DeKALB, Ill. – The Ball State football team wrapped up its road schedule Thursday night with a 63-17 loss at Northern Illinois, as the Huskies moved into a share of first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division.

Sophomore receiver Riley Miller caught his first career touchdown pass for the Cardinals, and sophomore running back Malik Dunner scored his team-leading seventh touchdown of the year.

Northern Illinois (7-3, 5-1 MAC) managed touchdowns on its first four drives of the game and also blocked a punt for a touchdown on the way to a 35-7 halftime lead.

Ball State (2-8, 0-6 MAC) scored on its first possession of the second half when senior quarterback Jack Milas came off the bench to engineer an 11-play, 89-yard drive. Dunner capped it with a 4-yard touchdown run, as the Cardinals looked to build some momentum.

“We had some self-inflicted wounds and gave up some explosive plays,” Ball State coach Mike Neu said. “We went in at half and challenged the guys to make sure we come out and fight, scratch and claw for 30 minutes in the second half. I’m proud of their effort in the second half.”

But NIU answered with a 10-play touchdown drive and pulled away as the second half progressed. Huskie quarterback Marcus Childers hit only 10 passes for 141 yards in the game but completed four of those for touchdowns.

Milas and redshirt freshman Drew Plitt combined to complete 19 of 30 passes for 162 yards for Ball State, and Plitt connected with Miller for a score in the first quarter. But Northern Illinois out-gained BSU 222-83 on the ground and forced the Cardinals to punt 11 times on the night.

A pair of true freshmen led Ball State in receiving, with Khalil Newton catching six passes for 80 yards and Justin Hall, the MAC leader in receptions per game, hauling in eight grabs for 48 yards. Newton has nine catches for 155 yards over the past two games.

“Khalil has done a good job of taking on more of a role,” Neu said. “He’s worked hard. He’s made some plays in practice, and I think he’s seeing the results of his hard work all year long. We’re seeing some explosive plays from him because of the skill set he has.”

Ball State will return home to play its final two games of the season. The Cardinals will host Buffalo on Thursday, Nov. 16 on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m., and will welcome Miami on Tuesday, Nov. 21 for the season finale.