Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Northern Illinois Huskies Match Player Stats On Sep 21, 2013

Northern Illinois 43, Eastern Illinois 39: Jordan Lynch rushed 23 times for 189 yards to help the host Huskies to a shootout victory over the Panthers.

Cameron Stingily added 21 rushes for 134 yards and two scores as Northern Illinois (3-0) finished with 367 rushing yards. Lynch also went 21-of-30 for 235 yards and a touchdown as the Huskies rallied from a 20-point first-quarter deficit.

A week after setting a school record with seven passing touchdowns, Jimmy Garoppolo nearly matched that with six scores through the air, finishing 34-of-49 for 450 yards for Eastern Illinois (3-1). Erik Lora had 14 catches for 198 yards and three touchdowns, while Adam Drake had eight receptions for 137 yards and a pair of scores.

The Panthers struck quickly, with Garoppolo hitting Lora for a 14-yard score just 2:39 into the game, then finding Drake for a 43-yard score 13 seconds later after Eastern Illinois recovered an onside kick. Another Garoppolo touchdown pass increased the lead to 20-0, but Northern Illinois reeled off 30 unanswered points to take a 10-point lead with 10:17 left in the third.

Garoppolo threw two touchdowns as the Panthers rallied to tie the game at 33 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Garoppolo's sixth touchdown strike gave Eastern Illinois a three-point lead with 9:53 to play, but the Huskies went ahead for good 1:08 later on an 8-yard touchdown run by Keith Harris Jr.