Northern Illinois wins 6th straight, beats Toledo 38-15
Northern Illinois returns blocked punt for TD
Sutton Smith blocks Toledo punter Bailey Flint's running punt and returns it for a 27-yard touchdown.
DEKALB, Ill. -- Marcus Childers ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score to lead Northern Illinois to a 38-15 victory over Toledo on Wednesday night for its sixth straight win.
Tre Harbison ran for 139 yards, and Marcus Jones added 101 yards rushing and a touchdown for Northern Illinois (7-3, 6-0 Mid-American Conference), which snapped a two-game skid against Toledo (5-5, 3-3).
Eli Peters threw for 264 yards and a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jon'Vea Johnson for Toledo. Cody Thompson had eight catches for 110 yards.
Childers threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Corey Lersch in the first quarter and finished 13-of-19 passing for 131 yards. Sutton Smith returned a blocked punt 27 yards into the end zone late in the second quarter to give the Huskies a 17-9 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Childers bulled in for a touchdown from the 1 and broke loose with a 23-yard touchdown run to stretch the lead to 31-9.
Game Information
2023 Mid-American Conference Standings
Team | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
Miami (OH) | 7-1 | 11-3 |
Ohio | 6-2 | 10-3 |
Bowling Green | 5-3 | 7-6 |
Buffalo | 3-5 | 3-9 |
Akron | 1-7 | 2-10 |
Kent State | 0-8 | 1-11 |
Team | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
Toledo | 8-0 | 11-3 |
Northern Illinois | 5-3 | 7-6 |
Eastern Michigan | 4-4 | 6-7 |
Western Michigan | 3-5 | 4-8 |
Ball State | 3-5 | 4-8 |
Central Michigan | 3-5 | 5-7 |