The Chicago Tribune: Northern Illinois stuns Purdue 28-21
-Huskies successful fake punt helps hold off the Boilermakers

They call them "boneyard" victories, triumphs over BCS conference schools, and Northern Illinois hasn't had many.

The Huskies parlayed a stout defense, enterprising offensive contributions and a gutsy fake punt in the fourth quarter to upset 13-point favorite Purdue 28-21 Saturday before a stunned crowd of 53,240 at Ross-Ade Stadium.

The Daily Herald: Forget moral victories ... NIU savors real thing

Northern Illinois doesn't have to say ''almost'' anymore.

The Huskies had competed but fallen just short against BCS teams Tennessee, Minnesota and Wisconsin the last two seasons, and NIU had grown tired of settling for moral victories against bigger programs. The Mid-American Conference school finally broke through Saturday, holding off a rally to beat Purdue for its first victory over a Big Ten school since 1988 and its first win against a BCS program since 2003.

The Daily Chronicle: Believe it: NIU pulls off big victory

A fake punt on fourth-and-1 from its 16-yard line with the game on the line; a call that Huskies’ coach Jerry Kill admits is the kind that gets coaches fired. But instead of worrying about polishing up his resume in the unemployment line, Kill gave the go ahead on the fake that sealed a 28-21 win at Purdue on Saturday

The Daily Chronicle: View: A gutsy call

"You really don't get nervous on it until they line up and you see 'Oh, [wow] we got the look we want.' That's when you get nervous on the whole thing," said NIU defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, who was in on the fake punt discussion with Sawvel and Jerry Kill.

Huskie Football: NIU posted its first win over a Big Ten foe since 1988

Northern Illinois (2-1) used a powerful rushing attack, a stalwart defense and a gutsy call to claim its first win over a Big Ten Conference team in 21 years with a 28-21 victory over Purdue (1-2) at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Rockford Register Star: Huskies' long drought against Big Ten teams is finally over

“What a hard-nosed football game. We were fortunate today to make the plays and get us a win,” NIU head coach Jerry Kill said. “Our kids up front took on the challenge this week. We knew if we wanted to win the football game, we’d have to run the football.” They did — to the tune of 280 yards on the ground.

The Rockford Register Star: NIU stuns Purdue

The nation’s leading rusher headed into Saturday, Ralph Bolden, had just 32 yards on the ground by the time NIU had grabbed a 3-touchdown lead. He finished with 64 yards on 12 carries, and did not finish the day as the country’s leading ground gainer.

“Our goal all week was to stop that guy. He’s a hard runner to catch, but we really bottled him up,” said D.J. Pirkle, the Huskies junior defensive tackle. “We did what we figured we needed to do to get a win. I’m just glad it worked out; it got scary near the end.”

Purdue Football: Purdue Falls To Northern Illinois 28-21

Me'co Brown ran for 150 yards, and Northern Illinois beat Purdue 28-21 Saturday for its first victory against a Big Ten school since 1988.

Boiler Station: Fake surprises Huskies, too

"It's really how they set up," [Justin] Anderson said. "If they set up in a formation that we like, then it is on me to call it. If it is something funky that we don't like (special teams coach Jay Sawvel) makes sure we kick the ball."

The Journal Gazette:A Kill-er Call

"A call like that a lot of times can get you fired," Kill said, according to a post-game transcript. "We have worked on that play for a few weeks now."

Purdue coach Danny Hope said he was surprised by the timing of the call but not the call itself. He said there was a player whose assignment was to watch for that play, but the player didn’t respond quickly enough.