Football’s 28-game home winning streak and 24-game conference regular season winning streak came to an abrupt halt Saturday when it was beaten by conference rival Central Michigan.

The Huskies (4-2, 1-1 MAC) lost to the Central Michigan Chippewas (4-3, 2-1 MAC), 34-17, Saturday at Huskie Stadium.

“I’m not disappointed about the streaks. That’s stuff you guys put on paper,” said head coach Rod Carey. “I’m disappointed we lost the game, and at Homecoming … so I’m disappointed for that. And basically, I’m just disappointed for these guys. You know, they worked hard. We just need to work harder.”

The Huskies got off to a good start scoring in the first 91 seconds of the game on the opening drive and showing no signs of slowing down. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Hare found Juwan Brescacin, redshirt junior wide receiver, in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass to put the Huskies up 7-0.

“I thought we executed really well in that opening drive,” Carey said. “We went right down the field in four or five plays and got the looks we wanted. We had the fundamentals right, our feet were on the ground, our hands were inside, our routes were at the right depth [and] our timing was good, and you saw the results of that.”

Central Michigan then took complete control of the game, going on a 31-3 run. The Huskies had trouble stopping the running game, as CMU running back Thomas Rawls ran for two touchdowns in the first quarter to put the Chippewas up 14-7. The Chippewas scored again in the second quarter when CMU quarterback Cooper Rush threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jesse Kroll.

“If we want to accomplish the goals that we want to accomplish as a program and be on the map in the MAC West than we have to beat Northern Illinois,” said Dan Enos, Central Michigan head coach.

CMU continued the offensive onslaught on its first drive of the second half, capping it off with a 25-yard field goal to make it 24-7.

The Huskies then gained a little momentum. Redshirt senior linebacker Michael Santacaterina intercepted a pass from Rush, but the Huskies settled for a field goal, making it 24-10 in favor of CMU.

“We were pretty fired up,” Santacaterina said. “It was a mesh route; the guy came to me, I picked it off, and I think it was a big boost.”

CMU and NIU then exchanged touchdowns: Rush connected with Ben McCord for a 13-yard touchdown strike. Hare found Brescacin for their second touchdown connection, this time from 14 yards out.

After CMU missed a 50-yard field goal, Hare was picked off for the first time this season. Tony Annese intercepted the pass as the clock was expiring at the end of the third quarter. The Chippewas turned that interception into a 23-yard field goal, which ended the day’s scoring at 34-17.

“I absolutely believe in these guys 110 percent. I believe in this team,” Carey said. He “couldn’t be prouder of the way they played all the way to the end of the game. Certainly, I know this team’s resolve is going to be steady, and we’re going to get better and take this thing one day at a time.”