Bowling Green opened it up on the Huskies more than the Buckeyes did against the Spartans, but the same sort of gameplan worked.
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Now the victorious Falcons will have to wait and see if coach Dino Babers moves on to another job.
“My future right now is with these guys, and we’re going to celebrate this win, and it’s going to be special”, Babers said. “We’re going to celebrate with these guys, and it’s going to be special. I love these guys”. Greene led the charge with 170 yards and two touchdowns. This season, however, Bowling Green has put folks on notice with a 7-1 record in the MAC East and will enter Friday night’s game as a two-touchdown favorite.
Quarterback Matt Johnson completed 25 of 37 passes for 235 yards. This time Bowling Green took advantage of the NIU miscue, scoring on a two-yard completion from Johnson to Derek Lee with 5:28 to go in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead. “There was no guarantee … that I could come back”, Johnson said. “They were imposing their will all night”. “I don’t think we played well enough and in the end I don’t think we coached well enough”. Northern Illinois just didn’t have the firepower. “And [creating turnovers] was a big focus in the game”.
These two teams can flat out score. Carey isn’t a Jerry Kill disciple, but he’s like a typical Northern Illinois head coach with tough offenses, sound defenses, and a great O line. James Sanford stripped the ball from Jordan Huff, and Mike Minns pounced on it at the Huskies’ 17. He caught six passes for 75 yards and had a trip to the end zone to his credit as well.
The Bowling Green Falcons look for their second MAC title and first since the 2013 season.
Injuries forced Northern Illinois (8-5) to use walk-on freshman quarterback Tommy Fiedler. BG stuffed the box with defenders and allowed NIU just 53 yards on 21 carries.
Johnson threw five touchdown passes when the Falcons won the 2013 title game before he lost nearly his entire 2014 season to his hip injury.
But Northern Illinois was neither down nor out at that point. The Huskies will need an improved ground attack against the Falcons or this title game could be over quickly.
From their Fielder found a wide-open Desroy Maxwell in the middle of the field for a 32-yard touchdown pass.
The Falcons squared off with Northern Illinois in the league title game for a third straight season.
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Greene did most of the heavy lifting on the drive, carrying the ball eight times for 38 yards, including a one-yard touchdown plunge. Both teams have been challenged throughout the season, which should have them more than ready for this championship game and bowl season as well.
