Freshmen George Dimopoulos threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dane Pardridge in the second overtime and added a two-point conversion pass to quarterback Josh Holst, and senior Jordan Hansen sacked Fresno State quarterback Joshua Wood on fourth down to give the Northern Illinois University Huskies a 28-20 win over the Bulldogs Monday in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
“What an awesome game,” said NIU head coach Thomas Hammock. “I’m proud of our players, proud of our coaches. We stayed committed, stayed in the fight for one another when some things didn’t go our way. I couldn’t be more proud of those men in the locker room. We have a lot of seniors that have invested a lot into the program, helped build our program and set the foundation and standards of our program. What an excellent way to go out as champions of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.”
Holst, a walk-on from Marengo, Illinois making his third career start for NIU, earned the Most Valuable Player Award after completing 18-of-30 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 65 yards on 16 carries.
Fresno State kicker Dylan Lynch missed a 35-yard field goal at the end of regulation, his third missed field goal of the game, to send the game to overtime tied 13-13. The Bulldogs went on offense first to start overtime and took three plays to score with Bryson Donelson running in from nine yards out for his second touchdown of the game.
The Huskies tied the game 20-20 as Holst hit Grayson Barnes, who finished the game with six catches for 57 yards and two scores, for a three-yard touchdown with Kanon Woodill adding the PAT. Holst began the NIU possession by passing to Pardridge for a first down to the 14, then ran for eight yards to the six. A holding penalty on Fresno State gave NIU the ball on the three.
NIU had the ball first in the second overtime and wasted no time as Dimopoulos took the handoff from Holst and threw a strike to a wide open Pardridge in the right corner for his first completion as a Huskie. The receiver then made it two completions as he threw to Holst for the two-point conversion and a 28-20 Huskie lead.
That left the final chapter to the NIU defense. Two incompletions sandwiched around a one-yard run left the Bulldogs at fourth and nine from the 24. The Huskies kept to their aggressive nature with fifth-year safety Jordan Hansen getting through to sack Wood and give NIU a bowl win for the second straight year.
“When they missed the field goal at the end of the fourth quarter, I said we’re going to empty the [playbook] and figure out ways to go win this game by any means necessary,” Hammock said. “Our players went out there and executed at an extremely high level. I’m proud of our guys, they executed. George [Dimopoulos] did a phenomenal job executing those plays at the end. Our guys wanted it, they wanted it for those seniors.”
NIU totaled 368 yards on 79 plays in the game. Fresno State’s only score of the second half was its touchdown in overtime as the Bulldogs were 3-of-10 on third down conversions. The Huskies had more than 39 minutes in time of possession.
NIU finished the season 8-5 for the second straight year, while Fresno State ended 6-7.
Trailing 13-3 at halftime after a scoreless second quarter, Barnes and Holst gave NIU a boost to start the second half. Jaylen Poe opened the drive with a 13-yard run and Holst hit Jake Appleget for 20 to the FS 43. A pass interference penalty moved the Huskies forward and after Holst was sacked back to the 26, he responded on the next play by lofting a pass to Barnes, who draped by a defender, grabbed the ball with one hand at the four and took two steps into the end zone for the Huskie touchdown, pulling NIU within three, 13-10, at 11:22 of the third quarter.
The NIU defense, which has been dominant in the second half all year, made the next big play as senior safety Nate Valcarcel grabbed a Jayden Mandal overthrown for his fourth interception of the year, and returned it 11 yards to the 49.
Holst found Pardridge for 21 yards and a pass interference penalty gave the Huskies field position at the 20. NIU gained just three yards on three plays before Woodill came on to tie the game with a 34-yard field goal, his second of the game.
Fresno State’s next two possessions resulted in punts, and the Huskies turned the ball over on downs after driving to the FS 42. NIU then punted to start the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs drove to the NIU 23, where their pass on fourth and one went incomplete.
NIU had a chance to pull ahead as they advanced from their 23 all the way to the FS 18-yard line with Holst and Telly Johnson, who finished with 56 yards on 18 carries, doing the bulk of the work on the ground. On fourth and one with 3:02 to play, Hammock opted for the 35-yard field goal try which was just right.
The Bulldogs put together one last drive in regulation, moving from the 18 to the NIU XX where Lynch’s attempt missed to end regulation.
The Huskie defense started the game with a three-and-out to force a FS punt, they returned to the field one play later when Holst’s pass was intercepted by Fresno State’s Jayden Davis who returned it 25 yards to the NIU 25. A 21-yard completion put the ball on the NIU 4 and Bryson Donelson scored one play later from one yard out to give the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead with 11:29 on the clock in the first quarter. The two point PAT passing attempt failed.
NIU cut the lead in half as Kanon Woodill made a 29-yard field goal to finish a 16-play, 63-drive that took 8:44 off the clock. Holst’s 20-yard scramble to the FS 17 set up the Huskies in scoring position and Woodill’s 16th field goal of the season made it 6-3 Fresno State with 2:45 to play in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs responded immediately, driving 90 yards in just four plays and 1:31 to extend the lead to 13-3 at 1:08 of the first quarter. The big play of the drive was a 54-yard completion from FS quarterback Joshua Wood to Mac Dalena down to the NIU 13. Wood ran it in from there on play later and the PAT was good.
NIU’s 11-plus minute drive consumed most of the second quarter but ended with Johnson stopped at the goal line on fourth down. Fresno State drove to the Niu 31 and attempted a 49-yard field goal with 29 seconds on the clock, then blocked a Huskie punt and attempted a 42-yard field goal with six seconds left. Both were no good.
The game marked the final contest for 26 seniors.