Spann, Harnish lead Northern Illinois to 45-14 win

DEKALB -- Chad Spann rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns while Chandler Harnish threw two TD passes and had a scoring run as Northern Illinois beat Buffalo 45-14 Saturday.

Backup quarterback Jordan Lynch added a 90-yard TD run in the fourth quarter for the Huskies (5-2, 3-0 Mid-American Conference), who won their fourth straight. It was the longest run in school history by a quarterback and the longest run from scrimmage by a Husky since 1993.

Jerry Davis threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Rivers, and Gordon DuBois returned an interception 27 yards for a TD for the Bulls (2-4, 1-1). DuBois caught the ball after Harnish was hard hit by Khalil Mack, causing the ball to flutter two yards.

Spann had touchdown runs of 1 and 2 yards on a career-high 31 carries.

Harnish hit Landon Cox with a 10-yard scoring pass, found Willie Clark from 25 yards out and added a 12-yard TD run.

Northern Illinois had 441 yards of offense with 24 first downs, while Buffalo was limited to 250 yards and 10 first downs.

The first half featured numerous offensive errors by both teams. Michael Cklamovski missed three field goals for Northern Illinois, while Harnish, who was 13 of 26 for 160 yards overall, threw two interceptions.

Davis also threw a first-half interception, and Buffalo lost a fumble and had a punt blocked.