Oct. 11--Drew Hare rarely missed a target Saturday.
The Northern Illinois quarterback set a school record for completion percentage, guiding the Huskies on nine scoring drives in a 59-41 Mid-American Conference victory against Ball State.
Hare, a redshirt junior, was 29-for-32 for 363 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 23 more yards and a touchdown.
"We have a ton of talent," said Hare, whose 90.2 percent completion rate topped Chandler Harnish's 81.8 percent mark set on Sept. 10, 2011, against Kansas. "I know that every time I drop back, I don't have to worry about it. I never have to worry who I'm throwing to on my reads and can focus on the defense."
The rest of the NIU offense also rarely missed a beat after a sluggish start as it hit a season high in points and second-highest in yards with 636.
"We had a slow start offensively, defense was playing great and then it kind of flipped," coach Rod Carey said. "The offense got going and the defense really gave up too much."
But Carey wasn't too harsh on a defense that made some key stops, including cornerback Shawun Lurry's sixth interception of the season.
The Huskies (3-3, 1-1) snapped a three-game losing streak in winning the seventh consecutive meeting and maintaining possession of the Bronze Stalk rivalry trophy. The Cardinals (2-4, 1-2) dropped their third in a row.
The teams combined for 100 points and 1,139 yards of offense. Ball State allowed the second-most points in school history in a non-overtime game.
Northern Illinois' surprising speed and pace challenged the Cardinals.
"They clearly had a mindset that they wanted to go fast on us and try to get a lot of plays," Ball State coach Pete Lembo said. "They did an effective job with that. It's something they've done in the past, particularly in the second half of a game."
Cardinals quarterback Riley Neal set a freshman school record with 393 passing yards -- his first career 300 yard game -- and four touchdowns.
After spotting the Cardinals a 10-0 lead, the Huskies scored on nine of their next 10 possessions, missing only when the first-half clock expired.
Other than that, the Huskies scored on plays long and short, stalling just once. But Christian Hagen kept the steak alive with a 38-yard field goal.
The longest NIU touchdown was Kenny Golladay's 34-yard reception in the fourth quarter. Five scores came on runs of 4 yards or less.
Through it all, Hare was a steady presence as he completed passes to 10 receivers.
"We played with a great tempo today," said wide receiver Aregeros Turner, who had eight catches for 70 yards. "It seemed like the (Ball State) defense had a little trouble lining up and it helps that we have some key guys and a lot of receivers Drew can throw to."
Lurry, meanwhile, entered the game among the nation's interception leaders and has picks in four straight games.
"It's great to be able to keep making plays and getting interceptions but you know we lost the past couple of games and I'm not happy about that," he said. "Today we were able to get the win, so I'm happy."
Jack McCarthy is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune
2-minute drill
300-plus and counting: Quarterback Drew Hare not only set an NIU completion-percentage record, his 363 yards were a career high and the 11th most in school history. He has three 300-yard games this season.
Mixing it up: Four Huskies rushed for touchdowns, including a pair by Jordan Huff, who scored late in the first half from 17 yards and againearly in the second from 1 yard. Joel Bouagnon also had two rushing TDs and finished with 31 carries for 149 yards, eclipsing the 100-yard mark for the third time this season.
Hall of Famers: NIU honored its 32nd Athletics Hall of Fame class at halftime. The six-member class includes football players Michael Turner (2000-03) and Bob Gregolunas (1973-75).
Up next: The Huskies travel to Oxford, Ohio, on Saturday to face MAC East foe Miami.
