TOLEDO, Ohio – Junior quarterback Eli Peters threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns but it wasn't enough as Toledo fell to Northern Illinois, 31-28, in a key Mid-American Conference battle at the Glass Bowl Wednesday night.

The Rockets trailed by 21 points before rallying with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. But NIU kicker John Richardson made a 25-yard field goal with 41 seconds remaining that capped a 13-play, 68-yard drive to put the Huskies up 31-28. On its final drive of the game, Toledo made it all the way to the Northern Illinois 31-yard line, but time expired before Peters could spike the ball to attempt a game-tying field goal.

With the loss, Toledo (6-4, 3-3 MAC) falls into a tie for fourth place with Northern Illinois (4-6, 3-3 MAC) in the MAC West Division. Western Michigan (5-2) leads the division, followed by Central Michigan (4-2) and Ball State (3-2). The Rockets finish out the season with road games at Buffalo and Central Michigan.

Peters keyed the Rockets' rally with a pair of touchdown passes to junior wide receiver Bryce Mitchell. Junior Shakif Seymour led the rushing attack with 133 yards. As a team, Toledo racked up 508 yards of total offense, compared to 444 for NIU. Senior linebacker Jordan Fisher led the defense with nine tackles.

First Quarter

      The Rockets' defense set the tone early, forcing a three-and-out on NIU's first possession, then moments later stopping the Huskies on fourth-and-two from the UT 42-yard line. The offense then came through with a 59-yard drive that was capped by a four-yard TD pass from Peters to Devin Maddox. Northern Illinois struck back to tie the game, 7-7, on a 36-yard scoring strike from Ross Bowers to Daniel Crawford.

Second Quarter

      Northern Illinois took the lead, 14-7, on a 40-yard TD run by QB Marcus Childers. On a fourth-and-one, Childers faked the hand-off up the middle, then ran untouched down the right sideline. Toledo's best chance to score came early in the quarter when Bryant Koback was stopped for a two-yard loss on fourth-and-three from the NIU 26-yard line.

Third Quarter

    The Huskies extended the lead to 21-7 on a 12-play, 88-yard drive that took off over six minutes off the clock and ended with a one-yard run by Tre Harbison. NIU then made it 28-7 on one-yard plunge by Childers that capped an eight-play, 65-yard drive.

Fourth Quarter

      Trailing by three touchdowns, the Rockets rallied, with Peters hitting Bryce Mitchell for a 34-yard TD at the right edge of the end zone, trimming the margin to 28-14. Moments later, Peters hit Mitchell again for a 13-yard TD over the middle to cut the lead to 28-21. The score was set up by a fumble by the Huskies' punter, which then went out of bounds and gave Toledo the ball at the NIU 17-yard line. Toledo then tied the score, 28-28, on a 10-play, 91-yard drive that was finished off by Ronnie Jones' seven-yard TD run. On their final drive of the night, the Huskies chewed up the clock on a 13-play drive that ended on Richardson's game-winning 25-yard field goal to make it 31-28. With 41 seconds remaining, Peters led the Rockets down to the NIU 31-yard line, but the clock hit zeros before the offense could line up to spike the ball and attempt a game-tying field goal.

Up Next

      The Rockets travel to Buffalo next Wednesday, Nov. 20 for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Head Coach Jason Candle Post-game Press Conference vs NIU.


Junior Eli Peters Post-game vs NIU. 


Senior Kahlil Robinson Post-game vs NIU.