MAC throws the Huskies a bone
If you haven’t noticed, Northern Illinois has the Mid-American Conference in the palm of its hand.
The No. 16 team in the country is fighting for a shot at redemption in a second-consecutive BCS bowl, all while under the command of a true dual-threat quarterback who some argue should be given a shot at the Heisman Trophy.
Yeah, they’re that good.
This past Wednesday the Huskies (10-0, 6-0 MAC) proved it with an emphatic 48-27 win against Ball State (9-2, 6-1 MAC), which was likely Northern Illinois’ biggest threat in the MAC West.
“It was a good game,” Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey said. “Obviously I’m really happy with how we finished it.”
Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois’ redshirt senior quarterback, got more than his fifteen minutes of national fame after a performance of 26-of-32 for 345 yards and two touchdowns passing, and 20 carries for 123 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.
Not so fast
Only Toledo and Western Michigan stand between Northern Illinois and its fourth-straight MAC West title. The Huskies will face the Rockets (7-3, 5-1) Wednesday night in the Rubber Capital of the World. Western Michigan is 1-10 and 1-6 in the MAC.
The only three losses the Rockets suffered came at the hands of Florida, which was No. 10 at the time, now-No. 8 Missouri and Ball State.
Their running back, senior David Fluellen, has averaged 7.0 yards per carry for 1,067 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
PLUS!
Toledo is strutting into the contest fresh off a 51-41 win against Buffalo, which was the hottest team in the MAC East. The score was 38-0 early in the third quarter before
Buffalo climbed back into the game.
“You’re dealing with two good football programs,” Carey said. “It’s inevitable that there’s something to play for. Toledo is as fine a football team as we’ve played, and we play them every year. You’re going to have games like this; it’s why you come to the MAC and why you come to Northern.”
Rust Belt Refugees
Remember when MAC coaches said Akron wasn’t a poor team but simply couldn’t put games away early in the year? They were right. After losing six of their first seven games, the Zips (4-7, 3-4 MAC) have rebounded to three of their last four.
“I’m so proud of our boys,” Akron coach Terry Bowden said. “We haven’t had four wins since 2008. I told our seniors they’re ready to leave this team in better shape that it was in before.”
@charliehatch_
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