DEKALB, Ill. - P.J. Fleck caught a 15-yard touchdown with 1:42 left and set up quarterback Josh Haldi's 1-yard score in overtime as Northern Illinois survived to beat Ohio 30-23 and remain unbeaten on Saturday.
After beating three teams from BCS conferences to open the season, the Huskies struggled in their Mid-American Conference opener.
Ohio took a 23-16 lead with 10:55 left on a 3-yard run by Ray Huston. That was set up by a 27-yard pass from Ryan Hawk to Adam Porter.
Fleck had 14 catches for a school-record 234 yards, including two big plays. On fourth and 4 in regulation, Fleck beat his defender to the left side of the end zone and barely dragged his right foot inbounds to tie it. On the first play of overtime, Haldi hit Fleck for 23 yards to the 2.
After Haldi's score, Northern Illinois stopped Ohio on four consecutive plays. The game ended on Kursten Strothman's sack.
MIAMI (OHIO) 45, AKRON 20: Ben Roethlisberger passed for 369 yards and two touchdowns for the host RedHawks. Miami led 24-20 after three quarters but scored on fourth-quarter runs by Roethlisberger, Mike Smith and Ada Ciborowski, none more than 6 yards.
NAVY 28, AIR FORCE 25: Kyle Eckel ran for a career-high 176 yards and a touchdown and Craig Candeto accounted for two scores for the Midshipmen in Landover, Md. Navy had lost six in a row to Air Force, including 48-7 last season.
The Midshipmen did not trail after scoring two touchdowns in 48 seconds to go up 14-3. First, they put together a 15-play drive, capped by Candeto's 2-yard run. After the kickoff, Shalimar Brazier returned an interception to the Air Force 4, setting up a 3-yard touchdown run by Michael Brimage.
COLORADO ST. 34, FRESNO ST. 10: Bradlee Van Pelt passed for 197 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 154 yards for the host Rams. Van Pelt's 31-yard scramble set up his 7-yard touchdown to David Anderson late in the first half for a 10-3 lead. He had runs of 19 and 14 yards during the Rams' first series of the third quarter, setting up his 5-yard touchdown to Marcus Houston.
NEW MEXICO 34, UTAH ST. 7: DonTrell Moore ran for two touchdowns for the host Aggies. After completing 2 of 7 passes during the first quarter, Casey Kelly finished 13-of-22, including a 39-yard touchdown to Dwight Counter with 8:53 left in the second quarter. That score and Moore's second touchdown sparked a 17-point quarter that broke open a 10-7 game.
BOISE ST. 43, LA. TECH 37: Ryan Dinwiddie threw for 532 yards and accounted for five touchdowns for the visiting Broncos. Dinwiddie completed 40 of 60 passes for three touchdowns and ran for two scores. Down 23-16, Boise State took the lead on Dinwiddie's 1-yard run, his 42-yard touchdown to Trent Lundin and Tyler Jones' 30-yard field goal to start the third quarter.
TULSA 27, HAWAII 16: Quarterback James Kilian threw, ran and had two receptions in leading the host Golden Hurricane. Kilian passed for 106 yards and rushed for a game-high 115. Down 13, Tulsa rallied behind Kilian's 22-yard touchdown to Richard McQuillar, Jermaine Landrum's 15-yard touchdown run and Uril Parrish's 9-yard touchdown run.
