NIU football coach Joe Novak said it best after his squad defeated Kent State 13-6 Saturday at Huskie Stadium.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we got the job done,” Novak said.

Not pretty, indeed. Quarterback Josh Haldi completed only seven-of-19 passes. Normally reliable kicker Steve Azar missed two field goals.

But on a day when their offense struggled, the Huskie (2-3, 1-1) defense came to the rescue in NIU’s MAC opener. Golden Flashes (2-3, 0-2) signal caller Josh Cribbs, the MAC’s leading rusher going into the game, was held in check, gaining less than 200 yards of total offense. Linebacker Nick Duffy collected 12 tackles and defensive end Travis Moore sacked Cribbs twice.

“We fought hard but came up a little bit short,” KSU coach Dean Pees said. “We had some chances for some plays, but we didn’t execute them.”

The Golden Flashes had one of those chances in their last drive, when they drove 55 yards from their 26-yard line to NIU’s 19. With less than a minute to go, a Cribbs pass fell incomplete on fourth-and-three and NIU was able to run out the clock.

An Azar 29-yard field goal opened the scoring in the first quarter. Running back Michael Turner ran seven consecutive times for 33 yards to set Azar up.

Turner finished with 203 yards on 40 carries, his second consecutive 200-yard game. His rushing total this season stands at 742 yards, first in the nation. He also passed 2,000 rushing yards for his NIU career.

“The offensive line did a great job of opening some holes,” Turner said. “I just took what they gave me.”

After KSU went three-and-out to start the second quarter, NIU’s Dan Sheldon brought the 16,302 fans in attendance to their feet with a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown.

The 90 yards was the longest punt return in school history.

“Thinking back, I probably shouldn’t have caught it,” Sheldon said of the punt. “I just thought I better get upfield and make something of it.”

Eddie Beccles ran for 68 yards on the next play from scrimmage to give KSU the ball at NIU’s 12-yard line. The Huskie defense held and the Golden Flashes had to settle for a Travis Mayle field goal. The 10-3 score held up until halftime.

A Cribbs 31-yard run in the first possession of the second half set up a 28-yard Mayle field goal to make the score 10-6.

Azar then missed his two field goals within two minutes of each other to keep the game a one-possession affair heading into the fourth quarter.

NIU strong safety Justin Dole stepped in front of a Cribbs pass midway through the fourth quarter at the KSU 44-yard line. He returned the interception six yards to set the table for a 34-yard Azar trifecta.

“I just sat there and waited for the ball to come,” Dole said. “I probably should have scored a touchdown, but I went the wrong way.”

Haldi’s seven-of-19 performance came a week after he completed only six-of-16 passes against Western Illinois.

“I think Josh is probably pressing a little bit right now,” Novak said. “But I don’t think we can put it all on him. We need to run our routes better and block better.”