Maddie's 5 TDs lead No. Illinois in drubbing of Buffalo

 Anthony Maddie threw for 199 yards, ran for 125 more, and had five total touchdowns to help lead Northern Illinois to a 44-7 win over Buffalo on Saturday.

Four of Maddie's five scores came on the ground. Joel Bouagnon added 67 yards rushing for Northern Illinois (2-6, 2-2 MAC), which ran the ball 51 total times for 312 yards.

Kenny Golladay finished with 96 yards receiving and a touchdown for the Huskies.

Northern Illinois scored three TDs in the second quarter, all three Maddie runs, and led 30-7 at the break.

Jordan Johnson scored the Bulls (1-6, 0-3) only points on a 29-yard second quarter touchdown run. Johnson finished with 97 yards rushing. Tyree Jackson threw for 203 yards for Buffalo, but was intercepted four times.

The Huskies have beaten the Bulls five straight times and own a 10-1 overall mark in the series.

Central Michigan tops Northern Illinois in triple OT

 Cooper Rush connected with Tyler Conklinfor a 25-yard touchdown pass on the first play of triple overtime, sending Central Michigan to a 34-28 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday.

Northern Illinois had the first possession in triple overtime, but Christian Hagan's 34-yard field goal attempt was blocked. On the next play, Conklin released up the seam and used his outstretched arms to haul in the game-winning grab.

Central Michigan (5-2, 2-1 Mid-American) had a chance to win it in regulation, but Brian Eavey's 33-yard attempt with 16 seconds remaining missed wide left. He also missed a potential game-winner in the first overtime - wide left again - this time from 35 yards out.

Rush's 25-yard pass to Corey Willis put CMU up 28-21 in double OT. NIU (1-6, 1-2) answered with a 13-yard strike from Anthony Maddie to Joel Bouagnon one play after converting on fourth down.

Devon Spalding and Jahray Hayes each ran for over 100 yards and a touchdown for the Chippewas.

Terrell helps lead W. Michigan past N. Illinois 45-30

 Zach Terrell guided Western Michigan to four scores after halftime, including the dagger touchdown from the 2, to defeat six-time defending Mid-American West champion Northern Illinois 45-30 on Saturday night.

Justin Ferguson and Robert Spillane ended Northern Illinois' last two drives with interceptions.

Terrell threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns as the Broncos (6-0, 2-0 MAC) are 6-0 for the first time since 1941. They are bowl eligible and have a chance to crack The Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time after receiving 76 votes last week.

Corey Davis (6 catches, 122 yards) and Jarvion Franklin (3-80) made spectacular grabs on the winning TD drive - Davis a one-hander as he fell out the back of the end zone (making it 31-23). Two plays earlier, Franklin was clobbered as the ball arrived, but the defender went sprawling and Franklin spun and ran another 17 yards for a 39-yard gainer.

The Huskies (1-5, 1-1) tried to win its second-straight game, making up a 14-0 gap and coming as close as 24-23 after halftime.

Northern Illinois with first win, beats Ball State 31-24

 Anthony Maddie threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Northern Illinois picked up its first win with a 31-24 victory over Ball State on Saturday.

Maddie threw for 298 yards and rushed for 160 yards including a 75-yard sprint for a touchdown that gave the Huskies (1-4, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) a 10-3 lead with 1:08 left in the first quarter. Joel Bouagnon added 153 yards and a score rushing and Christian Hagan kicked a 41-yard field goal.

Northern Illinois led 24-17 at the break but Ball State's James Gilbert ran for a score early in the fourth quarter to even it up.

Then Maddie hit Kenny Golladay for a 22-yard touchdown to put the Huskies back on top, 31-24, with 11:14 to play and they hung on for the win.

Riley Neal threw for 276 yards for the Cardinals (3-2, 0-1). Gilbert had 119 yards and three scores rushing.

Western Illinois holds off Northern Illinois for 28-23 win

Sean McGuire threw for 315 yards and a touchdown, the Western Illinois defense came up with two late stops, and the FCS Leathernecks upset Northern Illinois 28-23 on Saturday.

Western Illinois (3-0) snapped a 15-game losing streak against FBS teams. The Leathernecks are 7-29 against FBS foes - with all their wins against the Mid-American Conference.

Northern Illinois quarterback Anthony Maddie was stopped short on fourth-and-2 at the Leathernecks' 19-yard line with 2:50 left. On the Huskies next drive, Maddie's pass attempt on fourth-and-3 at the Leathernecks' 9-yard line was deflected and fell incomplete to preserve the win.

Steve McShane's 11-yard touchdown run put the Leathernecks on top, and Jamie Gilmore's 1-yard plunge made it 14-0 with a minute remaining in the first quarter.

Maddie and Ryan Graham combined to pass for 251 yards and two scores for Northern Illinois (0-4), which has lost seven straight dating to last season.

It was the first meeting between the two schools since 2009.

San Diego State beats Northern Illinois 42-28

Donnel Pumphrey ran for three touchdowns and Christian Chapman threw for three more as San Diego State won its 13th consecutive game, beating Northern Illinois 42-28 on Saturday.

Pumphrey - who finished with 220 yards rushing - ran for a 46-yard score on the first play of the Aztecs' second possession. Chapman followed that with three touchdown throws to give San Diego State (3-0) a 28-7 lead at halftime.

After the break, Ryan Graham threw a pair of touchdowns for the Huskies (0-3) to close the gap to 28-21 with 7:46 left in the third.

Pumphrey put it away in the fourth with scoring runs of 33 and 79 yards, extending San Diego State's lead to 42-28 with 7:40 to play.

Last week, Pumphrey ran for three touchdowns and a career-high 281 yards in the Aztecs' 45-40 win over Cal, becoming San Diego State's all-time rushing leader.

Graham threw three touchdown passes for the Huskies.

Flowers shines, South Florida routs Northern Illinois

 Quinton Flowers threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns to lead South Florida to a 48-17 rout of Northern Illinois on Saturday night.

With two-time American Athletic Conference rushing leader Marlon Macksitting out after spending the past week in the concussion protocol, Flowers accounted for 403 of his team's 658 yards total offense while tossing TD passes of 73 yards to Ryeshene Bronson, 26 yards to Rodney Adams, 13 yards to D'Ernest Johnson and 6 yards to Chris Barr.

The dual-threat quarterback also rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries, helping the Bulls (2-0) - preseason favorites to win the American's East Division - remain unbeaten through two games for the first time in four seasons under coach Willie Taggart.

"2-0! It's been awhile," Taggart, 14-23 in his first three seasons with the Bulls, said. "Climbing is easier than hanging on."

Northern Illinois quarterback Drew Hare was carted off the field with an apparent left leg injury midway through the third quarter. The redshirt senior missed the last five games of 2015 with a right Achilles injury.

Backup Ryan Graham threw an 11-yard TD pass to Aregeros Turner, who also scored on a 4 run for the Huskies, who lost their season opener at Wyoming 40-34 in triple overtime.

THE TAKEAWAY

Northern Illinois: The Huskies have played in six straight Mid-American Conference championships games and also appeared in a league-record eight consecutive bowl games, which is to say the most important part of their season is still ahead of them. The 0-2 start will mean little if NIU can rebound - especially defensively - to make another strong run in conference play.

South Florida: Taggart has his team playing with confidence and swagger. The Bulls have won nine of 11 games dating to last season, improving to 2-0 for the first time since 2012, when they went on lose nine of 10 and finish 3-9. The last time USF won three straight to begin a season was 2011, when it dropped seven of eight following a 4-0 start to wind up 5-7. Houston may be the team to beat for the American title, however Taggart's bunch looks as strong as any bidding to represent the East in the league's championship game.

NEXT MAN UP

Mack led the American in rushing the past two seasons. He had a streak of five consecutive 100-yard performances ended when he sat out the entire second half of USF's season opener against Towson, finishing with 58 yards. Darius Tice replaced him in the starting lineup Saturday night and gained 120 yards on 19 attempts. D'Ernest Johnson shared the workload, finishing with 87 yards on 16 attempts.

"It was good to get so many guys get involved and contribute," Taggart said.

TRACKING THE HUSKIES:

A week after scoring three touchdowns and leading NIU with 144 yards receiving and 82 yards rushing, NIU's Kenny Golladay was limited to four receptions for 43 yards and no TDs. Hare, meanwhile, completed 13 of 20 passes for 96 yards, no TDs and no interceptions before being injured when he was nearly tackled in his own end zone with 7:43 remaining in the third quarter. Graham was 9 of 15 for 65 yards, one TD and no interceptions.

"I don't know the diagnosis on Hare," NIU coach Rod Carey said, "Right now, we'll move forward with Ryan."

UP NEXT

Northern Illinois: Huskies get a break from the road, where they played consecutive games to begin a season for the first time since 2013, and return to DeKalb, Illinois for their home opener against San Diego State.

"It'll be good to be home," Carey said. "We've got to a bunch of things to correct and move forward."

South Florida: Begins the tougher portion of its non-conference schedule, traveling to Syracuse next Saturday before returning home to face No. 3 Florida State in two weeks.

"Now we get to see if we can take this show on the road and do what we do at home," Taggart said.

Allen's 7-yard TD run lifts Wyoming over N. Illinois in 3OT

Josh Allen eluded three would-be tacklers on a wild touchdown scramble from 7 yards out in the third overtime to lift Wyoming to a 40-34 win over Northern Illinois in a game that began nearly two hours late Saturday night due to thunderstorms and ended early Sunday morning.

Christian Hagan missed a 38-yard field goal wide left at the start of the third overtime for Northern Illinois (0-1).

Brian Hill finished with 125 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including a 5-yarder in the second overtime for Wyoming (1-0). The junior, who was the 8th-leading rusher in the FBS last year, went over 100 yards for the 12th time in his career. Drew Hare's 1-yard scoring run for Northern Illinois forced a third overtime.

At the start of the first overtime, Hare fumbled the snap on 3rd and goal from the 2 and Wyoming's Logan Wilsonrecovered.

Allen's 2-yard scoring toss to Jacob Hollister snapped a 20-all tie late in the third quarter, but Hare led the Huskies on a 77-yard drive, converting a fourth-and-10 before hitting wide-open Shane Wimann for a 19-yard touchdown with 1:13 left in the regulation.

Wyoming freshman Cooper Rothe missed a 48-yard field goal at the end of regulation and 37-yarder at the end of the first overtime.

"It was a phenomenal win," Cowboys coach Craig Bohl said. "We have steps to go, but we're starting to see the stamp of the program we want to have."

Allen, a sophomore who took only 13 snaps last season before suffering a broken clavicle, made his second career start. His winning run came on a third-down, play-action bootleg right, but Ladell Fleming forced him back to the left and Allen spun away from Jawuan Johnson and Sean Folliard, then cut straight up and ended a game that lasted four hours and 14 minutes.

"Coach told me to be smart about it and I probably should have thrown it away," Allen said. "I looked back and our guys were there (to block), cut it back and made a guy miss and found a hole and dived in. Felt great."

Allen finished 19 of 29 for 245 yards and two touchdowns. Hare was 24 of 39 for 329 yards - the fourth-best output of his career - with three touchdowns, and Kenny Golladay had 10 receptions for 144 yards and two TD catches. He also rushed for 82 yards and another score.

The game was delayed one hour, 50 minutes by a series of thunderstorms. Kickoff didn't occur until 10:20 p.m. and the contest ended at 2:34 a.m.

The late start and three-OT affair was an unusual experience, Golladay said.

"It was new for me," he said. "I'm sure just like everybody else, probably. I've never done that. I don't know who has. It was a fun game. It just didn't come out in our favor."

Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey said his team made too many mistakes. "The kids played hard, but we've got a lot to correct," he said. "I think there's enough blame to go around with all the sloppiness there was. Give Wyoming credit. We knew they were going to be improved, and they were everything we thought they were."

Andrew Wingard, who led Wyoming with 12 tackles, twice stopped Golladay at the 2 in the first overtime when it appeared the fleet receiver would score. Mycial Allen led Northern Illinois with 13 stops.

THE TAKEAWAY

NORTHERN ILLINOIS:

Northern Illinois is the winningest team of the Mid-American Conference over the last decade, so last year's 8-6, injury-plagued campaign, capped by a fourth-straight bowl game loss, left the team hungry for a strong start to 2016 and return to form. The Huskies struggled against an inspired Cowboys team that was among the worst in the FBS last year, at least statistically. Hare appears to be fully recovered from a torn Achilles tendon that sidelined him for the final five games of last season, but his fumble at the end of the first overtime was costly.

WYOMING: The Cowboys won only six games in coach Craig Bohl's first two seasons, but this victory was a major step up for the beleaguered program. Bohl has vowed to restore the program "the right way" which might not be the fastest way, but his team made significant strides in the opener, being competitive throughout the whole game, which didn't occur very often last year. The defense looked much quicker and rose to the occasion at several key points, including shutting out the Huskies in two of the three overtimes and stopped seven of eight drives after giving up two first-quarter touchdowns.

UP NEXT

NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The Huskies visit South Florida, the fourth meeting between the schools. The Bulls won the last encounter 27-3 in the final International Bowl, played in Toronto following the 2009 campaign to lead the series 2-1.

WYOMING: The Cowboys travel to Nebraska, which leads the all-time series 7-0, including a 37-34 win in 2013's season opener in Lincoln. Wyoming racked up 602 yards against the No. 18 Cornhuskers and nearly overcame a late 16-point deficit.