Northern Illinois Huskies @ Kent State Golden Flashes
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NIU | 10 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 37 |
KENT | 0 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
Lombardi sparks Northern Illinois to 37-27 win over Kent State
KENT, Ohio -- — Rocky Lombardi scored from a yard out with just under five minutes left in the game and Jacob Finley recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown as time expired to give Northern Illinois a 37-27 win over Kent State in the season finale Saturday afternoon.
Northern Illinois finished its season with back-to-back wins to finish 5-3 and in second place in the Mid-American Conference West Division, three games behind unbeaten 8-0 Toledo.
Kent State put up 17 points in the second quarter and took a 17-10 lead at the half. Lombardi threw 16 yards to Grayson Barnes for a touchdown to start the third quarter, then punched over from the 1 to take a 24-20 lead after three quarters.
Kent State (0-8, 1-11) took the lead on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Devin Kargman to Jameel Gardner Jr. with 10:23 left, but the Huskies answered with a 75-yard, nine-play drive that consumed almost six minutes and was capped by senior quarterback Lombardi.
The Golden Flashes put together a nine-play drive that stalled at the NIU 36-yard line when Kargman threw incomplete on fourth down, but the defense held the Huskies to a three-and-out and Kent State got the ball back at its own 9 with under a minute left. James Ester and Navaeh Sanders sacked Kargman on consecutive plays to put the ball near the goal line and Gardner fumbled on the next play.
Lombardi finished 9 of 18 passing for 183 yards and a touchdown and had two 1-yard runs for touchdowns. Gavin Williams carried 17 times for 103 yards and Antonio Brown added another 89 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Kargman was 14 of 26 for 237 yards and two touchdowns, with Gardner catching three passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Luke Floriea caught nine passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
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Game Information
Kent, OH
2026 Standings
| Mountain West Conference | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Hawai'i | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Nevada | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| New Mexico | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| North Dakota State | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Northern Illinois | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| San José State | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| UNLV | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| UTEP | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Wyoming | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Mid-American Conference | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Akron | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Ball State | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Bowling Green | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Buffalo | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Central Michigan | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Eastern Michigan | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Kent State | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Massachusetts | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Miami (OH) | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Ohio | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Sacramento State | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Toledo | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Western Michigan | 0-0 | 0-0 |
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