Friday's MAC Football Results
Kent State 34, Northern Illinois 31
Ohio 31, Buffalo 26
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Kent State 34, Northern Illinois 31
Box Score
DeKalb, Ill. – Gavin Garcia rushed for a career-high 151 yards and a touchdown, and Kent State held off Northern Illinois 35-31 on Friday to cap the 2025 season with a historic road victory in NIU's final Mid-American Conference game.
The win marked Kent State's first victory at Huskie Stadium since September 25, 1966, when the Golden Flashes defeated the Huskies 26-7, snapping a nearly 60-year drought in DeKalb.
Garcia carried 24 times and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 26-yard run with 4:11 remaining, powering through the NIU defense to give Kent State (5-7, 4-4 MAC) its first lead since the first half. Will Hryszko's extra point extended the advantage to 35-31.
The Flashes' defense, led by Sayed Abuhamdeh's career-high 10 tackles filling in for injured starter CJ Young, forced a crucial turnover on downs with 27 seconds remaining to seal the victory. NIU (3-9, 2-6) fell short on fourth-and-10 from the Kent State 27 when Jalen Macon's pass fell incomplete.
Quarterback Dru DeShields completed 11-of-22 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Terik Mulder for a 5-yard score in the second quarter and Da'Shawn Martin for a 17-yard touchdown. Martin finished with three catches for 91 yards, including a spectacular 59-yard reception in the third quarter.
Cade Wolford provided another highlight with a dazzling 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, making multiple defenders miss on his way to the end zone. DeShields then hit Martin for the two-point conversion to cut NIU's lead to 31-28 with 10:23 remaining.
The game featured several momentum swings. Kent State took an early 3-0 lead on Hryszko's 34-yard field goal after recovering a Jalen Macon fumble. NIU responded with two rushing touchdowns from Macon to take a 21-17 halftime lead, capitalizing on a 38-yard touchdown run by Chavon Wright and a methodical ground attack.
The Huskies appeared to seize control in the fourth quarter when Taylor Powell recovered a Da'Shawn Martin fumble and returned it 49 yards to the Kent State 1-yard line. Wright scored on the next play to extend NIU's lead to 31-20 with 13:52 remaining.
But the Flashes refused to fold. After Wolford's touchdown and two-point conversion cut the deficit to three, Kent State's defense forced a punt. Garcia then broke free for a 29-yard run on the ensuing drive, setting up his game-winning score two plays later.
NIU, playing its final game as a MAC member before departing for the Mountain West Conference, rushed for 307 yards but couldn't overcome Kent State's balanced attack of 231 rushing yards and 207 passing yards. Wright led the Huskies with 185 yards on 30 carries and two touchdowns.
The victory gave Kent State its fourth conference win and fifth total. It provided a positive ending for a team that had only won one game over the previous two seasons, with the program's first win in DeKalb in nearly six decades serving as a memorable milestone.
Ohio 31, Buffalo 26
Box Score
Buffalo, N.Y. -- Parker Navarro had 268 yards of total offense, Sieh Bangura added 120 yards rushing, and Ohio stayed alive in the chase for the MAC championship game, defeating Buffalo 31-26 on Friday.
Ohio (8-4, 6-2 Mid-American Conference) needs Ball State (3-4) to defeat Miami (5-2) on Saturday in order to have a shot at making the conference championship game.
Against Buffalo, Navarro passed for 147 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He had 121 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Bangura had a rushing touchdown. Led by the two 100-yard rushers, Ohio had 359 yards on the ground.
Navarro threw two touchdown passes in the first half and the Bobcats took a 21-7 halftime lead. His 6-yard scoring run in the third quarter made it 28-13.
A 58-yard pass from Ta’Quan Roberson to Victor Snow helped set up Roberson’s 5-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. The two-point try to get the Bulls within seven points failed and Ohio led 28-19. Roberson’s 29-yad TD pass to Jesaiah Gathings made it 31-26 but the Bulls did not cross midfield on their final possession.
Roberson had 270 yards passing and Nik McMillan caught five passes for 122 yards for Buffalo (5-7, 4-4).
