Northern Illinois Knocks Off CMU, 31-28

Nov. 5, 2005

MOUNT PLEASANT - Sam Hurd caught 12 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns as Northern Illinois University knocked off Central Michigan University, 31-28, on Saturday.

Kent Smith tossed touchdown passes to Obed Cetoute and Damien Linson to draw the Chippewas (5-4 overall, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) to within 31-28 early in the fourth quarter. CMU moved to the NIU 22-yard line with just over one minute remaining, but Rick Albreski's 39-yard field goal attempt was wide left and the Huskies (5-4, 4-2) ran out the clock.

Junior defensive end Daniel Bazuin broke a pair of school records in the loss. His 4.5 tackles for loss boosted his career total to 40.5, a new CMU career record. He also collected two sacks on Saturday, giving him 11 for the 2005 campaign and the single-season school record. Bazuin finished with nine total tackles and a forced fumble against the Huskies.

Phil Horvath staked the Huskies to a 7-0 lead when he hit Hurd from 27 yards out on the game's opening drive. NIU, known for its power running game, opened the contest with a no-huddle offense and finished with 435 yards passing. Horvath was 12-of-16 for 115 yards before leaving the game with a broken left arm late in the first period.

Damien Linson hauled in two of Kent Smith's four TD passes against the Huskies.

CMU evened the contest at seven with a five-yard scoring pass from Smith to Justin Harper. The play capped an 11-play, 95-yard scoring march, CMU's longest scoring drive of the season. A 52-yard run by Michael Jean on an end-around keyed the drive.

Nicholson put NIU back on top with a five-yard toss to Hurd on third-and-goal early in the third, but Smith again drew the Chippewas even with a two-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Brown. The Huskies took a 24-14 lead into the locker room via a three-yard Nicholson touchdown run and a 40-yard Chris Nendick field goal on the half's final play.

After forcing the Chippewas to punt, NIU stretched the lead to 17 on its first offensive snap of the third quarter. Nicholson connected with Hurd, who caught the ball along the west sideline before cutting across the width of the field and scoring just inside the pylon in the south end zone. The play covered 79 yards and was the first second-half touchdown CMU had allowed since Sept. 17.

Smith, who was 18-of-26 for 220 yards in the second half, hit Cetoute (16 yards) midway through the third and Linson (37 yards) early in the fourth to cut the deficit to 31-28. The Huskies' defense stiffened down the stretch and held CMU scoreless on its final three possessions.

Kent Smith threw for four TDs and 382 yards.

The Huskies, who entered the contest averaging 212 yards per game rushing, were held to six yards on 22 attempts by the CMU defense. Horvath and Nicholson, however, combined to complete 31-of-43 passes for 435 yards.

Smith finished 33-of-51 for 382 yards and four scores, while Ontario Sneed ran 23 times for 121 yards. It was his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season.

Defensively, Pacino Horne, Doug Kress, and Bazuin all finished with nine tackles, while Thomas Keith hauled in his team-leading third interception of the season. Dustin Utschig collected a game-high 16 tackles for NIU.

CMU hits the road next weekend, visiting Western Michigan in the MAC Television Game of the Week. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

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