NIU recorded its first road win of the season against Buffalo at UB Stadium Saturday.

This first road win came off of a missed extra point by Buffalo kicker Peter Fardon with 14 seconds left on the clock.

The 29-year-old kicker pulled the extra point wide left, leaving the Huskies with one play to down the ball for the win.

A win on the road to start a tough three-game road trip was crucial for the Huskies to be able to have some momentum to upset Toledo, which is undefeated in the conference.

In order to make a trip back to the MAC Championship, the Huskies must either win out, or Toledo must crumble after it plays NIU in the Glass Bowl.

Winning on the road means more than just a “W”; it means the whole team is in sync.

Although, against the Bulls, that was not so evident.

The defense did outstanding in the first half, holding Buffalo to only 10 points.

The offense continued its strong second half start, but soon cooled off, and the Bulls scored 20 unanswered points to end the game.

The friendly confines of Huskie Stadium have historically been a safe bed. But, unfortunately, if NIU makes it to a bowl game and MAC Championship, then its last four out of six games will be away from DeKalb.

Despite having to play the Toledo Rockets on the road, the Huskies’ second Tuesday road game will come against Bowling Green, a team has a win against Temple and is undefeated in the MAC West.

Following that, NIU will head home for the last two games of the season against a manageable Ball State and, surprisingly, Eastern Michigan.

The Eagles have made a name for themselves, with record of 5-3 and 3-1 in the MAC.

Eastern Michigan will not be the pushover it has been in the past, leaving the Huskies with a some difficult games to end the regular season.

Without question, the last four weeks of the season will be the toughest for NIU.

If the Huskies win out, that will be one heck of a way to head into the MAC Championship and a bowl game.