The Northern Illinois Huskies tried to get a bit too cute late in Friday’s Cure Bowl, and it cost them dearly.
The Huskies and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers were locked in a shootout in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game, with Northern Illinois clinging to a 41-39 lead with about seven minutes to go. Facing fourth and one, the Huskies understandably did not want to trust their defense at this stage, and decided to go for it from their own 34-yard line.
Instead of just going for it, however, Northern Illinois tried to fake out the Coastal Carolina defense. Quarterback Rocky Lombardi began walking toward the sideline as if a timeout was about to be called, and the snap went directly to the running back. One problem: the Chanticleers were not fooled.
This looks like a pretty classic case of overthinking. Northern Illinois racked up 335 rushing yards on the game, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. They clearly had an advantage and should have just tried to exploit it instead of this silly trick play. Maybe the Huskies should have taken some notes from this high schooler instead of trying to run whatever this was.
The Chanticleers went on to score a touchdown and win 47-41, so the failure of this play mattered quite a bit.
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