2015 Marathon MAC Championship Game
Conference Championship
Bowling Green Falcons Northern Illinois Huskies
(9–3) (8–4)
34 14
Head coach: 
Dino Babers		 Head coach: 
Rod Carey
1234 Total
Bowling Green 71476 34
Northern Illinois 00140 14
DateDecember 4, 2015
Season2015
StadiumFord Field
LocationDetroit, Michigan
MVPTravis Greene (RB, Bowling Green)
FavoriteBowling Green by 14
Attendance16,425
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN2/IMG College
AnnouncersDave Flemming, Mack Brown, Allison Williams (ESPN2)
David Shumate, Jon Jansen (IMG College)
MAC Championship Game
 < 2014  2016 > 
2015 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Bowling Green x$   7 – 1     10 – 4  
Ohio   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Akron   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Buffalo   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Kent State   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Miami (OH)   2 – 6     3 – 9  
UMass   2 – 6     3 – 9  
West Division
Northern Illinois xy   6 – 2     8 – 6  
Western Michigan x   6 – 2     8 – 5  
Toledo x   6 – 2     10 – 2  
Central Michigan x   6 – 2     7 – 6  
Ball State   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Eastern Michigan   0 – 8     1 – 11  
Championship: Bowling Green 34, Northern Illinois 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant

The 2015 MAC Championship Game was an NCAA Division I college football conference championship game for the Mid-American Conference. The game was played at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday, December 4, 2015, and featured Bowling Green (East Division winners) defeat Northern Illinois (West Division) 34–14.

History

For the third consecutive season the Bowling Green Falcons and Northern Illinois Huskies faced off in the MAC Championship Game. The previous season, the Huskies defeated the Falcons 51-17 to win the conference title. 2015 marked the sixth consecutive MAC Championship appearance for the Huskies. They are 3-3 in previous appearances.[1]

This was the fourth MAC Championship Game appearance for Bowling Green and their third consecutive appearance; they first appeared in 2003 and are 1-2 in previous appearances. Their Championship was in 2013. [2]

Teams

Bowling Green Falcons

Bowling Green dominated the MAC East, with their only conference loss coming to West division co-champion Toledo. Bowling Green's resume also featured non-conference wins over Big Ten Conference teams Maryland and Purdue and a narrow three-point loss to a Memphis team that finished 9–3 in the regular season.[3] Bowling Green clinched a berth in the championship game following their win over Western Michigan on November 11th. [4]

Northern Illinois Huskies

The Huskies clinched a spot in the game following a tie breaker advantage over Toledo, Western Michigan and Central Michigan in the West Division. [5]

Scoring summary

2015 MAC Championship Game
Bowling Green Falcons (9–3, 7–1) vs. Northern Illinois Huskies (8–4, 6–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bowling Green 7 14 7634
Northern Illinois 0 0 14014

at Ford Field • Detroit, MI

  • Date: Friday, December 4, 2015
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: N/A (game played indoors)
  • Game attendance: 16,425
  • Referee: M. Kluczynski • Umpire: Bob Holcomb • Linesman: Kole Knueppel • Line judge: Mark Bennett • Back judge: Doug Warns • Field judge: D. Pender • Side judge: Rich Ames • Center judge: Bryan Banks
  • TV announcers (ESPN2/IMG College): Dave Flemming, Mack Brown, Allison Williams (ESPN2)
    David Shumate, Jon Jansen (IMG College)
  • [6]
Game information
First Quarter
  • (04:15) BGSU – Fred Coppet 4 yard run (Tyler Tate kick) (Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 2:40; Bowling Green 7–0)
Second quarter
  • (05:28) BGSU – Derek Lee 2 yard pass from Matt Johnson (Tyler Tate kick) (Drive: 3 plays, 17 yards, :56; Bowling Green 14–0)
  • (01:04) BGSU – Travis Greene 25 yard run (Tyler Tate kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 84 yards, 2:32; Bowling Green 21–0)
Third quarter
  • (12:26) BGSU – Roger Lewis 45 yard pass from Matt Johnson (Tyler Tate kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards, 1:37; Bowling Green 28–0)
  • (05:43) NIU – Desroy Maxwell 32 yard pass from Tommy Fiedler (Christian Hagan kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 46 yards, 1:29; Bowling Green 28–7)
  • (02:24) NIU – Shawun Lurry 64 yard interception return (Christian Hagan kick) (Bowling Green 28–14)
Fourth quarter
  • (12:32) BGSU – Travis Greene 1 yard run (Tyler Tate kick blocked) (Drive: 12 plays, 83 yards, 4:47; Bowling Green 34–14)
Statistics Bowling Green Northern Illinois
First downs 25 17
Plays–yards 501 259
Rushes–yards 53-266-3 38–107-0
Passing yards 235 152
Passing: comp–att–int 25–37–2 12–28–3
Time of possession 34:26 25:34
Team Category Player Statistics
Bowling Green Passing Matt Johnson 25/37, 235 yards, 2 TDS, 2 INTS
Rushing Travis Greene 29 carries, 183 yards, 2 TDS
Receiving Gehrig Dieter 7 receptions, 75 yards
Northern Illinois Passing Tommy Fiedler 12/28, 152 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTS
Rushing Joel Bouagnon 14 carries, 57 yards
Receiving Desroy Maxwell 3 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD

References

  1. ^ "2015 MAC Championship Game Postgame Notes". niuhuskies.com. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "2015 MAC Champs!!! Falcons Soar To 12th MAC Championship In School History". bsgufalcons.com. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "2015 Football Schedule". Bowling Green State University Athletics. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  4. ^ "Three In A ROW! Falcons Clinch MAC East With 41-27 Win At WMU". bgsufalcons.com. bgsufalcons. November 12, 2015.
  5. ^ "Huskies Return to Detroit! Marathon MAC Championship Game Tickets On Sale". niuhuskies.com. bgsufalcons. November 27, 2015.
  6. ^ "Box score (Bowling Green vs Northern Illinois)". bgsufalcons.com. bgsufalcons. December 4, 2015.


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