Telly Johnson Jr. (Augusta, Ga./Hephzibah) and Gavin Williams (Altoona, Iowa/Dowling Catholic/Iowa) each eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark as the Northern Illinois University Huskies defeated Akron, 29-16, on a rainy Tuesday night (Nov. 13) at Huskie Stadium. With the win, NIU has reached bowl eligibility for the third time in four seasons.

NIU held Akron to just 255 yards of total offense and shutout the Zips in the second half of the victory. Johnson gained 104 yards on 21 carries while Williams picked up 101 yards on nine carries. It marked the first time NIU had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since the 2021 Cure Bowl when Jay Ducker ran for 146 yards and Antario Brown (Savannah, Ga./Beach) ran for 105.

All four of NIU’s touchdowns came on plays longer than 30 yards.

“Tonight was a tough weather condition, tough elements,” said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. “I thought we handled it for the most part. When you play a game like this, you have to have a great defense, which we do. You have to have a good running game, which we do.

“I liked our run game, the offensive line is doing a phenomenal job. I like our defense, our defense played really, really stout today. We put them in some tough situations, but they kept responding. In the month of November, you have to be able to run the football.”

With its sixth win and bowl eligibility, NIU is poised to appear in its 15th bowl game since 2003, the most of any team in the Mid-American Conference.

“Being bowl eligible is a great thing for our seniors and it’s a great thing for our program,” said Hammock. “The seniors put a lot into the program, I wanted to extend the season for those guys.  Now we can just go play and have fun and win as many games as we can down the stretch.”

The Huskies struck first on a short field after Akron had trouble with a punt in the wet conditions on the first drive of the game. NIU took over on the Akron 21 and Kanon Woodill (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) converted a 32-yard field goal to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead.

After Akron scored a touchdown but failed on a two-point conversion, NIU answered to move back in front, 10-6, with 8:20 to play in the first quarter. Trayvon Rudolph (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee) took a direct snap and raced 58 yards around the right side for the touchdown.

Rudolph then recorded a passing touchdown as he took a jet sweep and found Dane Pardridge (DeKalb, Ill./Marmion Academy) behind the Akron defense for a 39-yard touchdown, giving NIU a 17-6 lead late in the first quarter.

Akron trimmed the Huskie lead to 17-9 with a field goal before the Zips blocked a Huskie punt and Terence Thomas recovered it in the end zone as Akron pulled within one, 17-16, with 9:20 to play in the second quarter.

NIU responded on its next drive as the Huskies faced a fourth and one at the Akron 32. Ethan Hampton (Elburn, Ill./Aurora Christian) found Grayson Barnes (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin/American River CC) in the flat and Barnes raced into the end zone to give the Huskies a 23-16 lead at the half.

Hampton finished the night 9-of-16 passing for 105 yards.

Neither team scored in the third quarter and the Huskies put the game out of reach midway through the fourth as Williams scored from 71 yards out. Williams took the jet sweep and raced around the left side, outrunning Zips defenders for the score.

The NIU defense allowed just 119 yards of total offense in the second half. JaVaughn Byrd (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King) recorded a team-high six tackles along with a forced fumble. Raishein Thomas (Racine, Wis./Washington Park) recorded a pair of sacks while Devonte O’Malley (Midlothian, Ill./Bremen) had 1.5 sacks.

NIU (6-4, 3-3 MAC) is back on the road next Tuesday, Nov. 19, as the Huskies travel to Oxford, Ohio to meet Miami. Kickoff against the RedHawks is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN.