Ohio’s late touchdown sinks NIU

ATHENS, Ohio — Sam Wiglusz leaped high to pull in a 22yard pass from Kurtis Rourke for the go-ahead touchdown with seven minutes to play as Ohio pulled out a 24-17 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday.

On its ensuing possession, the Huskies drove to the Ohio 36yard line but turned the ball over on downs when quarterback Justin Lynch’s pass was batted down. NIU got the ball back with 1:04 left after forcing a punt, but four straight passes fell incomplete.

John Richardson kicked field goals of 38, 27 and 45 yards for the Huskies (2-6, 1-3 MAC) before Kacper Rutkiewicz reached the end zone on an 11-yard run with 1:31 left in the third quarter. Nate Valcarcel threw to Cole Tucker for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 17.

Antario Brown rushed for 160 yards and Harrison Waylee 97 for NIU. Brown had his first 100yard game of the season, with many of his yards coming on direct snaps. In his second consecutive start, Lynch completed 9 of 18 passes for 110 yards.

“We have to be able to run the ball and stay in normal downand-distance situations to give ourselves a chance,” Huskies coach Thomas Hammock said. “I thought the backs broke some tackles, we had some secondand-long situations that they were able to get the first down. But we have to finish drives in the red zone with touchdowns.”

Rourke was 14-for-26 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns for the Bobcats (5-3, 3-1 MAC). He also led the running game with 64 yards on seven carries, breaking free for a 61-yard dash. Wiglusz finished with six catches for 69 yards and two TDs.