Ford Field – Detroit, Michigan
ESPN
By EVAN MEYER
This year's MAC championship will be played just over a month since Kent State and Northern Illinois last met. It was a wild game, with visiting NIU prevailing 52-47.
Saturday's second meeting will be on a neutral field, although both fan bases should be well represented. KSU came into the season with not only title hopes, but title expectations as the media pick to win it all . Last week's dramatic overtime win over Miami has the Flashes in position to reach that plateau.
Northern Illinois, on the other hand, is a surprise contender. The Huskies failed to win a game in 2020, but it took the 2021 MAC West crown by winning seven of eight games before easing their way through a 42-21 loss to Western Michigan in the series finale.
Both teams are battle tested, play exciting football and have dramatic victories on their resume. One of them will claim a MAC crown Saturday.
Here's more on the matchup . . .
THE SERIES:
Saturday afternoon’s game will be the 30th lifetime meeting between the two schools, with the Huskies having a decisive 21-8 advantage. NIU has won nine of the last 10 meetings in the series. However, KSU won their first game in the series since October 13, 2001 when they picked up a 52-47 victory on November 3rd at Dix Stadium.
This is the second MAC Championship meeting, with the other being on November 30, 2012. Northern Illinois prevailed 44-37 in overtime.
ABOUT THAT OCT. 13 GAME:
• It was a contest that saw a combined 99 total points, 1,345 yards of total offense, 18 plays of 20-yards or more offensively, and saw each team have a 100-yard rusher, a 300-yard passes, and a 100-yard receiver.
• After NIU opened a 7-0 lead scoring on their initial possession of the contest, the Golden Flashes broke loose in the second quarter scoring 31 points to take the lead at intermission 31-21.
• The Blue and Gold extended their lead to 45-27 in the third quarter before The Huskies made a furious comeback with 20 points in the fourth quarter to close to within five but that would be a close as they would get.
• Of the 682 total yards, 360 of them came on the ground with a pair of 100-yard rushers. Marquez Cooper registered 173 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns, while Xavier Williams had 105 on 15 carries.
• QB Dustin Crum again showed his versatility. He completed 20-of-30 passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 90 yards and a score. WR Dante Cephas had five catches for 124 yards.
• The defense had a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, six pass breakups and nine tackles for losses.
• Nico Bolden led three KSU defenders with 10 or more tackles in the game, garnering 12 total (nine of them solo) along with a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
• NIU was led offensively by RB Jay Ducker with 101 rushing yards and two touchdowns. QB Rocky Lombardi completed 33-of-57 passes for 532 yards and three touchdowns -- all of them caught by WR Trayvon Rudolph. Overall, he recorded 14 catches for 309 yards.
• Lombardi’s 33 completions and 532 yards were school record, with the yardage being third best in the FBS in 2021.
• The defense was led by Jordan Hansen who had nine total tackles (seven solo).
NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES (8-4, 6-2)
• The Huskies completed their 2021 regular season with a 42-21 loss to Western Michigan in DeKalb. It was just their second loss in the last nine games.
• NIU rested a majority of its starters after clinching the Western Division title the week before in an overtime win at Buffalo. The Broncos took control of the game before intermission, scoring 21 points in the second quarter, and never looked back.
• The Huskie offense was limited to 291 yards of total offense. Ducker led the attack with 104 yards on 13 carries. Ethan Hampton got the start for Lombardi and was only 4-of-10 passing for 23 yards.
• The defense was led by freshman safety CJ Brown, who had 14 total tackles (nine solo)
• The 2021 campaign has been a remarkable turnaround for NIU after going 0-7 in the pandemic season of 2020. The Huskies opened their campaign with a 22-21 win at Georgia Tech (one of three MAC schools with a win over a Power five conference --Western Michigan and Bowling Green were the others). NIU then suffered losses at home to Wyoming and at Michigan (Big Ten East Division Champions).
• After the 63-10 loss to the Wolverines, the Huskies began to turnaround their season. The win streak began with a home victory over FCS Maine. The MAC season started with wins over Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Bowling Green and CMU before the loss to the Flashes.
• NIU rebounded from the loss with wins over Ball State and Buffalo in overtime (its first OT win since 2018) before dropping the regular-season finale to WMU.
• The Huskies have won 27 of their last 32 games against MAC East opposition since 2008. In addition, they became bowl eligible for the 11th time in the last 14 years.
• In addition, this is the eighth time in the last 12 years NIU has won the Western Division.
• According to NIU Media Relations, nine of the last 12 games have been decided by one score.(most in the Football Bowl Subdivision).
• This will be NIU’s ninth trip to the MAC Championship game. It owns a 4-4 record. The last Huskies appearance was in 2018 when they came from behind to defeat Buffalo 30-29.
• Head Coach Thomas Hammock is finishing his third season at his alma mater and is 13-17 overall (6-9 in MAC play). This is his first MAC Championship game as a coach.
• Hammock is one of 17 FBS coaches to lead their Alma Mater (two others are in the MAC -- Mike Neu-Ball State & Tim Lester-Western Michigan). Before the WMU game, he was given a five-year contract extension.
• In its eight games this season, the NIU offense is averaging 30.8 points and 426.3 yards of total offense. The Huskies have gone over 400 yards three times, including 520 in the win at Central Michigan.
• Northern Illinois' rushing attack is one of the best in the MAC, averaging 232.9 yards per game. It is led by Ducker with 889 yards and three touchdowns.
• Lombardi, a transfer from Michigan State, is completing 58.6 percent of his passes (173-of-295) for 2,314 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He is also fourth in total offense at 245.8 yards per game
• Rudolph leads the receivers with 46 catches for 827 yards and seven touchdowns.
• The Huskies defense is yielding 33.5 points and 453.3 yards in their 12 encounters.
• Brown leads NIU defenders with 94 total tackles (52 solo).
• The Huskies have outscored the opposition 128-71 in the fourth quarter this season.
KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES: (7-5, 6-2):
• The Golden Flashes secured their first MAC Eastern Division since 2012 with a 48-47 win over Miami in overtime last Saturday at Dix Stadium.
• It was the Flashes fourth win in the last five games and their ninth straight at home -- their longest winning streak since a nine-game skein from 2011-12. The victory was Kent State's first overtime victory since 2019 when it defeated Kennesaw State (FBS) at home 26-23 and first in MAC play.
• KSU came back from a 16-7 second quarter deficit to take a 17-16 lead t halftime. In the second half, the two teams battled score for score. With the Flashes leading 41-31 in the fourth quarter MU scored 10 points -- the last three coming with four seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
• The home team scored on its first overtime possession on a one-yard touchdown run by QB Dustin Crum. Miami also scored a touchdown on their first OT possession. However, the Hawks elected to go for two points and the victory. That attempt failed and KSU punched its ticket to the championship game.
• It was a game in which the two teams combined for 97 total points, 13 “big plays” of over 20 yards, and 1,191 yards of total offense (642 by Kent State).
• Of those 642 yards, 303 came on the ground thanks to both Xavier Williams (168 yards and two touchdowns), and Marquez Cooper (126 yards and a score). Both rushed for over 100-yards. Williams was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week.
• Crum was 24-of-33 passing for 325 yards with a pair of scores and two interceptions (his first since the season opener at Texas A&M). Dante Cephas had nine catches for 79 yards and a score, while Keshunn Abram notched seven receptions for 135 yards and a score.
• The defense was led by DB Nico Bolden (10 total tackles). CB Montre Miller was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week with four solo tackles, three pass breakups and an interception.
• This is Kent State’s second trip to the MAC Championship game. The other was 2012, losing to Northern Illinois in double overtime 44-37.
• KSU played three tough non-conference opponents, including three bowl eligible teams (Texas A&M (who beat Alabama), Iowa Big Ten West Division champions and Maryland, along with a victory over FCS member VMI.
• The offense at KSU is called “FlashFAST” and has been amazingly productive as KSU scored 401 points (second most in school history) and amassed 5,860 yards (a school record).
• The offense has gone over 400 yards nine times (including their last seven games) and over 600 yards four times (including 642 in the win over Miami). KSU scored on its first drive of the game eight times in 2021.
• The ground game is averaging 247.3 yards (first in the MAC). Cooper leads the attack with 1,357 yards second best in the conference. He has had six 100-yard games and has scored 11 touchdowns. He is the first KSU running back to rush for over 1000 yards since Dri Archer in 2012 (1,482).
• Crum is the man at the controls both with his arm and legs. The graduate student has completed 65 percent if his passes (217-of-334) for 2,794 yards (a single-season record) with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions.
• He also has 565 yards rushing with 11 touchdowns (tied with Cooper for the team lead). In addition, Crum registered five 300-yard passing games and 114 yards rushing in the win over the Zips. He ranked second in total offense with 279 yards per game.
• Cephas leads receivers with 71 catches for 1,022 yards. He is only the second KSU receiver to have 1,000 receiving yards (Eugene Baker did it twice) and recorded the most receptions since Baker’s 103 in 1997.
• The defense is allowing 34.5 points and 475 yards per game in 2021. It has notched 20 sacks and 13 interceptions.
• DB Dean Clark leads with 91 total tackles (68 solo). Miller had four interceptions, including one against Miami.
• PK Andrew Glass leads in scoring with 100 points, becoming just the sixth KSU player overall and third kicker to reach the century mark in points.
• The recent 4-1 stretch includes a 38-0 shutout at Akron, allowing KSU to retain the Wagon Wheel Trophy for the third consecutive year. It was Kent State's first shutout since September 3, 2009 (over Coastal Carolina 18-0) and first MAC blanking since October 22,1994 (against Ohio 24-0). It was KSU's first shutout over UA since November 12, 1949 (47-0).
• With two games remaining in his KSU career, Crum has 7,005 passing yards (third all-time behind Josh Cribbs and Spencer Keith). His 50 touchdown passes is second behind Jose Davis (57). He has completed 67.1 percent of his passes (548-of-816) with just 10 interceptions, As a rusher, Crum has recorded 1.933 yards and 15 touchdowns.
• One more victory (either in the MAC title game or their bowl game) would mark the third consecutive winning season for KSU -- the first time that has happened since 1971-73. The coach at that time was Don James and the stretch included players like Gary Pinkel and linebacker Jack Lambert.
• Head Coach Sean Lewis is 19-22 overall (15-13 in MAC play). He is 1-0 against Northern Illinois and head coach Thomas Hammock. His Flashes are bowl eligible for the second time in the last three seasons. Before the 2021 season, he was given a five-year contract extension.