Spann leads Northern Illinois past Minnesota 34-23

Lofty expectations have been placed on Northern Illinois this season. Not so much for Minnesota.

Nothing has changed based on Saturday night's performance.

Chad Spann ran for a career-high 223 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Northern Illinois past Minnesota 34-23.

Chandler Harnish threw touchdown passes to Martel Moore and Connor Flahive for the Huskies (2-2), who are expected to contend for first place in the Mid-American Conference's West Division.

"It shows the potential of our team. We've got some great players," Harnish said. "We need to stay focused and not get too full of ourselves."

That shouldn't be a problem for Minnesota.

Adam Weber threw for a season-high 373 yards and a touchdown for Minnesota (1-3), which lost its third straight at home. The inconsistent Gophers hung with No. 20 USC for three quarters last week before losing 32-21, and lost 41-38 to South Dakota, an FCS team, two weeks ago.

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We just need to focus on getting better every day," said safety Ryan Collado, who also took over kick return duties for the suspended Troy Stoudermire.

Harnish and Flahive connected for a 2-yard score on fourth down early in the fourth quarter for a 27-16 Huskies lead.

Spann, whose previous high was 174 yards against Eastern Michigan last year, scored on a 61-yard run with 6:22 to play, to clear out much of the crowd at TCF Bank Stadium. He had 106 rushing yards in the first half.

"There are no excuses, we need to be better," said Minnesota coach Tim Brewster. "It was just unacceptable how we played the run tonight."

Duane Bennett had 74 rushing yards for Minnesota. He had 299 yards in the Gophers' first two games, but a sore ankle limited him to just six carries and 8 yards last week. Bennett's 55-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was negated by a holding penalty.

He was stuffed on a fourth-down play at the Northern Illinois 21 to end the same drive. Spann made the game-clinching rumble up the middle three plays later.

Minnesota entered the game averaging 189.3 yards per game on the ground. It finished with just 97.

"If I'm going to get beat by Minnesota, I'd rather have them throw for 373, than run for 373," said Northern Illinois coach Jerry Kill. The Huskies allowed 319 rushing yards one week ago in a 28-22 loss to Illinois.

"We made them go east and west (toward the sidelines), and it made it easier for us," said linebacker Devon Butler.

Weber found MarQueis Gray for a 29-yard touchdown for Minnesota with 4:18 to play, but the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds.

Minnesota, which hosts Northwestern (4-0) in its conference opener next week, may not be favored in any of its eight Big Ten games - including five with ranked teams - making it difficult to avoid a third losing season in Brewster's four years. There were at least three "Fire Brewster" chants during the game, and the team was booed off the field at halftime.

"We are a good program, but we want to have the wins that prove that," Weber said. "I just don't think that's needed. We need support, we need their help. What I appreciate are the fans that stayed around and cheered us all the way through. That's what Gophers football is all about."

Kill feels empathy for Brewster, who is 15-27 as Minnesota's coach.

"I guarantee you, it tears your guts out when you hear that as you walk off the field," he said. "People forget that we're human. ... Sometimes the breaks go your way and sometimes it doesn't happen."

Spann scored from 3 yards out for a 7-3 Northern Illinois lead. After a 21-yard field goal by Michael Cklamovski, Weber and Da'Jon McKnight hooked up on a 20-yard score to tie the game midway through the second.

Jimmie Ward blocked a Minnesota punt deep in Gophers territory to set up a 10-yard touchdown from Harnish to Martel Moore with 3 seconds left in the first half for a 20-13 Huskies lead.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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