N. Illinois 35, Ball St. 23

Published Oct. 6, 2012 8:41 p.m. ET

foxsports

Jordan Lynch accounted for 402 yards and gave Northern Illinois the lead for good with a 54-yard touchdown pass to Akeem Daniels, and the Huskies defeated Ball State 35-23 on Saturday.

Northern Illinois (5-1, 2-0 Mid-American), which has won five straight after a season-opening loss to Iowa, trailed 23-14 after Keith Wenning's short TD run for the Cardinals (3-3, 1-2) in the third quarter. But Lynch, who ran for 207 yards on 29 carries, scored on a 12-yard run. With 4:58 to play, the TD pass to Daniels made it 28-23 Huskies. Lynch then sealed it with a 71-yard run, his third rushing TD, with 3:03 left.

Lynch was 16 of 23 for 195 yards and was not intercepted. Wenning attempted 71 passes for Ball State, completing 42, for 434 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Jamill Smith ran for 146 yards on just 14 attempts for the Cardinals.