Northern Illinois 27, Akron 20
DEKALB, Ill. -- Akron accomplished something that Iowa and Purdue couldn't do against No. 23 Northern Illinois.
The Zips held the Huskies scoreless in the second quarter -- the first time all season that Northern Illinois failed to score in a quarter.
But Northern Illinois senior Jordan Lynch threw for a touchdown and ran for another as the Huskies survived a scare with a 27-20 win Saturday at Huskie Stadium.
The Huskies (6-0, 2-0) became bowl-eligible by staving off a late fourth-quarter comeback bid by the Zips.
The Huskies entered the game averaging 42.2 points but had a tough time scoring against an Akron defense ranked 103rd in the country in points allowed.
Lynch failed to put up his customary eye-popping numbers, completing 16 of 35 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown and rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown.
In the first quarter, the Huskies and the Zips combined for 31 points.
The Zips (1-6, 0-2) set the tone for a strong game on their opening drive, playing more like the team that nearly pulled out an upset at No. 11 Michigan on Sept. 14 rather than the team that tallied just 157 yards in a 43-3 loss at Ohio last Saturday.
Akron quarterback Kyle Pohl directed a nine-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jawon Chisholm for a 7-0 lead.
The Huskies rattled off 17 points on an 18-yard touchdown run by Lynch, a 42-yard field goal by Tyler Wedel and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Lynch to Desroy Maxwell.
Chisholm then added another 1-yard TD run to cut the lead to 17-14. The Zips were in it at halftime despite rushing for just 20 yards.
Northern Illinois tailback Cameron Stingily expanded the lead to 24-14 with a 9-yard touchdown scamper on NIU's first second-half possession.
The Huskies played the game without kicker Mathew Sims. Wedel made 2 of 4 field goal attempts; his last try was blocked with less than two minutes left, giving the Zips another chance to win or force overtime. But Pohl's incompletion on fourth down with less than a minute left ended the upset bid.
NOTES: Lynch needed 44 yards rushing to put his name in elite company. Lynch surpassed that total in the first half, making him the 10th player in FBS history with 3,000 rushing yards and 4,000 passing yards. ... Northern Illinois entered the game as one of four FBS teams to have played just one home game. The Huskies notched their 23rd home victory in a row at Huskie Stadium. That total is the longest current home winning streak in the FBS. ... Akron dropped to 1-24 against ranked teams since joining Division I-A in 1987. The Zips lost their 30th consecutive road game and haven't won on the road since defeating Eastern Michigan 42-35 on Oct. 18, 2008.
