Upton Bellenfant drilled a 37-yard field goal in overtime as visiting Buffalo upset No. 23 Northern Illinois 23-20 in Mid-American Conference play on Saturday afternoon in DeKalb, Ill.
Buffalo (3-1, 1-0 MAC) improved to 2-16 all-time against ranked opponents. It is the Bulls’ first win over a ranked foe since beating No. 12 Ball State in 2008. Buffalo cornerback Marquis Cooper blocked a 42-yard Kanon Woodill field-goal attempt on the Huskies’ overtime possession.
Linebacker Shaun Dolac had a career-high 19 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and an interception to lead Buffalo’s defense.
Buffalo trailed 14-3 at halftime, but Dolac returned his interception to the NIU 20-yard line with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter. That set up Bellenfant’s 43-yard field goal and gave the Bulls their first lead at 20-17. Dolac entered the game with the most tackles in the MAC this season and tied for the national lead at 14.3 per game.
Northern Illinois (2-1, 0-1) drove 66 yards in 13 plays and Woodill tied the game 20-20 on a 27-yard field goal with 24 seconds left in regulation.
Huskies quarterback Ethan Hampton entered the game as the national leader in passing efficiency and passing yards per attempt. Yet, the Buffalo defense held Hampton to 23-for-43 passing for 194 yards and an interception.
C.J. Ogbonna was 10-for-17 for 107 yards and a touchdown for Buffalo.
Antario Brown had 73 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries for Northern Illinois. Brown’s 5-yard touchdown run gave Northern Illinois a 7-0 first-quarter lead.
Buffalo registered its initial first down with 12:27 left in the second quarter when Ogbonna hit Victor Snow with a 22-yard pass. The drive resulted in a 42-yard field goal by Bellenfant to cut the Northern Illinois lead to 7-3.
A Buffalo punt out of the end zone set up the Huskies with a short field as they took over on the Buffalo 36-yard line. After a personal foul penalty on Buffalo, Brown scored his second touchdown of the game on a 14-yard run to give Northern Illinois a 14-3 lead.
The Bulls kept their first third-quarter drive alive when Ogbonna gained one yard on fourth down at the 50-yard line. Two plays later, Ogbonna’s jump ball between two Huskies’ defenders turned into a 46-yard touchdown as Snow landed in the Bulls’ end zone to cut the NIU lead to 14-10 with 10:59 left in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter started with Woodill’s 30-yard field goal that extended the Huskies’ lead to 17-10.
Buffalo didn’t convert on a third down until the fourth quarter. The Bulls were 0-for-10 on third downs, but converted twice on a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 36-yard touchdown run by Al-Jay Henderson. It was third-and-8 when Henderson’s run up the middle tied the game at 17-17.
–Field Level Media
