1 MAC) dismantled the University of Akron Zips (1-5, 0-2 MAC) 55-14 for its first conference victory of the season.
NIU gained a season high 571 yards of total offense en route to its first win since Week 1 against Boston College, snapping a four-game losing streak.
“We’re back,” Brown said. “That’s my only comment, I think we’re back.”
The Huskie offense spread the wealth in Saturday’s win. In addition to Brown’s four touchdowns, redshirt junior running back Gavin Williams rushed for two scores, junior wide receiver Grayson Barnes caught a touchdown, and senior wide receiver Kacper Rutkiewicz hauled in a touchdown.
“We had great balance,” said NIU head football coach Thomas Hammock. “Different guys stepped up in different moments, it was good to see.”
Redshirt senior quarterback Rocky Lombardi had a second consecutive strong performance after being benched in favor of redshirt sophomore quarterback Ethan Hampton against the University of Tulsa. Lombardi finished 10-15 for 191 yards and two touchdowns.
Saturday was Lombardi’s second straight game with two or more touchdowns and no turnovers, after throwing just one touchdown and four interceptions through the first four weeks of the season.
“In Toledo, we figured out a little bit of what we know we can be, and you fully saw it come out this week,” Lombardi said.
After scoring a touchdown in the first quarter, Rutkiewicz suffered a leg injury and was later seen on crutches on the sideline in the second half.
“It’s a really special relationship. We watch a lot of tape together and a lot of the stuff we do is completely on our own, outside of team time,” Lombardi said. “I hope he gets back soon.”
In addition to the offensive explosion, the Huskie defense bounced back after allowing an uncharacteristic 35 points against the University of Toledo last week. This is the fourth time in 6 games, that the Huskie defense has allowed under 20 points.
While the NIU defense had just one takeaway, it still made its presence felt, allowing just 253 total yards, and holding the Akron offense to 4-17 on third down.
“Everything was awesome,” junior linebacker Jaden Dolphin said. “The defensive line set the tone, the linebackers followed and the db’s (defensive backs) held it down. It was one of our best performances all together.”
Due to the Huskies’ overall dominant performance, many starters were taken out for the fourth quarter. Brown was taken out one yard away from having the most rushing yards in an FBS game this season, according to ESPN. Hammock said he did not consider putting Brown back in the game.
“No, not at all,” Hammock said. “The thought was he’s healthy and he played well. If you want to break a record, break it next week.”
The Huskies next game will be their homecoming game against the Ohio University Bobcats. Kickoff will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Huskie Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU, and live stats will be available via SideArm Stats.
