It wasn’t the smash-mouthed football game the crowd of 21,736 expected.

At least on one side of the ball.

Ohio rushed for 244 yards, while NIU coach Joe Novak abandoned the run after half time.

The move paid off for the Huskies, as quarterback Josh Haldi threw for a career-high 310 yards, and the home team escaped the MAC opener 30-23 in overtime.

“That was a great football game,” Novak said. “What a great job Ohio U. did. It’s too bad someone had to lose. Those guys played their hearts out.”

The game costed both teams, as each lost players to injuries.

The Huskies (5-0, 1-0 MAC) lost wide receiver Dan Sheldon for the season because of a dislocated left elbow.

The Bobcats (1-4, 0-2) lost starting quarterback Fred Ray on their sixth offensive play of the game because of a separated shoulder.

With 3:35 remaining in the fourth quarter, NIU took over on its own 20-yard line, trailing 23-16.

Haldi hit receiver David McDermott on the right sideline for 9 yards on the first play. The duo hooked up again on the next pass, this time for 7 yards.

Haldi then found P.J. Fleck for gains of 7 and 10 yards on the next two plays.

Fleck finished with a career-high 14 receptions and a school-record 234 yards.

After two straight incompletions, Shatone Powers caught a 12-yard pass for a first down, moving the Huskies to the Ohio 35-yard line.

Fleck then caught his third pass of the drive to take the Huskies to the 21-yard line with 2:26 remaining.

NIU gained only six yards on the next three plays with a reception by Fleck, setting up a fourth-and-four on the Ohio 15-yard line.

After an Ohio time-out, Fleck got open in the left side of the end zone. Haldi threw a strike to Fleck, who drug a foot in bounds to tie the game at 23 with 1:42 left.

Haldi finished 8-for-12 on the drive for 80 yards. The junior finished with a career-high 46 attempts and 310 yards.

“It took me until the last drive to get into my rhythm,” Haldi said. “On that last drive, I felt the most comfortable. Coach Novak said that we had been here before. It’s a mindset. The veterans that we have know that you just have to keep your cool.”

In overtime, NIU took the ball at the 25-yard line, and Haldi again hooked up with Fleck.

This time, Fleck made a diving catch across the middle at the 2-yard line.

Three plays later, Haldi followed center Todd Ghilani up the middle for a touchdown and a 30-23 lead.

On Ohio’s overtime possession, backup quarterback Ryan Hawk kept the ball on the first play for a gain of 8 yards. A loss of two on a run play and an incomplete pass set up a fourth-and-four at the 19-yard line.

Hawk dropped back to pass, but linebacker Kursten Strothman came untouched from Hawk’s left to sack the junior for a 13-yard loss and an NIU win.

Earlier in the game, running back Michael Turner had some success running the ball.

Turner carried seven times for 32 yards in the first half, but carried only twice after halftime and finished with a season-low 43 yards, as Ohio was determined to stop the run.

The Bobcats used both safeties as run stoppers in the second half, putting nine guys in the box to stop Turner.

“Haldi and Fleck came up big,” Turner said. “Haldi’s been smart all year. We got other guys besides me that can make plays. Haldi had to make plays, and he did it.”

Ohio ran over NIU for much of the game.

The multiple formations and deception allowed the Bobcats to use 11 different players to collect 244 yards on 66 carries.

NIU place kicker Steve Azar kicked three field goals for the Huskies, making him only the second player in MAC history to accumulate more than 300 points in a career.