Northern Illinois rallies to beat Fresno State 28-20 in double overtime in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

BOISE, Idaho — Freshman wide receiver George Dimopoulos threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dane Pardridge on the first play of double overtime, and Jordan Hansen ended the game with a fourth-down sack to give Northern Illinois a 28-20 victory over Fresno State on Monday in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Dimopoulos, who played some quarterback in high school at Crystal Lake Central, also converted the two-point conversion when he passed it to QB Josh Holst for his second completion of the season.

Holst, a freshman walk-on from Marengo, was making just his third start — NIU was without starter Ethan Hampton, who entered with 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns with six interceptions. Holst completed 18 of 30 passes for 182 and two touchdowns and an interception for Northern Illinois (8-5). He also led the Huskies with 65 rushing yards on 16 carries.

NIU trailed 13-3 after one quarter but rallied to tie it with 10 points in the third. Both teams missed a 35-yard field-goal attempt in the final three minutes of regulation, including Fresno State kicker Dylan Lynch’s third miss of the game on the final play to send it to overtime.

Fresno State started overtime with a touchdown when Bryson Donelson was left wide open out of the backfield to haul in a 9-yard touchdown pass. NIU needed five plays and a defensive-holding penalty to score as Holst found Grayson Barnes for a 3-yard touchdown.

Donelson finished with 15 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown for Fresno State (6-7). He added three catches for 28 yards and another score. Dual-threat quarterback Joshua Wood was 16 of 23 for 180 yards and a touchdown. Mac Dalena made six catches for 118 yards to help go over 1,000 yards for the season.

Fresno State was without 14 players, including starting quarterback Mikey Keene after he transferred to Michigan. Two top-three receivers, Jalen Moss and Raylen Sharpe, also did not play as the Bulldogs were forced to use five new starters.

Originally Published: December 23, 2024 at 5:43 PM CST