Northern Illinois 34, Minnesota 23
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, September 25, 2010
Where: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Temperature:
58°
Head Official:
John O'Neill
Attendance:
49368
By SportsDirect Inc.
Chad Spann rushed for a career-high 223 yards and two touchdowns to lead Northern Illinois to a 34-23 victory over Minnesota in a non-conference game on Saturday.
Spann broke loose for 56 yards on a first-quarter run to set up his own three-yard scoring run for Northern Illinois’ first points. Spann added a 61-yard scoring run with 6:22 to play that gave the Huskies (2-2) a commanding 18-point lead.
The victory was just Northern Illinois’ third in 38 career meetings with Big Ten programs. The humiliating home loss was the third in a row for Minnesota (1-3).
Spann averaged 14.9 yards on 15 carries as the Huskies rolled up 297 rushing yards.
Chandler Harnish tossed two touchdown passes, including a 10-yarder to Martel Moore with three seconds left in the first half to put Northern Illinois ahead for good at 20-13. The touchdown was set up by Jimmie Ward’s blocked punt, which gave the Huskies the ball at the Minnesota 11-yard line.
The Golden Gophers pulled within 20-16 on Eric Ellestad’s 21-yard field goal midway through the third quarter before Harnish tossed a two-yard scoring pass to Connor Flahive early in the fourth quarter to boost the Huskies’ lead to 11 points.
Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber passed for 373 yards and two touchdowns.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
| Northern Illinois |
|
Minnesota |
|
Chad Spann
|
Player |
Duane Bennett
|
|
15 |
Attempts |
24 |
|
223 |
Yards |
74 |
|
14.9 |
Avg Yards |
3.1 |
|
2 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
|
0 |
Long |
0 |
Receiving
| Northern Illinois |
|
Minnesota |
|
Martel Moore
| Player |
MarQueis Gray
|
|
3 |
Receptions |
8 |
|
24 |
Yards |
117 |
|
8.0 |
Avg Yards |
14.6 |
|
1 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
|
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
| |
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
| Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sacks |
FF |
| Northern Illinois
|
378 |
297 |
81 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0.0 |
0 |
| Minnesota
|
470 |
97 |
373 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
1 |