NCAAF

Northern Illinois Huskies at Fresno State Bulldogs

· Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Final
28 - 20

Dimopoulos shines in double OT and Northern Illinois beats Fresno State 28-20 in Idaho Potato Bowl

Northern Illinois wins Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in double OT

Dimopoulos, who played quarterback in high school, also converted the two-point conversion when he passed it to quarterback Josh Holst for his second completion of the season.

Holst, a freshman walk-on, was making just his third start at quarterback as NIU was without starter Ethan Hampton, who entered with 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns to go with six interceptions. Holst completed 18 of 30 passes for 182 and two touchdowns for Northern Illinois (8-5). He was also intercepted on the first play of the game.

Both teams missed a 35-yard field goal in the final three minutes of regulation, including Dylan Lynch's third miss of the game on the final play to send it to overtime.

Fresno State started overtime with a touchdown when Bryson Donelson was left wide open out of the backfield to haul in a 9-yard touchdown pass. NIU needed five plays, and a defensive holding penalty, to score as Holst found Grayson Barnes for a 3-yard touchdown.

Donelson finished with 15 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown for Fresno State (6-7). He added three catches for 28 yards and another score. Dual-threat quarterback Joshua Wood was 16 of 23 for 180 yards and a touchdown. Mac Dalena made six catches for 118 yards to help go over 1,000 yards for the season.

Fresno State was without 14 players, including starting quarterback Mikey Keene after he transferred to Michigan. Two top-three receivers, Jalen Moss and Raylen Sharpe, also did not play as the Bulldogs were forced to use five new starters.

How To Watch

How can I watch Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Fresno State Bulldogs?
  • TV Channel: Huskies at Bulldogs 2021 College Football, week 1, is broadcasted on ESPN.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Scoring Summary

FRES TD 1st Period 11:29 Bryson Donelson 1 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)
NIU FG 1st Period 2:45 Kanon Woodill 29 Yd Field Goal
FRES TD 1st Period 1:08 Joshua Wood 13 Yd Run (Dylan Lynch Kick)
NIU TD 3rd Period 11:22 Grayson Barnes 26 Yd pass from Josh Holst (Kanon Woodill Kick)
NIU FG 3rd Period 7:39 Kanon Woodill 34 Yd Field Goal
FRES TD 5 0:00 Bryson Donelson 9 Yd pass from Joshua Wood (Dylan Lynch Kick)
NIU TD 5 0:00 Grayson Barnes 3 Yd pass from Josh Holst (Kanon Woodill Kick)
NIU TD 6 0:00 Dane Pardridge 25 Yd pass from George Dimopoulos (George Dimopoulos Pass to Josh Holst for Two-Point Conversion)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2459.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNIU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/278.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originFRES
24 1st Downs 17
4-16 3rd down efficiency 3-10
4-6 4th down efficiency 0-2
368 Total Yards 328
207 Passing 211
19/31 Comp/Att 19/29
6.7 Yards per pass 7.3
161 Rushing 117
48 Rushing Attempts 27
3.4 Yards per rush 4.3
1-15 Penalties 8-58
1 Turnovers 1
0 Fumbles lost 0
1 Interceptions thrown 1
39:14 Possession 20:46

Game Information

Albertsons Stadium

Location: Boise, ID
Attendance: 10,359 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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