NIU football coach Joe Novak is never sure what to expect in a game following a big win.

So naturally, when the Huskies took on Akron at home Saturday, Novak was unsure how his squad would respond from their Sept. 24 win over rival Bowling Green.

The Huskies wasted no time in curing their coach’s worries as they recovered a fumble on the second play of the game and scored on the ensuing snap to give them a seven-point lead 32 seconds into the contest. NIU never let up as they went on for the 49-19 win over the Zips at Huskie Stadium.

“This was a good win for us, and we got to play a lot of kids, which was good,” Novak said.

On the first offensive play of the game, NIU quarterback Josh Haldi found wide receiver Dan Sheldon in the back-left corner of the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown. Novak said before the game they decided to have Haldi throw deep to Sheldon to open up the game. The play ended up being only 23 yards because of the Huskies’ field position.

“I said at the beginning of the week, ‘Let’s open up with a big one,’” Novak said. “Both Haldi and Sheldon were all excited because we were going to open up with a bomb.”

The touchdown pass was one of three on the day for Haldi, who had not played since the first series of the game against Maryland Sept. 4.

Sheldon later added to his day, returning a punt 73 yards for a touchdown and a 28-0 NIU lead. The touchdown was the fourth punt return for a touchdown of his career. He finished with a game-high eight catches for 103 yards against the Zips (1-4 overall, 1-1 MAC).

On defense, the Huskies (3-2, 2-0) sacked Akron quarterback Charlie Frye eight times for 31 yards. Ken West led the Huskies’ defense with three sacks, while seniors Brian Atkinson and Travis Moore each had two.

“They are a very good football team,” Akron coach J.D. Brookhart said “They’re solid in their fundamentals and their schemes and you have to play extremely well against them.”

The Huskies’ running game saw two new faces get into the mix. Junior Adrian Davis ran 20 times for 109 yards and a touchdown for the Huskies. Davis was listed as the No. 2 back for NIU, with A.J. Harris being No. 3. Harris did not play at all because of his sprained left ankle.

Senior Robert Wallace carried three times for eight yards.

Garrett Wolfe picked up right where he left off against Bowling Green. The sophomore running back ran for 110 yards and scored three times to bring his total to nine touchdowns on the season. The nine touchdowns leads the MAC and is tied for fifth in the nation.