DEKALB, Ill. -  Toledo's defense kept Northern Illinois out of the end zone and made six stops on fourth down in a grinding 13-6 victory in DeKalb, Ill. on Saturday.

Toledo (5-2, 2-1 MAC) scored the only touchdown of the game in the second quarter on a 52-yard TD pass from John Alan Richter to Jerjuan Newton and added a pair of Dylan Cunanan field goals in the victory. NIU could manage only two first-half field goals.

"We knew this was going to be a 60-minute battle," said Head Coach Jason Candle. "Shout out to our defense for a huge stand-up performance. A lot of really good individual efforts. We had to take care of the football and I thought we did a really good job of that. Our defense really stepped up in some key moments and made some key stops."

Toledo's defense gave up 242 yards of total offense in the first half but held the Huskies to just six points thanks to four stops on fourth down in Toledo territory. The Rockets allowed a field goal on the first drive, but gave up just three points for the final 56:43. NIU had just 149 yards of offense in the second half.

NIU (4-3, 1-2 MAC) had four drives to potentially tie the game after falling behind by seven, but the Rockets forced a punt on the first drive followed by three consecutive turnover-on-downs in the final three minutes, sealing the game with their sixth fourth-down stop.

First Quarter

• Northern Illinois drew first blood, finishing its first drive with a 36-yard field goal in nine plays and 56 yards.
• Toledo missed a chance to score when it was stopped on fourth-and-one on the NIU five-yard line.

Second Quarter

• Toledo grabbed the lead on a 52-yard bomb from John Alan Richter to Jerjuan Newton to make the score 7-3 with 8:08 left in the half.
• NIU had a chance to cut the lead to one point but Kanon Woodill missed a 47-yard field goal attempt that was partially blocked by Cavon Butler with 1:36 left in the half.
• Woodill redeemed himself with a 36-yarder on the last play of the half to cut Toledo's lead to 7-6 at the break.

Third Quarter

• Toledo increased the lead to 10-6 on a 22-yard field goal by Dylan Cunanan that capped an 88-yard drive with 2:22 left in the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

• Another Toledo drive led to a 27-yard field goal to make it 13-6 Toledo with 11:12 to play.
• Toledo made three more fourth-down stops in the fourth quarter. The first of which came after the Huskies drove to the Toledo 41-yard line, but a run up the middle was stopped on 4th-and-1.
• The Rockets then proceeded to stop NIU on fourth down in Huskie territory with 1:01 and again with 17 seconds left to seal the game.

Up Next

      The Rockets host Bowling Green next Saturday (3:30 p.m.) in the annual Battle of I-75 on ESPN+.

Toledo Post Game Notes

• Toledo is now 35-17 in the series with NIU, having won four of the last five outings.
• Sophomore quarterback John Alan Richter had his first starting assignment in place of the injured Tucker Gleason, completing 15-of-28 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown.
• Jerjuan Newton caught his 29th career touchdown. He needs one to tie and two to surpass Cody Thompson (30 from 2014-18) for Toledo's all-time mark.
• Richter's 52-yard TD pass to Newton in the second quarter was the longest of his young career.
• Toledo's defense turned NIU over six times on fourth down. The game's final three turnover-on-downs all came from the Rockets' defense with 2:54, 1:01 and 17 seconds to play.
• The Rockets' defense did not allow a touchdown for the first time since Oct. 14, 2023, when Toledo defeated Ball State by an identical 13-6 score.
• The Rockets' 88-yard drive in the third quarter was their longest of the season.
• Maxen Hook led Toledo's defense with 13 tackles, his third game of the season with double-digit stops. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren made 12 stops, also marking his third double-digit tackle game this year.
• Toledo's defense was credited with seven tackles for loss, with 1.0 each among seven different players.