CHICAGO | Huskie football nearly pulled off a Donald Trump-type upset but fell short Wednesday night in the Chi-Town Huskie Showdown against University of Toledo by a score of 31-24.

The team lost in front of a crowd of 10,180 fans at the first ever football game at Guaranteed Rate Field, 333 W. 35th St. in Chicago.

Toledo senior runningback Kareem Hunt scored with 1:15 remaining in the fourth quarter on a one-yard touchdown run to give Toledo the lead for good. NIU had good field position to attempt a comeback after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Toledo gave the Huskies a few extra yards, but the team eventually came up short.

Hunt gave the Huskies problems all game, as he finished with 122 rushing yards along with the game-winning touchdown.

“They ran their schemes and ran them really good,” said Ladell Fleming, Huskies senior defensive end. “They have weapons on offense, so we expected them to make plays. We just need to stop those big plays from happening.”

The Huskies (3-7, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) were solid defensively in the first half, allowing only a field goal by Toledo (8-2, 5-1 MAC) sophomore kicker Jameson Vest and 58 total rushing yards.

The Huskies added to their lead midway through the second quarter when senior wide receiver Kenny Golladay caught a four-yard touchdown pass to give the Huskies a 14-3 halftime lead.

Golladay had a season-high 14 receptions and totaled 143 receiving yards in the game. This was his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the year and his seventh overall.

“[Golladay] is a matchup problem for everybody,” Toledo Head Coach Jason Candle said. “He has the whole package, and he has the chance to play football for a long time in my opinion.”

Both teams came out strong in the second half. Toledo narrowed the margin to four after a 27-yard touchdown run from senior tight end Michael Roberts, which was followed by a 19-yard touchdown catch from NIU junior wide receiver Christian Blake to increase the Huskie lead to 21-10.

The Huskies got a big momentum boost late in the third quarter from Quintin Whynn, redshirt freshman defensive end, who had his first career sack to force a punt from the Rockets.

The Rockets took an early 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter with another touchdown catch by Roberts on a four-yard pass from junior quarterback Logan Woodside, who totaled 286 yards passing and three touchdowns.

With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Huskies reached the red zone with a chance to take the lead back but were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal from junior kicker Christian Hagan to tie the game at 24-24.

Toledo then scored the game-winning touchdown in front of 10,180 fans at the first ever football game at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Huskies are back on the road against Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. next Wednesday in Kent, Ohio.