Northern Illinois defeated Fresno State 28-20 in double overtime to capture the famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Northern Illinois trailed 13-3 by halftime. The team fought back in the third quarter by scoring 10 unanswered points. Both teams had chances to ice the game with field goals in the fourth quarter but missed the kick.
The game ended with a backside pressure as Jordan Hansen sacked the quarterback to win the game. The team rushed to the field to celebrate. It was a collective team effort.
There were 30 senior players for the Huskies, but 20 of them played their entire careers for the program.
Freshman wide receiver George Dimopoulos threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dane Pardridge on the first play of double overtime.
Afterward, Dimopoulos converted the two-point conversion and passed it to quarterback Josh Holst for his second-season completion.
A fun fact about this is that Dimopoulous played quarterback in high school. So, this play that the coaches designed came full circle.
Holst won’t forget this game for a sling as he lives. He was a freshman walk-on, and this game marked his third start at quarterback. Holst completed 18 of 30 passes for 182 and two touchdowns for Northern Illinois (8-5). He also had one interception, which happened during the game's first play.
Thomas Hammock, who got dumped with the Idaho Potato Fries by his players, spoke after the game in an interview, describing how proud he was for this team to rally and compete and win the game.
“The best dump of my career,” Hammock said. “I know it was French fries, and they were slightly salty, but what a tremendous game! Our players fought back, and we are proud of our coaches. What a way to end the season.”
The Huskies didn’t have starter Ethan Hampton in this game. In the 2024 season, he recorded 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with six interceptions.
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. The Huskies needed five plays and a defensive holding penalty to score as Holst threw it to Grayson Barnes for a 3-yard touchdown.
Donelson finished with 15 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. He added three catches for 28 yards and another score.
Fresno State was without 14 players and ended the season with a 6-7 record.