Hawai'i Pulls Away from Winless Northern Illinois 56-21
Northern Illinois is 0-7, and for a quarter and a half this looked like the game that would fix that. It was 7-7 after a 49-yard touchdown. It was 14-14 midway through the second. Then Hawai'i scored five touchdowns in a row and won 56-21.
The tie at 14 came on DeAree Rogers' 25-yard catch from Taron Dickens, his second touchdown of the first half. After that, Hawai'i never stopped. DeVon Rice ran 33 yards for a score, Cam Barfield pushed in from one yard, and Micah Alejado threw a 12-yard touchdown to Frank Abreu with 23 seconds left in the half to make it 35-14. Rice added a five-yard run in the third and Josiah Fetui caught a 44-yard pass from Alejado to make it 49-14. Hawai'i outscored Northern Illinois 42-7 after that last tie. Elijah Porter's three-yard run in the fourth was the only answer, and TJ Fo'ilefutu's six-yard run closed it at 56-21.
The turnovers tell you how lopsided it got. Northern Illinois lost three fumbles and threw two interceptions, five giveaways, while Hawai'i gave it up once, on an interception. Hawai'i gained 509 yards (329 passing, 180 rushing) to 266 for the Huskies, who did not get a sack and did not allow one either.
Hawai'i moves to 2-6, which is not much of a record, but it is a happier one than 0-7. Northern Illinois has not won yet, and after seven tries that is the part that stings.
Fantasy takeaway: Rogers lost a fumble and still scored 31.5, the best total of the game, from a player on the losing side.