2011 MAC Championship Game

2011 Marathon MAC Championship Game
2011 Marathon MAC Championship Game
Conference Championship
Ohio Bobcats	Northern Illinois Huskies
(9–3)	(9–3)
20	23
Head coach: ; Frank Solich	Head coach: ; Dave Doeren
Date	December 2, 2011
Season	2011
Stadium	Ford Field
Location	Detroit, Michigan
MVP	WR Nathan Palmer (NIU)
Favorite	NIU by 3.5
Referee	Ron Snodgrass
Attendance	13,052
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN2
Announcers	Joe Tessitore (play-by-play); Rod Gilmore (analysis); Eamon McAnaney (sideline)
MAC Championship Game
< 2010	2012 >

2011 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Ohio xy	6	–	2	10	–	4
Temple	5	–	3	9	–	4
Kent State	4	–	4	5	–	7
Bowling Green	3	–	5	5	–	7
Miami (OH)	3	–	5	4	–	8
Buffalo	2	–	6	3	–	9
Akron	0	–	8	1	–	11
West Division
Northern Illinois xy$	7	–	1	11	–	3
Toledo x	7	–	1	9	–	4
Western Michigan	5	–	3	7	–	6
Ball State	4	–	4	6	–	6
Eastern Michigan	4	–	4	6	–	6
Central Michigan	2	–	6	3	–	9
Championship: Northern Illinois 23, Ohio 20
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

The 2011 MAC Championship Game was a college football game played at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 2, 2011, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, USA, to determine the 2011 champion of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).^[1] The game featured the Ohio Bobcats and the Northern Illinois Huskies. Sponsored by Marathon the game officially known as the "Marathon MAC Championship Game". Northern Illinois tied the record for their largest comeback in the school's history, coming back from down 20-0 to win 23-20 on the game's final play to win their second MAC championship of all time.^[2]

Teams

Ohio Bobcats

Coming into the conference championship game, the Ohio Bobcats owned a 9-3 record, including a five-game win streak including conference wins over Kent State, Akron, Central Michigan, Bowling Green, and Miami (Ohio). The Bobcats also started the season with three straight wins, before losing three games in four weeks to Rutgers, Buffalo, and Ball State.

Northern Illinois Huskies

The Huskies came into the game having won seven straight contests beforehand, giving them a 9-3 record. NIU started the season with a thrilling win over Army before losing back-to-back games to Power-5 opponents Kansas and Wisconsin. The Huskies final loss of the season, and only conference loss came two weeks later against Central Michigan on October 1. The Huskies also had MAC Vern Smith League MVP Chandler Harnish quarterbacking their offense.

Game summary

2011 Marathon MAC Championship Game

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio	10	10	0	0	20
Northern Illinois	0	0	7	16	23

at Ford Field • Detroit, Michigan

Date: Friday, December 2, 2011
Game time: 6:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: n/a (indoor stadium)
Referee: Rod Snodgrass
TV announcers (ESPN2): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst) and Eamon McAnaney (sideline)

Game information

First quarter

(10:33) Ohio - Matt Weller 30 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 01:34; OHIO 3-0)
(4:05) Ohio - Donte Foster 24 yard pass from Phil Bates, Matt Weller kick (Drive: 8 plays, 70 yards, 3:57; OHIO 10-0)

Second quarter

(11:03) Ohio - Matt Weller 21 yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 69 yards, 06:11; OHIO 13-0)
(2:35) Ohio - Tyler Tettleton 18 yard rush, Matt Weller kick (Drive: 9 plays, 87 yards, 03:50; OHIO 20-0)

Third quarter

(6:19) NIU - Nathan Palmer 39 yard pass from Chandler Harnish, Matthew Sims kick (Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, 03:52, OHIO 20-7)

Fourth quarter

(7:36) NIU - Martel Moore 32 yards from Chandler Harnish, kick no good (Drive: 4 plays, 63 yards, 01:13, OHIO 20-13)
(2:52) NIU - Nathan Palmer 22 yards from Chandler Harnish, Matthew Sims kick (Drive: 6 plays, 57 yards, 01:44, Tied 20-20)
(0:00) NIU - Matthew Sims 33 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 48 yards, 01:18; NIU 23-20)

Statistics

Statistics	OHIO	NIU
First downs	21	19
Plays–yards	71-372	62–405
Rushes–yards	39-130	36–155
Passing yards	258	260
Passing: comp–att–int	19-32-3	16–26–1
Time of possession	20:22	15:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ohio	Passing	Tyler Tettleton	18/31, 218, 3 INT
	Rushing	Donte Harden	19 carries, 73 yards
	Receiving	LaVon Brazil	8 receptions, 124 yards
NIU	Passing	Chandler Harnish	16/26, 250 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jasmin Hopkins	11 carries, 60 yards
	Receiving	Nathan Palmer	4 receptions, 115 yards, 2 TD

^[3]

References

^ "Huskies Claim First MAC Football Title Since 1983". Get Some MACtion.
^ "2011 MAC Championship Game - NIU 23, Ohio 20". NIUHuskies.com.
^ "Ohio vs. Northern Illinois - Box Score - December 2, 2011 - ESPN".

This college football-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Huskies Claim First MAC Football Title Since 1983". Get Some MACtion.

[2] "2011 MAC Championship Game - NIU 23, Ohio 20". NIUHuskies.com.

[3] "Ohio vs. Northern Illinois - Box Score - December 2, 2011 - ESPN".

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v t e 2011 NCAA football conference championship games
Division I FBS	ACC Big Ten Conference USA MAC SEC
Division I FCS	SWAC

v t e MAC Football Championship Game
Years	1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Venues	Marshall University Stadium (1997–2000, 2002) Glass Bowl (2001) Doyt Perry Stadium (2003) Ford Field (2004–present)

v t e Northern Illinois Huskies football
Venues	Glidden Field (1903–1948, 1951–1965) Dekalb Township High School football field (1949–1950) Huskie Stadium (1965–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Ball State: Bronze Stalk Trophy
Culture & lore	"Huskie Fight Song" Huskie Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Ohio Bobcats football
Venues	Peden Stadium (1929–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Marshall: Battle for the Bell Miami: Battle of the Bricks
Culture & lore	Rufus "Stand Up and Cheer" Ohio University Marching 110
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024