Central Michigan 34, Northern Illinois 17: Chippewas hand NIU first loss at home since 2009


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Senior wide receiver Titus Davis (center) celebrates with members of the Central Michigan University football team after the Chippewas' 34-17 upset victory over Northern Illinois Saturday at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Ill. 

DeKalb, Ill. -- Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Mid-American Conference powerhouse Northern Illinois was handed its first loss at home since 2009 at the hands of the Central Michigan University football team 34-17, Saturday. 

The Chippewas now sit at 4-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Huskies entered the season as the reigning four-time MAC West champions and undefeated in their last 24 regular season conference games. 

"I tell these guys all the time. If we want to be on the map in the MAC West, you've got to beat Northern Illinois," said head coach Dan Enos. "We want to be taken seriously in this league. They have been very good for a very long time now and we certainly have a lot of respect for that."

Senior running back Thomas Rawls ran for 270 yards on 40 carries and two touchdowns during the Chippewas victory. Rawls is the first player in four years to run for more than 200 yards on NIU's defense. 

"I just kept asking, when do we want to take (Rawls) out?," Enos said. "The game was tight. He kept making yards. This was not the plan today. The guy is a competitor. He's tough. A lot of the little things he does, those make a huge difference." 

With Rawls' help, the Chippewas dominated time of possession in the game 39:01 to 20:59.

"We had a great week of preparation," Rawls said. "We still felt some type of way about the way we played against Toledo. We wanted to build off of that. From the beginning of the game, the NIU defense was chatting a lot. I just kept quiet and kept playing my game." 

After NIU opened the scoring on a 5-play 71-yard touchdown drive, the CMU defense settled in. The Chippewas allowed 231 yards through the air. 

Sophomore defensive back Tony Annese's fourth quarter interception with CMU leading 31-17 allowed Rawls and the CMU offense to grind out their biggest statement win of the season thus far. 

"As a defense we are always trying to be as physical as possible," Annese said. "On that play, they baited me to the corner a little and I just sped turned and caught it." 

Quarterback Cooper Rush was efficient against NIU, hitting six different receivers for 269 yards and two scores. 

"I have to remind myself that he's only a sophomore sometimes," Enos said. "He prepares each and every week like an NFL quarterback. He played well today against a very tough defense." 

It was the second consecutive week Rawls was handed the ball 40 times in a game. 

"I'm not feeling it too much right now, but I guarantee as soon as I lay down, I'm going to feel every bit of it," Rawls said. "This offense is tough and we are always going to show up as much as we can." 

The Chippewas will host Ball State next Saturday at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. 

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About Dominick Mastrangelo

Dominick Mastrangelo is the Editor in Chief of Central Michigan Life. Contact him at: editor@cm-life.com 

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