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By PAUL BEITLER
Sports Editor
Two redshirt freshmen from Indiana were outstanding in their collegiate football debuts for the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday night.
However, it would have been even better if the Mid-American Conference Huskies could have pulled out a victory over the Big Ten Minnesota Gophers at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Instead, quarterback Chandler Harnish from Norwell High School and Nathan Palmer from Elkhart Central could just think what if.
After the Gophers rallied to go ahead 31-27 with 22 seconds left, passes of 12 and 18 yards put the Huskies in position for a win at the Minnesota 30 in the closing seconds. The Huskies had two shots at the end zone, but both of Harnish’s passes were knocked down.
“We definitely thought we were going to win,” wide receiver Britt Davis said. “We just kept moving it down. We felt real good.”
The Gophers spoiled that feeling the for Davis, Harnish, Palmer and Huskies new coach Jerry Kill.
With senior quarterback Dan Nicholson not quite ready after January shoulder surgery, Harnish became the first freshman to start at quarterback in a season opener for Northern Illinois since 1985. He completed 17 of 29 passes for 326 yards and two touchdown passes to Palmer — one of 91 and another of 53 yards.
Those bombs erased Minnesota’s 24-13 second half lead.
“It really stings to lose, but you haven’t seen the end of the Huskies,” Harnish said. “We’re going to build on this. There’s a lot of good things to come.”
Kill was impressed with Harnish’s first outing.
“I thought Chandler played very well,” Kill said. “We had to ask him to do some things that we didn’t want to have to ask him to do. Offensively, if we could have run the ball a little better in the second half, we could have done some more things. But they are big up front and give them credit, we didn’t move them.”
Palmer had three catches for 170 yards, which was the 13th-best receiving day in Huskies history.
With the Huskies backed up on their nine-yard line and facing third and 10, Palmer caught a pass over the middle from Harnish, dodged a pair of tacklers and sprinted to the end zone to pull Northern Illinois within four at 24-20 with 6:59 left in the third quarter. The 91-yard play was the fifth-longest ever for the Huskies.
“It was good execution on Chandler and Nate’s part,” said Kill.
“I certainly feel more comfortable about things from a throwing perspective than I did even through practice. You never know what a youngster is going to do during a game,’’ Kill noted about Harnish’s performance.
“I thought Chandler played very well for a young man that went from basically last year being a third-team guy to playing a college football game in a Big Ten situation. I thought he handled himself very well. He didn’t turn over the football. He was very accurate throwing it and showed great composure and gave us an opportunity to win the game. We just didn’t get it done.”
Even though Nicholson did not play, the senior helped Harnish immensely, said Kill.
“I think Danny and (Chandler) are very close and work together and I think that’s certainly helps. I think (Chandler’s) going to get nothing but better and that’s a good thing,” Kill concluded.
Looking ahead, the Huskies open their Mid-American schedule next Saturday on the road against Western Michigan at Kalamazoo, Mich. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Eastern time at Waldo Stadium.
Northern Illinois opens its six-game home schedule Saturday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. Central time versus Indiana State at Huskie Stadium. Tickets to all Northern Illinois games may be purchased through the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center, on-line at www.niuhuskies.com or by calling 815-752-6800.
sports@news-banner.com
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Associated Press sports writer Dave Campbell and the Northern Illinois Athletic Department contributed to this article.
DeKALB, Ill. — Chandler Harnish also was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week Monday by the league office.
Harnish won the award after leading the Huskies to a near-upset of Minnesota in his first intercollegiate game.
Harnish completed 17-of-29 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns Saturday and also gained 30 yards rushing on eight carries. His net total of 336 yards of total offense leads the MAC after the first week of the season and he ranks 13th nationally in total offense and 19th in passing efficiency. His 91-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Palmer ranks as the longest pass play in the NCAA so far this year.
Harnish’s 326-yard passing effort ranks as the eighth-highest total in NIU history and the most ever by a freshman. He posted the most passing yards by a Northern Illinois quarterback since Phil Horvath threw for a school record 486 yards versus Akron in 2005, and is the first Huskie signal caller to win the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week honor since that time. He compiled his totals despite not throwing a pass in the first quarter of the game.
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