North Central College football team headed to Stagg Bowl again
Last year, North Central lost the Stagg Bowl to Mary Hardin-Baylor.
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Last year, North Central lost the Stagg Bowl to Mary Hardin-Baylor.
It's the first time the Cardinals will host a semifinal game with a lot at stake: a chance to even the score with the team that beat them last year.
North Central College's football team has made it to three straight Division III Final Fours, but they came up just short in their attempt to repeat as national champions last year.
Justin Lynch finished with 83 yards rushing on six carries for Northern Illinois.
Backup Jase Bauer rushed for 109 yards and two scores and Central Michigan beat Northern Illinois on Wednesday night.
How he got to this point, as Pugh puts it, was through a long list of unfortunate events. CBS 2's Matt Zahn reports.
A dominant defense cleared the path to victory as the Illini held Virginia (1-1) to 1 of 16 on third-down conversions.
Freeman, the 36-yeard-old first-time head coach who was promoted after Brian Kelly left for LSU, had lost a bowl game to Oklahoma State and at Ohio State last week.
Jordan Waters had a pair of touchdowns on the ground, Riley Leonard threw for a score and Duke beat Northwestern on Saturday.
The Wildcats are already 1-0 in conference after their season-opening win against Nebraska in Dublin, Ireland.
Illinois allowed only 70 yards in the second half before the final series.
