By DOUG ZALESKI
dzaleski@muncie.gannett.com

DeKALB, Ill. — Northern Illinois thought it could surprise Ball State with an onside kick in the first quarter.

The Huskies tried to unleash their Mid-American Conference-best rushing attack, but generated a season-low result.

They even inserted starting quarterback Chandler Harnish into the game to start the second half, bringing him back from a knee injury perhaps one game sooner than they might have wanted after he sat out the previous three contests.

None of those ploys shook the stubbornness of a Ball State team that hasn’t enjoyed much success this season. But spunky simply wasn’t good enough for the Cardinals as Northern Illinois grinded to a 26-20 victory Thursday in Huskie Stadium.

“We were forced into finding a way to win,” Huskies coach Jerry Kill said. “I could tell you by watching film and evaluating the games that it was going to be close.”

The Cardinals scored on a 5-yard run by Eric Williams on their opening drive for a 7-0 lead. Ball State later turned a botched onside kick by Northern Illinois (7-3, 5-1 MAC West) into an Ian McGarvey field goal that shaved the Huskies’ lead to 16-10.

Ball State (1-9, 1-5 Mid-American Conference West) trailed only 16-13 at halftime.

But the game turned in the third quarter when the Huskies scored a field goal and touchdown on their first two possessions to command a 26-13 lead.

“We were playing into the wind (in the third quarter), and like a fool, I took it in the fourth quarter,” Ball State coach Stan Parrish said. “I’ve got to quit thinking that’s the only way you can win.”

The Huskies kicked a 41-yard field goal with the stiff breeze on their first possession of the third quarter.

Ball State’s offense bogged down on the next possession as quarterback Tanner Justice was called for grounding the ball on a third-and-9 pass. That put the ball at the 3-yard line, forcing punter Scott Kovanda to kick from the back of the end zone.

“There was a lot of (defensive) pressure on that play, and I was trying to get rid of it,” Justice said of the grounding call.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t get past the line of scrimmage. I thought it was close, but the referees are always right.”

Kovanda’s punt into the wind went only 36 yards, and the Huskies capitalized.

Nathan Palmer ran a reverse 32 yards to the 2-yard line, and Northern Illinois eventually scored on a 6-yard pass from Harnish to Marcus Lewis for a 26-13 lead with 4:56 remaining in the third quarter.

The Cardinals made the Huskies squirm when Justice lofted a touch pass for a 29-yard score to Daniel Ifft to draw Ball State within 26-20 with 5:27 remaining in the game. Justice was knocked to the ground on the throw and never saw the catch.

“Right as I went to throw, a linebacker came up the middle, and I couldn’t see (Ifft),” Justice said. “I threw it to where I thought he was going to be. I heard the crowd cheer, and I thought, ‘Man that sounds like an interception.’”

Then I heard the (public address announcer) say, ‘Ball State touchdown.’ ”

The Cardinals had one last chance to pull out the victory. They forced the Huskies to punt and got the ball back on their 12-yard line with 1:58 to play.

Four plays produced only eight yards, and Northern Illinois took over with 1:35 remaining.

“We said at halftime that we weren’t going to play another game and lose it by less than a touchdown in the fourth quarter,” said Justice, who completed 11-of-19 passes for a career-high 134 yards. “That ended up happening, and it’s frustrating because we’re so close. It’s definitely disappointing.”

Tailback Quale Lewis, who rushed for 68 yards on nine carries, echoed that sentiment.

“We matched their intensity, we got off to a good start, but we just had a couple of mental breakdowns,” he said. “We have to find a way to finish at the end.”

The Cardinals held Northern Illinois, the MAC leader in rushing, to 134 yards on the ground. The Huskies were averaging 229.6 yards and their previous low in a MAC game this year was 167 against Toledo.

“Our main goal coming into the game was to make sure they couldn’t run the ball,” Cardinals linebacker Davyd Jones said. “We did a really good job stopping the run. Our defense came out ready to play.”

Contact sports writer Doug Zaleski at 213-5813.