The first half of Tuesday night's game between the Northern Illinois Huskies and Bowling Green Falcons was actually competitive, but the Huskies pulled away in the second half to blow up the Falcons 45-14 on the road. The game was still close at halftime, 24-14 after Bowling Green scored a touchdown with 13 seconds left in the second quarter, until the Falcons' offense stagnated.
It was a marquee performance from Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish, who dominated the game both through the air and on the ground before backup Jordan Lynch took the field. In less than a full game, Harnish managed to go 16-for-26 for 294 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air, while carrying the ball 17 times for 151 yards and another touchdown on the ground. He was responsible for 445 yards of offense in all, well more than the entire effort from Bowling Green's squad tonight.
It's been an impressive year from Harnish. The senior quarterback has led the Huskies to a 7-3 record this season, posting some pretty great numbers along the way. His 20-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio is superb, and he's added another 1022 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground. His QB rating is 21st in the country, and better than more-hyped peers such as Nick Foles, Nathan Scheelhaase, Aaron Murray and Brock Osweiler.
The win puts Northern Illinois at 7-3 on the season with two games to go, and they're currently tied for first in the MAC's West division with a 4-1 conference record. They're tied with Toledo, but hold the tiebreaker after beating the Rockets 63-60 in a wild game last week. Bowling Green moves to 4-6 on the season.
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