Rob Harley
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Northern Illinois University football team opened the 2026 season against the #22 Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium, falling 40-0.
“Our guys kept playing and didn’t quit, and that’s what it was always going to be about,” said interim head coach Rob Harley after his first game in charge of the NIU sideline. “It was always going to be about how we showed up. We didn’t execute consistently, but we’ve talked a lot about wanting our style of play to show up. It did at times, but when it’s not consistent you’re not going to get the outcome you want.”
Iowa (1-0) scored touchdowns on each of its first three drives, starting with a six-yard touchdown pass from Hank Brown to Tony Diaz with 9:52 to go in the first quarter to make the score 6-0. Kamari Moulton then scored rushing touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to put the Hawkeyes up 20-0.
NIU’s (0-1) defense looked to turn the momentum at the start of the second quarter. After a false start put the Hawkeyes at 3rd and 11 at the NIU 34, the Huskies pressured Jeremy Hecklinski into an incomplete pass to force a 53-yard field goal attempt which was missed. However, NIU turned the ball over on its next drive. Iowa tacked on 13 more points before halftime to take a 33-0 lead.
The Huskies forced two turnovers to start the second half. The first was a turnover on downs, stopping Iowa on a 4th and five from the NIU 37 with 11:36 remaining in the third. Iowa drove all the way down to the NIU two yardline on its next possession and went for it on fourth down again. This time junior cornerback Yassine Falke intercepted a Hecklinski pass in the end zone.
“That whole drive, I was thinking we needed a momentum changer,” Falke said. “A red zone stop as the away team always feels good. We showed who we really are on that drive, and if the ball gets thrown your way you have to make a play on it.”
NIU held Iowa to 1-for-6 on third down in the second half and 135 yards of total offense. Redshirt-Freshman Linebacker Jashawn Nelson led the Huskies with 10 tackles on Saturday, seven of which were solo stops. He also had a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Malik Armstrong, Jack Murray and Kyon Conyers each added six tackles. With Falke’s interception, NIU has forced a turnover in each of its last four games and seven of the last eight dating back to 2025.
The Huskies were held scoreless for the first time since Nov. 25, 2008 against Navy, a stretch of 219 games. NIU amassed 120 yards of total offense on the day.
“We were never going to leave our season in Iowa City,” Harley said. “We were never going to leave our season in game one. We have to look at ourselves, me included, and start getting ready for game two Sunday. Our energy’s always going to stay high and attentive to the task at hand.”
NIU is back in action on Saturday, Sept. 12 when it hosts Illinois State in the home opener. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m..
September 5, 2026