The Huskie dream season was just about shattered when Southwestern Louisiana ran away with a heart breaking 33-19 victory Saturday at Huskie Stadium.

Coming into the game the Huskies were in the driver’s seat of the Big West sporting a 3-1 conference record and a win over conference favorite, University of Nevada-Reno.

In the first series for the Cajuns, the Huskie defense showed it’s dominance when they forced a safety on just the third play of the game.

Despite some near fumble losses, the Huskies showed incredible ball control in their first drive, using up 5:24 of the clock in ten plays which ultimately ended up in a 36-yard Brian Steager field goal. This put the Huskies up 5-0.

With 2:10 left in the first quarter, USL’s Mike Shafer knocked in a 46-yard field goal to put the Cajuns within two.

Shafer’s field goal also started a chain of 14 unanswered points, including a second field goal from Shafer and a 15 yard touchdown pass from USL true freshman quarterback Jake Delhomme augmented with a successful two-point conversion attempt.

The Huskies bounced right back on their next drive using only four plays and a 75-yard touchdown run by LeShon Johnson to cut the Cajun lead to two.

USL made sure they extended their lead before the end of the first half, and Huskie mistakes on their own goal line gave the Cajun defense a safety and a 16-12 lead.

Huskie strong safety Eric Lacy recovered a fumble on the Cajuns’ 29-yard line which sparked a five play touchdown drive, finished off by an 11-yard run from Johnson which put the Huskies on top, 19-16.

The first play of the fourth quarter was the turning point of the ball game, and it didn’t go the Huskies’ way.

Huskie quarterback Ron Reichert had a passed picked off by Cajun cornerback Tim Sensley, who returned it 59 yards for a touchdown, and sparked a 17 point onslaught unanswered by the Huskies.

“We broke it open in the fourth quarter. We got some good breaks and were able to finish it off,” USL head coach Nelson Stokley said. “It was back and forth for the whole game until Tim (Sensley) got that interception in the fourth quarter, and that’s probably about as big a play as I can remember.”

The USL defense did the job they were supposed to do, holding the Huskies to under 20 points, but no one was sure what the USL offense would do.

The Cajuns found themselves in major quarterback trouble in the first game of the year when they threw five interceptions in the first half, and went through three QBs.

Delhomme, who was supposed to be red-shirted this season, started the second half of that game and every game since, leading the Cajuns to a five game winning streak.

“Several years ago at LSU you didn’t have a freshman play. But I can’t remember a freshman come in, at least on the teams I’ve been on, and perform like Jake has,” Stokley said.

“He’s (Delhomme) super. He plays like an upperclassmen, and he’s done that ever since he’s been in,” NIU head coach Charlie Sadler said.

Although the loss just about put the Huskies out of reach for a bowl bid, there was some good that came out of this game.

The Cajuns came into the game as the 14th ranked defense in the country, and were ranked third in the nation in rushing.

The Huskies racked up 217 rushing yards with 173 credited to Johnson, which will increase his chances for the Heisman Trophy.

The defense also proved to be stronger despite allowing ten points in the fourth quarter.

Senior linebacker Tony Smith had eight unassisted tackles and a fumble cause which led to a Huskie touchdown.

Nose guard Hollis Thomas and linebacker Gerald Nickleberry also had eight tackles for the Huskies, and linebacker Steve Wild had seven stops.