DeKalb, ILL. – The Huskies would strike first in Saturday’s clash between Northern Illinois and San Diego State. NIU would receive the opening kickoff after the Aztecs chose to defer to the second half and proceeded to go on to a 16 play, 62-yard, seven minute and 50 second drive resulting in a field goal from kicker Andrew Glass. The Aztecs would respond immediately with their first drive of the game reaching 13 plays and seven minutes and 15 seconds. Those two drives would take the entire 15 minutes of the first quarter with the second quarter starting with a Gabriel Plascencia 30-yard field goal to tie the game. Neither team would score again till the final seconds of the game with San Diego State securing the victory behind a 25-yard field goal from Plascencia
The Aztec’s defense was stellar throughout the contest. Not only did the Aztecs limit NIU to three points but they forced seven punts, forced a turnover on downs, posted a pair of sacks and secured an interception. For the game, the Huskies were held to just 57 passing yards and just three yards per carry despite rushing the ball 41 times. Chris Johnson snagged his second interception of the season while Ryan Henderson secured his second sack of the season. Owen Chambliss’s 11 total tackles are tied with Tano Letuli (11 total tackles against Stony Brook) for the most in a single game this season.
On offense, Lucky Sutton paced the Aztecs with 88 all-purpose yards. He has now matched or exceeded 88 rushing yards in three of four games this season and has averaged over five yards per carry for three straight games. Through the air Jordan Napier once again led SDSU with six receptions for 52 yards, both game highs. Donovan Brown also posted his best outing with the Aztecs with five catches for a season best 42 yards.
Lastly, Gabriel Plascencia moves to a perfect six for six on field goal attempts throughout the year and has now hit 18 consecutive attempts dating back to the 2024 season. His game winning, walk-off field goal as time expired led SDSU to their first win with zero time left on the clock since the 1994 season.
A longer recap to follow shortly…