DeKALB, Ill.  -  The Western Illinois University football team never backed down as miscues helped lift Northern Illinois over the Fighting Leathernecks, 41-7, Saturday.

“The score was a little misleading in terms of how we matched up physically. I feel like it wasn't as one sided as the scoreboard appeared, but of course the game is judged on the scoreboard and based on that, we were defensively beaten tonight,” Western Illinois head coach Don Patterson said.

“To be honest, preparation for this week was probably tougher than it was for Wisconsin,” explained Northern Illinois head coach Jerry Kill. “Games like tonight make you a bit nervous because we hadn't beaten Western Illinois the last three times we played them. I compliment Western with how they played. I've coached against Don for a long time and he's a very good football coach and a very good man. I compliment his team and they have a bright future in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.”

The game opened on the right foot as Ed Roberts forced a fumble on Northern's third play of the game with less than a minute off the clock, but a fumble on Western's first possession gave the Huskies return of possession that was capitalized on for the first score of the game in two plays and 52 yards.

The Fighting Leatherneck offense returned to the field in the following possession and hit four-straight first downs with a pair of Matt Barr passes and Dre Gibbs' rushes. On third down at the Northern 34 yard line, Gibbs rushed for nine yards and a first down. Barr connected with Lito Senatus at the Northern 17 and another Gibbs rush resulted in a first down on the NIU-14. Barr rushed for the final 14 yards for Western's only touchdown at the 4:45 mark in the first quarter. It was Barr's first rushing touchdown of the season, seventh of his career and first in the last nine games.

The Huskies took nine plays in their following drive 63 yards down the field to take a 14-7 lead into the second quarter. Western's drive into the second part of the half went 10 plays and 41 yards and took 5:27 off the clock, but a pair of incomplete passes did not allow the Leathernecks to get within field goal range and were forced to punt for the second time in the game.

A Me'co Brown 60-yard rush opened Northern's following drive that resulted in a touchdown after only two plays. Western was forced to punt on its final two drives of the half as Northern scored on its final drive for a 28-7 halftime lead.

Western went 0-for-2 on converting the third down and 0-for-1 on converting the fourth down in the third quarter to remain scoreless for the quarter. Possession time became less for Western with each quarter as it converted only 5-of-13 third downs and went 0-for-2 in all fourth-down conversions. The Leathernecks fumbled the ball three times and had four penalties that cost 38 yards in the game.

Barr threw for 117 yards going 14-for-22 with no interceptions. It was his fifth-straight 100-yard passing game. Redshirt-freshman quarterback Wil Lunt appeared in his first game as a Leatherneck as he played the fourth quarter.

Northern's Brown rushed for 119 yards while quarterback Chand Harnish threw for 143 yards (10-14-0). The Huskies' kicker Mike Salerno hit both field goals and all five PAT's.

The Huskies were Western's only FBS opponent this season. The game was the 10th (of 26) FBS games where an opponent held Western to seven or less points.

The Fighting Leathernecks host Stephen F. Austin in their home-opening game, Saturday, September 19 at 6:05 p.m.

Game Notes
- With less than one minute in the game, Ed Roberts forced a fumble, marking the sixth-straight game the Leatherneck defense has forced a fumble with a streak continuing from the 2008 season. The fumble was the first of Roberts' career.
- Matt Barr had a 14-yard run for Western's only touchdown at the 4:45 mark in the first quarter. It was Barr's first rushing touchdown of the season, seventh of his career and first in the last nine games.
- Barr threw for 117 yards going 14-22 with no interceptions. It was his fifth-straight 100-yard passing game.
- Redshirt-freshman quarterback Wil Lunt appeared in his first game as a Leatherneck as he played the fourth quarter for the Leathernecks.
- The Huskies were Western's only FBS opponent this season. The game is the 10th (of 26) FBS games where an opponent held Western to seven or less points.