UNLV Rebels vs Northern Illinois Huskies Match Player Stats On Sep 05, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 5, 2015

DeKALB, Ill. -- Junior quarterback Drew Hare threw for a career-high 360 yards and two touchdowns as Northern Illinois rallied from a 17-3 first-half deficit to defeat UNLV 38-30 in the season opener for both teams.

Junior Joel Bouagnon finished with 152 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns, all in the second half, as the Huskies spoiled the head coaching debut of UNLV's Tony Sanchez.

Sanchez replaced Bobby Hauck in December after leading Las Vegas Bishop Gorman to a 15-0 record and the mythical national high school title.

Junior wide receiver Kenny Golladay caught nine passes for 213 yards, the most ever for a Northern Illinois player in their first game.

Senior quarterback Blake Decker completed 21 of 39 passes for 319 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for UNLV, which led 17-10 at halftime.

But Northern Illinois needed only four plays after halftime to tie the game on a 16-yard run by tight end Desroy Maxwell. After Nicolai Bornand gave UNLV its final lead with a 33-yard field goal, Bouagnon led the Huskies on a 21-3 scoring spurt with touchdown runs of 16, 1 and 29 yards to put Northern Illinois ahead 38-23.

Decker hit Aaron Criswell with a 41-yard touchdown with 5:26 remaining to help UNLV close to within 38-30. The Rebels drove to the NIU 46 late in the game but turned the ball over on downs when sophomore wide receiver Devonte Boyd dropped a pass on fourth-and-9 at the Huskies' 32-yard line.

UNLV, which hadn't won a season opener since 2007 at Utah State, rolled up 274 yards and 17 first downs while building its first half lead.

The Rebels needed only seven plays to take a 7-0 lead as Decker connected with sophomore wide receiver Devonte Boyd for a 64-yard touchdown on a streak up the left sideline on third-and-11.

After the Huskies cut it to 7-3 on a 48-yard field goal by Christian Hagan, UNLV, which twice stopped the Huskies on fourth-down plays inside the Rebel 40, reeled off 10 straight points.

Backup quarterback Kurt Palandech scored on an 18-yard run and Nicolai Bornand connected on a 21-yard field goal to cap an impressive 85-yard, 13-play drive.

But Northern Illinois, which lost star wide receiver Tommylee Lewis to a leg injury on the first series, closed to 17-10 late in the half when Hare connected with tight end Shane Wimann for a 16-yard touchdown.

NOTES: Tony Sanchez is only the fifth coach in the modern era of college football to move directly from being a high school head coach to being a head coach at an FBS school. The others were Jim Bradley (New Mexico State, 1973-77), Bob Cummings (Iowa, 1974-78), Gerry Faust (Notre Dame, 1981-85) and Todd Dodge (North Texas, 2007-10). Only Faust (30-26-1) finished with a winning record. ... The Huskies are one of two teams (along with Oregon) to have won 11 or more games in each of the last five seasons. ... In conjunction with celebrating the 50th anniversary of Huskie Stadium this season, Northern Illinois picked the 50 greatest players in Huskie Stadium history. Quarterback Jordan Lynch, who led Northern Illinois to the 2013 Orange Bowl and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting as a senior, was selected as the greatest player in Huskie Stadium history.