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| NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish runs the ball during Saturday's 38-31 loss at Ohio. (Scott Walstrom – NIU Media Services) |
ATHENS, Ohio – Jason Onyebuagu kneeled and peered in as the chain gang ran onto the field.
The Northern Illinois senior left guard knew the Huskies' fate the rest of the season could be riding on the result. But with 3:31 left Saturday afternoon at Ohio, the Huskies came up two or three inches short of a first down on a potential go-ahead drive.
That was just how things would go for the Huskies in their 38-31 loss at Ohio.
After a Chandler Harnish pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by the Bobcats, NIU (7-4, 5-2 MAC) kicked a field goal and had one final shot on an onside kick.
The Mike Salerno onside kick, which soared in the air for 10 yards on its first hop, slipped through the hands of a group of Huskies led by Spencer Williamson in the final minute to ensure the result.
"It's just tough to talk about right now," fullback Kyle Skarb. "We got a push, it was a good playcall, we were moving the ball and I think their linebacker came up big and just made a play."
The game didn't start close, as Ohio (8-3, 6-1 MAC East) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first five minutes thanks to a long return on the opening kickoff and a 91-yard punt return touchdown from the Bobcats' LaVon Brazill.
NIU was able to grind its way back into a tie by halftime and then the lead went back-and-forth until the missed fourth down in the final four minutes.
"They did a good job of exploding on us," NIU quarterback Chandler Harnish said. "We came back and manufactured a good drive. To get back in the game there was huge for us. The defense really settled down and kept us in the game."
With running backs Chad Spann (shoulder) and Me'co Brown (ankle) nursing injuries, the Huskies had to go to more of a passing offense and Harnish threw for a season-high 307 yards and two touchdowns on 24-for-35 passing.
His late interception and a third quarter pass that slipped out of his hand while he was throwing, however, proved costly. Harnish said he brought the ball up too fast and it just slipped out.
"The game came down to about three or four inches all day," NIU coach Jerry Kill said. "They made a few more plays than we did."
Landon Cox became the Huskies' main source of offense with 11 catches for 132 yards while Skarb made a couple outstanding catches as well, including a 23-yard reception for the Huskies' first score.
But they just didn't have enough of that offense late.
Brazill finished with two receiving touchdowns, a punt return touchdown, a rush for 11 yards, a pass for six yards and five catches for 55 yards.
"One of our main goals was to win the MAC Championship," Cox said. "We wanted to get this game to put ourselves in a good position going into Central Michigan but it just didn't happen."
The Huskies now cannot reach the MAC title game even with a win at noon Friday at Central Michigan because they are two games behind the Chippewas in the MAC West.
And their postseason opportunities are limited as well. If the season ended today, they would likely be the last team out of bowls with MAC tie-ins as the three bowls would likely go to Central Michigan, Temple and Ohio.
That means the Huskies would have to hope for a bowl outside the MAC tie-ins like the EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 29 since the Atlantic Coast Conference will not have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill their tie-ins. The Big Ten might end up in the same situation.
