Toledo, OHIO – Chris Finlen will not get his chance to beat Toledo.

Toledo walked away with a 41-20 win over NIU Saturday night at the Glass Bowl, halting Finlen’s dream of beating the Rockets.

“It is hard to swallow the fact that we fell short,” Finlen said. “These guys really wanted this win. We are working really hard to win games like this and we need to start winning some games like this.”

The loss was the Huskies’ eighth straight loss to Toledo and their 15th loss in 16 games at the Glass Bowl. In the eight-game winning streak, the Rockets (4-0 overall, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) have outscored the Huskies 270-118. The win moved Toledo to No. 23 in the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls.

NIU coach Joe Novak knows his team dug themselves a big hole in the first half as the Huskies (2-2, 0-1) fell behind at halftime 27-10 and never recovered.

“We put ourselves in a hole,” Novak said. “This is disappointing. They are a good, aggressive defensive team. They made key plays down the stretch and we didn’t.”

But it was the first half that Novak thought cost the Huskies the game.

The Huskies gave up a quick 19 points in the first quarter, the most they have given up in the opening quarter since Sept. 12, 1998, when NIU gave up 25 points to Kansas State in a 73-7 loss.

The Rockets jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on their first drive of the game when Tavares Bolden threw a 22-yard touchdown to Chris Holmes, but the Huskies blocked the extra point.

Toledo needed only two plays to score on their third series of the first quarter, as Bolden threw his second touchdown of the game to Manny Johnson, this time for 46 yards, giving the Rockets the 13-0 lead. Chester Taylor then scored on a two-yard run to give the Rockets the early 19-0 lead. The Rockets went for two to give them the 21-0 lead, but the conversion was no good.

Placekicker Steve Azar put the Huskies on the board six minutes into the second quarter when the sophomore hit a 33-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 19-3. Taylor then scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run as Toledo took the commanding 27-3 lead with 1:43 remaining in the first half.

Chris Finlen threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to P.J. Fleck to make the score 27-10 and end a wild first half that saw a combined 20 possessions.

But it was the second half that saw a different Huskie team. The defense stopped the running game and limited Tavares Bolden to 26 yards passing in the second half, compared to the 183 he threw in the first half.

Sophomore safety Lionel Hickenbottom stopped the Rockets first drive of the second half as he picked off Bolden’s pass at the 33-yard line and went untouched to the end zone, breathing new life into the Huskies as they pulled within 10, 27-17.

Azar then hit a 26-yard field goal as the Huskies were a touchdown away from tying the game at 27.

“They [Toledo] were starting to lose their poise,” Novak said. “We had them on the ropes and we just couldn’t finish it up.”

The Huskies, who went 1-for-16 on third down conversions, ran out of gas in the fourth quarter as the Rockets scored 14 points to take a commanding 41-20 lead.

Antwon McCray, who ran for 75 yards on nine carries, scored his only touchdown of the game on a 16 yard run, giving the Rockets the 34-20 lead. Taylor, who was originally thought to miss the second half with a shoulder injury, returned and scored his third touchdown of the game, his 12th of the season, on a three yard run to take the 41-20 lead.

The Rockets held the Huskies to 28 yards rushing, their worst performance since a 16-yard performance in a 48-20 loss to Iowa on Sept. 21, 1985.

Novak said he decided at halftime to let Finlen air the ball out because of the lack of a rushing game. The senior threw for 112 yards in the second half.

Toledo coach Tom Amstutz knows the Huskies could have walked away with the win.

“I said before the game NIU is an excellent team and I really respect them,” the first-year coach said. “We had a real gut check and I’m really proud of our players with how they responded. They fought through it. They kept battling and did what was needed to win. That’s what a championship team does.”