ESPN College Football

DEKALB, Ill. -- Redshirt freshman Chandler Harnish threw for three touchdowns in his first start in five weeks to lead Northern Illinois to 38-7 victory over Toledo on Saturday.

Harnish, sidelined on Sept. 6 with a foot sprain, was 12-of-16 for 173 yards passing and rushed for 60 more as the Huskies (4-3, 3-1 MAC West) won for the fourth time in their last five games.

Toledo (2-5, 1-2 MAC West), which stunned Michigan 13-7 one week earlier in Ann Arbor, had their lone score on Morgan Williams' 21-yard touchdown run with 9:37 left in the third quarter.

Northern Illinois tailback Chad Spann scored on first-half runs of 12 and 2 yards as the Huskies built an early 21-0 lead.

Harnish combined with senior wide receiver Marcus Perez on touchdowns of 45 and 15 yards and added a 10-yard scoring pass to junior tight end Reed Cunningham in the fourth quarter.

Northern Illinois, ranked 15th in the nation in scoring defense, has now given up three touchdowns in its last five games.

Spann closed with 82 yards on 15 carries and Perez had three catches for 68 yards as Northern Illinois piled up 393 yards total offense.

Toledo closed with 229 net yards as quarterback Aaron Opelt went 16-of-22 for 138 yards. He departed with an apparent leg injury late in the game but is expected to return next week.

Wide receiver Stephen Williams had nine catches for 75 yards while Williams rushed for 50 yards on eight carries.