FBS college football / FINAL / Sat Sep 12, 2026 6:00 PM CT
Illinois State beats Northern Illinois 28-24 on Gage Roy's touchdown pass with 1:53 left
The Redbirds led 21-0 early in the second quarter, fell behind 24-21 in the fourth, and answered with Alex Herrera's 16-yard catch.
By BetMetrics
Final
Illinois State Redbirds28
Northern Illinois Huskies24
WHERE IT TURNED
Illinois State beat Northern Illinois 28-24 on Saturday at Huskie Stadium, retaking the lead on Gage Roy's 16-yard pass to Alex Herrera with 1:53 to play.
Jack Oliver returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown at 12:41 of the first quarter, Chase Kwiatkowski ran 14 yards at 6:27, and Roy hit Dylan Lord from 6 yards at 14:52 of the second for a 21-0 lead. Northern Illinois cut into it before halftime: Andruw Ellis returned an interception 30 yards at 12:39, JJ Schlenhardt kicked a 40-yard field goal at 6:32, and Taron Dickens threw 2 yards to DeAree Rogers as the half ended to make it 21-17.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Telly Johnson Jr.'s 1-yard run at 7:24 of the fourth put the Huskies ahead 24-21, and Herrera's catch answered it.
Roy completed 20 of 23 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns; Lord caught eight for 62 yards. Illinois State converted 9 of 14 third downs. Dickens was 22 of 27 for 193 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Rogers had 11 catches for 74 yards. Johnson ran 22 times for 83 yards. Each team turned the ball over twice, and Tye Niekamp and Avery Jones each had two sacks. Attendance was 17,582.