Northern Illinois 40, Fresno State 17
When: 5:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 18, 2010
Where: Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho
Temperature:
40°
Head Official:
Dan Romeo
Attendance:
25449
By SportsDirect Inc.
It didn’t matter that Northern Illinois lost its head coach. The Huskies destroyed Fresno State on Saturday 40-17 in the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The win improves their record to 3-2 all-time against Fresno and broke their three-game bowl losing streak. It also lessens the sting from a 26-21 loss to Miami (Ohio) in the Marathon MAC Championship game.
The Huskies (11-3, 8-0) were without former head coach Jerry Kill, who accepted the same role at the University of Minnesota. Assistant coach Tom Matukewicz replaced Kill for the game.
The coaching change didn’t impact Northern Illinois’ dominant offense. Quarterback Chandler Harnish was 17 for 26 with 300 passing yards and a touchdown. It was the ground game that spurred Northern Illinois in heavy rain. Harnish rushed for two touchdowns while gaining 77 yards on 11 carries. Running back Chad Spann added 91 yards on 14 carries with two rushing touchdowns.
The Huskies finish the season breaking the school’s single season record in points by 111 and touchdowns by 12.
The Huskies outgained Fresno State (8-5, 5-3) 504-362 offensively. Bulldogs quarterback Ryan Colburn was 28 of 38 with 288 passing yards and two touchdowns, one each to Jamel Hamler and Rashad Evans.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
| Northern Illinois |
|
Fresno State |
|
Chad Spann
|
Player |
Jalen Saunders
|
|
15 |
Attempts |
5 |
|
95 |
Yards |
58 |
|
6.3 |
Avg Yards |
11.6 |
|
2 |
Touchdowns |
0 |
|
0 |
Long |
0 |
Receiving
| Northern Illinois |
|
Fresno State |
|
Willie Clark
| Player |
Jamel Hamler
|
|
4 |
Receptions |
7 |
|
88 |
Yards |
87 |
|
22.0 |
Avg Yards |
12.4 |
|
0 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
|
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary