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NIU drops 1st game of the season at #1 Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University Huskies forced five turnovers, including three interceptions, and battled No. 1 Ohio State to the end, before coming up a touchdown short and falling, 20-13, to the Buckeyes before 104,095 at Ohio Stadium.

“When you lose a game, the positives don’t outweigh the negatives,” said NIU Head Coach Rod Carey. “You’ve got to make the plays and take advantage of the opportunities. We will learn from this. They made more plays than we did, but we had plenty of opportunities to win this football game.”

Trailing 20-10 after Ohio State scored on a 41-yard interception return by Darron Lee with 1:44 to play in the third quarter, NIU came back with a 31-yard field goal by Christian Hagan with 7:46 left in the game to pull within seven, 20-13. Hagan’s field goal came at the end of an 11-play, 41-yard drive by the Huskies.

On its next three possessions - including one that came after Marlon Moore forced Ohio State into its fifth turnover of the game, a fumble by Curtis Samuel recovered by the Huskies’ Bobby Jones IV – NIU could not manage a first down.

The Huskie defense got two first-half interceptions from Shawun Lurry to set up NIU’s 10 first-half points, and had a fumble recovery to start another drive. In the second half, Sean Folliard recorded his first career interception, which was nullified on the next play by Hare’s second interception of the game, which Lee returned for the score. NIU held the Buckeyes’ offense to just 13 points.

“We got it to a one-score game [in the fourth quarter], which was good,” Carey said. “At the end, we missed too many opportunities. We’re upset about losing the game. We had an opportunity to win. I’m proud of the defense, the offense and all three phases of the game. They gave us the opportunity to win.”

“The whole defense played really well. Shawun is always around the ball and he made the plays. That’s what we expect. We were on the right side of the turnover battle.”

The defense held Ohio State to 136 yards passing as quarterbacks Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller completed 16-of-29 passes. Ohio State converted on just two of its 13 third down tries. NIU held the ball for 32:26 compared to OSU’s 27:34. There were 16 punts in the game, including 10 by NIU.

NIU’s Joel Bouagnon ran for 78 yards on 21 carries to pace the Huskies’ rushing attack, while Aregeros Turner caught three passes for 37 yards, ran four times for 12 yards and recorded NIU’s lone touchdown of the game on a five-yard run in the first quarter.

The teams played to a 10-10 tie in the first half. Ohio State took the lead on its first possession of the second half on a 24-yard field goal by Jack Willoughby with 8:27 to play in the third quarter. The field goal came at the end of an 11-play, 73-yard drive that consumed 3:37 on the clock.

The game began well for the Huskies as Lurry intercepted Ohio State quarterback Jones on the Buckeyes’ first drive and returned the ball 33 yards to the Ohio State 22. Three plays later, NIU took a 7-0 lead on Turner’s five-yard touchdown run to the corner. A 15-yard run by Hare on the previous play set up the Huskies at the five.

NIU got its second turnover of the half on the Buckeyes’ next drive. On fourth-and-one from the NIU 44, Boomer Mays forced Ezekiel Elliott to fumble and Folliard recovered for the Huskies. Elliott finished the game with 108 yards on 23 carries.

Ohio State got the ball back two plays later when Hare was intercepted for the first time this season. Eli Apple picked off Hare to give Ohio State the ball at the NIU 48 after a penalty on the return.

The Buckeyes drive stalled at the NIU 14-yard line, and they were forced to settle for a 31-yard field goal with 6:21 on the first-quarter clock, making the score NIU 7, Ohio State 3.

The teams exchanged punts on the next three possessions before Lurry picked off Jones again. His 12-yard return set up the Huskie offense on the Ohio State 29-yard line. NIU advanced to the 21 and from there, Christian Hagan hit a 38-yard field goal to put the Huskies ahead 10-3.

After an exchange of punts, Ohio State brought in new quarterback Barrett and the change seemed to energize the Buckeyes offense. A 26-yard punt return set up OSU on the NIU 44-yard line and four plays later, Barrett hit Michael Thomas, who got one foot down just inside the end zone for the 23-yard touchdown. The PAT tied the game at 10 with 8:21 to play in the half.

The Huskie defense held up well despite facing adversity late in the half. After punter Jake Ambrose fumbled the snap and was tackled at the NIU 37, the Huskies came up with a fourth-down stop as Lurry broke up the pass attempt on fourth and four.

NIU (2-1) completes its non-conference slate next Saturday at Boston College (2-1). Kickoff from BC’s Alumni Stadium is at Noon.

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