Recap: Northern Ill vs. Iowa

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Damon Bullock ran for 150 yards and a touchdown as the Iowa Hawkeyes came back to defeat the Northern Illinois Huskies, 18-17, at Soldier Field.

James Vandenberg completed 21-of-33 passes for 129 yards for the Hawkeyes (1-0), who were able to overcome six sacks of their quarterback on the afternoon. Kevonte Martin-Manley paced all players with six catches.

For the Huskies (0-1), Jordan Lynch completed just 6-of-16 passes for 54 yards, though he was effective on the ground with 18 carries for 119 yards and a score.

Iowa kicked off the game with a 14-play drive that resulted in a Mike Meyer 34-yard field goal midway through the first quarter.

The Huskies responded at the start of the second quarter with a seven-yard touchdown rush from Keith Harris to give them a 7-3 lead.

Meyer added a 29-yard field goal at the 4:23 mark of the second quarter to bring the Hawkeyes to within one, 7-6.

A 28-yard field goal by Mathew Sims extended NIU's lead to 10-6 just before halftime.

NIU opened the second half with the ball but turned it over deep in its own territory. Iowa had to settle for another Meyer field goal (22 yards) to cut the deficit to a single point, 10-9.

The Huskies made up for their miscue on the ensuing drive when Lynch ripped off a 73-yard touchdown run to go up 17-9.

Iowa chipped into the lead early in the fourth quarter when Meyer drilled a 50-yard field goal.

After forcing the Huskies to punt from deep in their own territory, the Hawkeyes capitalized on a short field when Bullock scored on a 23-yard run with just over two minutes remaining in regulation. A failed two-point conversion attempt kept the score at 18-17.

The Huskies got the ball back with one more opportunity to try and get in position for a game-winning score but turned the ball over on downs.

Iowa controlled the time of possession battle by nearly a 2-to-1 margin and gained 23 first downs to NIU's 12.