Northern Illinois shocks Toledo with upset win on the road

Tuesday night was supposed to be a big night for Toledo. They were ranked No. 24 in the first College Football Playoff poll of the season and played in front of a national audience Tuesday night against Northern Illinois.

When Northern lost their quarterback Drew Hare early in the game to an injury, things were lining up perfectly for the undefeated Rockets. Then MACtion happened.

The Huskies defense kept them in the game as Hare’s freshman backup, Ryan Graham, got his footing. Down eight in the fourth quarter, Graham found Kenny Golladay for a seven yard touchdown. A failed two-point conversion left the Huskies down two.

A defensive stop gave Northern the ball back with a chance to win. Graham lead them down the field and into the red zone. With less than two minutes left, Joel Bouagnon plunged into the end zone to give Northern their first lead of the game.

The Rockets still had a chance to win the game. But on the first play of their drive, Toledo quarterback Phillip Ely threw a pass across the middle, tipped by his receiver right to Northern’s Boomer Mays.

A few plays later and the game was official. The Huskies continued their frustration of Toledo and delivered their first loss of the season. Northern improves to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the MAC. They sit a game behind Western Michigan in the MAC West. The two teams will play in two weeks in DeKalb.