Buffalo beats No. 23 Northern Illinois 23-20 on Bellenfant's field goal in OT

DEKALB, Ill. (AP) — Upton Bellenfant kicked a 37-yard field goal in overtime to give Buffalo a 23-20 victory over No. 23 Northern Illinois on Saturday.

The Huskies (2-1, 0-1 Mid-American Conference), playing for the first time since winning at then-No. 5 Notre Dame two weeks ago, managed just six points in the second half. Buffalo (3-1, 1-0), which began playing at the FBS level in 1999, beat a ranked opponent for the second time in its history.

“To me, it was just another kick,” said Bellenfant, who became Buffalo's starting kicker just last week. “Kind of a magic story out there. Everything went right.

“It really gives us hope we can go undefeated the rest of the season.”

The Bulls led 20-17 after linebacker Shaun Dolac’s interception and 53-yard return set up a field goal, but the Huskies tied it with a 13-play drive that ended with Kanon Woodill’s 27-yard field goal with 26 seconds to play.

“As a defense, we buckled it down but we know we can count on the offense when it counts,” Dolac said. “They scored, they tied the game up and the rest is history.”

Woodill, who booted the game-winner at Notre Dame, missed a pair of field goal tries, including a 42-yarder that was blocked in overtime. That set up the winning kick from Bellenfant, who was 3 for 3 on the day.

“We were prepared to play but didn’t make the plays necessary to put ourselves in a position to win,” said Huskies coach Thomas Hammock, whose team also lost a fumble. “The only way we can lose the game is if we turn the ball over, and that’s what we did.”

Buffalo’s Pete Lembo, a head coach again after nine years as an assistant at four schools, said his players deserved all the credit.

“For them to be rewarded with a signature win like this, this early in our tenure is a big deal,” Lambo said.

C.J. Ogbonna was 10 for 17 for 107 yards and a touchdown for the Bulls. His 46-yard scoring toss to Victor Snow early in the third quarter got Buffalo within 14-10. Al-Jay Henderson’s 36-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter tied it at 17.

Antario Brown rushed for 73 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Huskies.

He scored on a short run near the end of the first quarter and again on a 14-yard scamper late in the second that gave the Huskies a 14-3 halftime lead.

Ethan Hampton went 23 of 43 for 194 yards and an interception for Northern Illinois.

Buffalo’s only other victory against a ranked opponent came in the 2008 MAC championship game, when it beat No. 14 Ball State.

Buffalo: The Bulls looked lost offensively in the first half after averaging just 1.1 yards per carry but regrouped and kept the Huskies out of the end zone the rest of the way.

Northern Illinois: The defensive line that gave Notre Dame fits didn’t disappoint. The Huskies’ offense still needs some work, however, if they hope to match fellow MAC contender Toledo, which scored 41 points at Mississippi State last weekend.

The Huskies probably will fall out of the AP Top 25, but get another chance to show they belong when they visit N.C. State next weekend.

Buffalo: At Connecticut next Saturday.

Northern Illinois: At N.C. State next Saturday.

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Buffalo place kicker Upton Bellenfant falls over a Northern Illinois defender after kicking the game winning field goal off the hold of Ethan Duane, during the team's 23-20 upset overtime win in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Buffalo quarterback C.J. Ogbonna throes as running back Jacqez Barksdale defends against Northern Illinois linebacker Jaden Dolphin during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Northern Illinois running back Antario Brown (1) celebrates his his second touchdown of the day with quarterback Ethan Hampton during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Buffalo on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Buffalo running back Al-Jay Henderson breaks the tackle of Northern Illinois safety Jordan Hansen and heads to the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Buffalo place kicker Upton Bellenfant, left, begins to celebrate his game winning field goal in overtime with holder Ethan Duane, during the team's 23-20 upset win in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Northern Illinois wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph just misses catching a deep pass from quarterback Ethan Hampton during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Buffalo cornerback Marquis Cooper breaks up a pass intended for Northern Illinois wide receiver Cam Thompson in the end zone, during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The Buffalo defense blocks an overtime field goal attempt by Northern Illinois place kicker Kanon Woodill in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Buffalo place kicker Upton Bellenfant kicks the game winning field goal off the hold of Ethan Duane, during the team's 23-20 upset overtime win in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Kenya's President William Ruto arrived in Haiti on Saturday, claiming that because of a Kenyan police force battling gangs “the country's security has significantly improved.”

Ruto's claim was contradicted by a United Nations security expert, who just days earlier warned that violence in the country was worsening as gangs expand their control over the Caribbean nation.

Ruto stepped off the plane, walking passed armed officers on a small patch of red carpet flanked by other officials. He headed to a Kenyan base at the airport where he met with police tasked with battling the gangs and a number of high-ranking Haitian and Canadian officials.

“You have represented the people of Kenya with courage, professionalism, selflessness, compassion and sufficiency,” Ruto told Kenyan police surrounding him as he stood at a podium.

He claimed that Kenyan forces have boosted security infrastructure and allowed displaced Haitians to return home after fleeing violence, though many Haitians say violence is just as bad, if not worse, than it was when the police were deployed in June.

Ruto said he hoped to listen to members of the Kenyan forces deployed and hear about their progress before he heads to New York to meet with U.N. leaders. They are grappling with how to best support resource-strapped Kenyan and Jamaican forces who have struggled to contain the gangs terrorizing the Caribbean nation.

Kenya was the first nation to send forces as part of a larger effort by the U.N. to offer international support to Haiti, which has spiraled into conflict and political turmoil since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

About 400 Kenyan police are in Haiti. Earlier this month, about two dozen police and soldiers from Jamaica arrived in the country. But the United States and other countries have said that the forces aren't enough and lack resources to take on gangs, which control about 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Meanwhile, U.N. human rights expert William O’Neill, who visited Haiti this week, warned Friday that gang violence is only spreading across Haiti and that Haiti’s National Police still lack the “logistical and technical capacity” to fight gangs, which continue to encroach on new territory.

“Humanitarian consequences are dramatic,” he said, and warned of galloping inflation, a lack of basic goods and ”internally displaced people further increasing the vulnerability of the population, particularly children and women.”

The security mission is expected to reach a total of 2,500 personnel, with the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad also pledging to send police and soldiers, although it wasn’t clear when that would happen.

While the U.S. has floated the idea of a U.N. peacekeeping force, the idea would be far-fetched and controversial given the introduction of cholera and sexual abuse cases that occurred the last time U.N. troops were in Haiti.

Ruto's visit also comes days after Haiti created a provisional electoral council long sought by the international community to facilitate the first general election held in the country since 2016.

In the power vacuum left by Moïse’s assassination, gangs have only seized more power. Many hope a general election will help restore order to Haiti alongside the peacekeeping mission.

A member of the Police Music Band jumps over the welcome mat before the arrival of Kenya's President William Ruto at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenya's President William Ruto speaks to Kenyan police officers, part of a UN-backed multinational force, during a visit to their base in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenya's President William Ruto, center left, visits Kenyan police, part of a UN-backed multinational force, at their base in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenya's President William Ruto deplanes after his arrival at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenyan police, part of a UN-backed multinational force, receive the plane transporting Kenya's President William Ruto, at their base in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenya's President William Ruto, center right, walks with Transition Council President Edgard Leblanc, as they arrive to the Kenyan base in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Kenya's President William Ruto, right, and Transition Council President Edgard Leblanc, arrive to the Kenyan base in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Police from Jamaica stand on the tarmac of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport after landing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)