Twelve minutes. That was all Northern Illinois needed to retake momentum Saturday night from visiting Southern Illinois, score 21 unanswered points and wrest control of a game that had been in danger of slipping away from the Huskies.
Then, in a flash, they lost control again to lose 34-31 in the final minute.
Leading 31-14, NIU quarterback Dan Nicholson was intercepted by SIU cornerback Brandon Williams, who returned it 52 yards for a touchdown.
Southern Illinois then scored two touchdowns in the final 1 minute 1 second — a 26-yard pass from Nick Hill to tight end Ryan Kernes and a 30-yard game-winner from Hill to wide receiver Justin Allen with 36 seconds remaining after the Salukis had recovered an onside kick.
Making the Huskies’ loss even harder to take were knee injuries to No. 1 tailback Montell Clanton, who left in the third quarter, and middle linebacker Tim McCarthy, who was helped off in the third quarter.
Nicholson completed 15 straight passes through the second and third quarters, and tailback Justin Anderson picked up 87 yards, scored twice on pass receptions and added a rushing touchdown in the third quarter as the Huskies scored on five straight possessions after falling behind just as the second quarter started.
Nicholson started well with four completions in his first six attempts but number seven was a disaster. Defensive end James Cloud blew in on a developing screen pass and Nicholson made an ill-advised try to get the ball off as he was being hit.
The pass was intercepted by defensive tackle Larry Luster, who took the ball at the Southern Illinois 45 and rumbled down the sideline past the Northern Illinois bench for 55 yards and a score with 12:12 remaining in the quarter.
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Then, from the Northern Illinois 41, Clanton exploded through a yawning hole opened by left guard Tim Mayerbock and tackle Chris Acevedo and sealed by right guard Jason Onyebuagu. He was into the secondary before the Salukis could react and went in for the 59-yard touchdown to tie the score 7-7 with 12 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
With the momentum back, the Huskies opened up the offense and the field. A touchback started the next possession at their 20 but with Nicholson spreading the ball throughout the offense, Northern Illinois simply drove their guests backward for 11 plays and 5 minutes 21 seconds that figured to take the heart out of Southern Illinois.
Anderson finished the drive with a 23-yard catch and run, sprung loose by a driving downfield block by wide receiver Britt Davis.
A personal foul on the kickoff return put Southern Illinois back at its 5-yard line. The Salukis then inexplicably followed a first-down rush with two pass attempts, both incomplete, forcing a punt from deep in their end of the field and time left on the clock.
A 19-yard punt return by Greg Turner gave Northern Illinois the ball at the Southern Illinois 37 with 57.3 seconds and all three timeouts remaining.
Managing the clock and the situation, Nicholson completed passes to Matt Simon and two to Anderson, the second for a 22-yard touchdown down the left sideline for a 21-7 halftime lead.
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