Football’s defense stepped up big on the road Wednesday at Ball State, shutting down the Cardinals in the second half.

The Huskies (7-2, 4-1 MAC) beat the Ball State Cardinals (3-6, 2-3 MAC), 35-21, Wednesday at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Ind.

In the fourth quarter, redshirt freshman Anthony Brooks intercepted Cardinals sophomore quarterback Jack Milas and ran the ball back for a touchdown. It was Brooks’ first career interception and the Huskies’ first defensive touchdown on the season.

The touchdown ended up being the game-winning play for the Huskies. It also highlighted what was a very eventful fourth quarter for the Huskies as they forced three of five Ball State turnovers.

But, the Huskies weren’t out of the fire just yet. After Ball State responded to knock down the Huskies’ lead to just one possession, redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Hare fumbled the ball, giving the Ball State offense the ball at midfield.

The Huskies’ defense came out and dominated, forcing two incomplete passes before junior defensive end Ben Compton picked off a ball that was tipped by Perez Ford.

The Huskies converted the turnover into points as redshirt senior tailback Cameron Stingily scored on a 2-yard touchdown run.

After Stingily’s touchdown, redshirt junior cornerback Paris Logan forced a fumble recovered by sophomore linebacker Sean Folliard, cementing the Huskies’ sixth-straight win against the Cardinals.

The Huskies forced five turnovers in all and scored 21 points off those turnovers.

In the first half, sophomore linebacker Jamaal Payton recovered a fumble on Ball State’s opening kickoff return and Logan intercepted Milas to end the first half.

That Huskies’ defense was put in difficult positions throughout the game. Ball State started near midfield on five drives. The Cardinals scored on one of those five possessions, but they were picked off twice and forced to punt the ball twice the other four times.

Ball State’s offense picked up the pace at certain points of the game, but the NIU defense adjusted throughout the game and never allowed Ball State to take the lead. After giving up a 38-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter, the Huskies held the Cardinals off the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter.

The defense held the Cardinals to 4-14 on third downs and recorded four tackles for loss and one sack to go along with the five forced turnovers.