College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Utah 35, Northern Illinois 17
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 7, 2019
Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah
Temperature: 77°
Head Official: Tom Stapleton
Attendance: 45919

Tyler Huntley threw for 214 yards and a touchdown and Zack Moss added 80 yards and a pair of scores to lead No. 13 Utah to a 35-17 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Huntley completed 14 of 19 passes to seven different receivers for the Utes (2-0), who also got a big second-half boost from their defense. Bradlee Anae led the way with three sacks.

Ross Bowers threw for 229 yards and a touchdown on 20-of-29 passing to lead the Huskies.

Spencer Tears gave Northern Illinois a 100-yard receiver for a second straight game after totaling 112 yards and a touchdown on five receptions.

Utah won its 12th straight home opener and improved to 24-1 in regular-season non-conference games since joining the Pac-12. The Utes held Northern Illinois to 69 total yards after halftime.

Northern Illinois took its only lead of the game at 7-0 in the first quarter when Bowers somersaulted over a defender into the end zone to cap off a 9-yard run.

Utah shook off a sluggish start on both sides of the ball in the second quarter. The Utes scored three touchdowns in the quarter -- going ahead for good on a 16-yard run by Moss to make it 21-14. Moss plowed over a would-be tackler in his path to get the final few yards.

The Utes clamped down on defense after halftime and pulled away. They held the Huskies to just 48 total yards in the third quarter.

Utah opened the third quarter with Moss capping a six-play, 70-yard drive with a 5-yard run to put the Utes up 28-17.

Then, after Julian Blackmon hauled in an interception, the Utes extended their lead to 35-17 on a 14-yard catch from Jaylen Dixon early in the fourth quarter.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Northern Illinois   Utah
Jordan Nettles Player Zack Moss
10 Attempts 18
37 Yards 80
3.7 Avg Yards 4.4
0 Touchdowns 2
0 Long 0
Receiving
Northern Illinois   Utah
Spencer Tears Player Bryan Thompson
5 Receptions 2
112 Yards 66
22.4 Avg Yards 33.0
1 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Northern Illinois 302 67 235 2 1 0 0.0 0
Utah 407 193 214 5 0 1 4.0 1