The Huskie defense forced the Eagles to punt on the following possession and the Huskie offense tied the score with a 21-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. The Huskies responded on a 13 play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Graham touchdown pass to Shane Wimann from seven yards out to narrow the lead to 20–10. Boston College extended their lead on their second possession of the second half, scoring on a four-yard touchdown pass to move the score to 20–10. The TD gave the Eagles the 13–10 edge at halftime. Following a quick three-and-out possession for the Huskies, the Eagles moved down the field and converted on a five-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left in the half. BC kicked their second field goal of the game a few possessions later to cut the NIU lead to 10–6. Brown on a 15-yard pass for the first touchdown of the game and put the Huskies up 10–3. Following a 60-yard run by NIU quarterback Ryan Graham, Graham hit D.J. However, the Eagles responded with their own field goal shortly before the end of the first quarter to tie the game at three. Northern Illinois took the early lead on a Christian Hagan 32-yard field goal in the first quarter. The Huskies opened the season on September 1 at home against Boston College at Huskie Stadium. Shane Wimann 7-yard pass from Ryan Graham (Christian Hagan kick) Brown 15-yard pass from Ryan Graham (Christian Hagan kick)
Quarterback Marcus Childers was named the MAC Freshman of the Year. He set the single-season Huskie record for sacks. Smith led the nation in both sacks (14) and tackles for loss (28.5) as he started all 12 games for NIU. Sophomore defensive end Sutton Smith was named the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game.The Huskies finished the 2016 season 5–7, 5–3 in MAC play to finish in third place in the West Division.įor the third consecutive year, the Huskies were picked to finish in third place in the MAC's West division.