Northern Illinois Huskies vs Toledo Rockets Box Score on Nov 20, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 20, 2013

No. 21 Northern Illinois 35, Toledo 17: Jordan Lynch finished with 363 total yards and three touchdowns as the visiting Huskies clinched a fourth consecutive trip to the Mid-American Conference championship game.

Lynch completed 17-of-22 passes for 202 yards and rushed for 161 yards and three scores for Northern Illinois (11-0, 7-0 MAC), which scored 28 unanswered points in the second half. Juwan Brescacin caught eight passes for 121 yards for the Huskies, who were without leading receivers Tommylee Lewis (foot) and Da’Ron Brown (hamstring).

Terrance Owens completed 17-of-29 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Alonzo Russell five times for 100 yards and a touchdown for Toledo (7-4, 5-2). Kareem Hunt led the ground attack with 91 rushing yards for the Rockets.

Northern Illinois lost two leads before moving ahead for the final time on Lynch’s 31-yard touchdown run with 6:15 left in the third quarter, giving the Huskies a 21-17 advantage. Lynch added his third touchdown run of the second half on a 1-yard keeper with 9:42 remaining in the game and James Spencer cemented the victory with his second touchdown, a 1-yard run four minutes later.

The Rockets turned the ball over three times in the first half, but Northern Illinois kicker Mathew Sims missed field goals of 23, 40 and 47 yards. Following the second miss, Owens found Russell for a 45-yard touchdown strike with 51 seconds left in the second quarter, giving Toledo a 10-7 lead that stood up at the half after Sims missed his third field goal try.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Lewis, who leads Northern Illinois with 74 receptions, did not dress for the game and Brown, who has a team-high 689 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, left early in the first quarter. … Toledo’s David Fluellen, who came into the week second in the MAC with 133.4 rushing yards per game, returned after missing the last two games with a leg injury and finished with 54 rushing yards … George Rainey recorded a sack, forced fumble and recovery on the first play of game and Northern Illinois scored three plays later on Spencer’s 19-yard touchdown run.