Five takeaways from NIU’s 38-35 loss to Tulsa

TULSA, Oklahoma — Tulsa defeated Northern Illinois, 38-35, Saturday night on Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium, overcoming a furious second-half rally and two fourth-quarter deficits to spoil the Huskies’ first game in program history on Oklahoma soil.

Here are five takeaways from NIU’s first loss of 2022:

Second-half turnaround

In the first half, the Huskies managed only 119 yards on 28 plays and trailed 24-7 at halftime.

However, things changed in the second half as they looked like an entirely new team. NIU amassed 174 yards in the third quarter alone and had the points to show for it.

Rocky Lombardi led the team on a six-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Kacper Rutkiewicz, and after a successful onside kick from John Richardson, he completed three of his next five passes to set up Antario Brown for an 8-yard score.

The Huskies were successful again the following drive after Tulsa’s Zack Long missed a 40-yard field goal. This time Lombardi found Cole Tucker for a 33-yard touchdown toss to complete the comeback and give NIU a 28-24 lead with 14:50 remaining.

The Huskies scored once more at the 5:57 mark of the fourth when Lombardi used his legs to score from 1 yard out.

Comeback kids

Coming into the game, Tulsa had totaled 21 comeback wins since 2015 in the Philip Montgomery era.

Although it looked like the Golden Hurricane wouldn’t have to worry about that in their home opener after storming to a 17-point halftime lead, NIU had other plans.

The Huskies took two leads at 28-24 and 35-31 in the fourth quarter, but as Tulsa has done so many times, it found a way to come back from the brink of defeat.

Steven Anderson capped a five-play, 52-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds remaining, and cornerback Tyon Davis intercepted Rocky Lombardi with 32 seconds remaining to dash NIU’s hopes of a 2-0 start.

Third-down penalties costly

The Huskies couldn’t get out of their own way in the first half.

NIU was called for two 15-yard penalties on third downs – one for unnecessary roughness and another for illegal use of hands – on separate drives that both resulted in points for the Golden Hurricane.

The first came on a third-and-15 play at the NIU 38, and though Eric Rogers stopped JuanCarlos Santana short of the line to gain, he violently slammed him to the turf and was assessed the penalty.

Two plays later, Tulsa quarterback went to Santana again for a 14-yard touchdown strike with 10:13 remaining in the first quarter.

Davis and Santana were at it again in the second quarter, connecting for a 25-yard score three plays after Cyrus McGarrell was whistled for using his hands illegally. Although the play would’ve resulted in a first down anyway, that penalty moved the ball from the NIU 40 to the 25.

Huskies struggle with Tulsa wide receiver trio

In its season opener against Wyoming, Tulsa set a school record with three 100-yard receivers – Keylon Stokes (169), Malachai Jones (103) and Santana (102).

They didn’t quite reach those numbers Saturday night, but they gave NIU plenty of fits, combining for 283 yards on 16 receptions. Stokes led the way with 135 yards while Santana added 87 yards and Jones had 61 yards. They caught all but three of Davis’ 19 completions.

Momentum rollercoaster

Although things eventually turned around for the Huskies, the offense struggled mightily in the early stages.

At one point, they gained only 3 yards on six plays and held the ball for less than two minutes on those drives. The spark NIU so desperately needed came from an unlikely source, though.

With the Huskies trailing 17-0, Muhammad Jammeh intercepted Brin in plus territory, and it didn’t take long for them to capitalize on the takeaway.

Moments later, Lombardi found Rutkiewicz for a 9-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 17-7 with 2:17 remaining in the second quarter.

That momentum didn’t last long.

Tulsa marched down the field with a quickness, covering 69 yards on four plays in 1:22 as Brin hit Isaiah Epps for a 20-yard touchdown to make it a 24-7 spread going into halftime.