MAC Championship: Miami Of Ohio Shocks No. 24 Northern Illinois, 26-21

The win truly was a spectacular one for the program for the simple reason that the Redhawks shouldn’t even have stood a chance.

It appears as though Miami of Ohio, winners of only one game a year ago, is back. On Friday night, the RedHawks overcame a number of mistakes to engineer a miraculous drive against Northern Illinois and win the MAC championship.

Miami quarterback Austin Boucher, who was a backup only weeks ago, completed 29 of 46 passes for 333 yards. However, it’s unclear how much credit he deserves for his biggest pass of the game. Within the final two minutes, Miami was down, 21-20. After Boucher was sacked to give them a fourth-and-20 situation, Boucher’s throw bounced off a Northern Illinois defender’s hands, and Chris Givens was there to make the grab and secure the first down.

In Friday night’s MAC championship, No. 24 Northern Illinois managed to re-claim the lead over Miami of Ohio in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Chandler Harnish threw his third touchdown of the evening, and the Huskies now hold a 21-20 lead.

It was the fifth lead change of the game -- after Northern Illinois opened the second half with a 14-13 lead, Miami broke through with a one-yard touchdown run from Thomas Merriwether. The underdog RedHawks had another chance to score minutes later, when they found themselves at Northern Illinois’ five-yard line, but they suffered yet another kicking-relatated misadventure when they elected to call a fake field goal. The blocking fell apart and the attempt failed.

At halftime on Friday night, No. 24 Northern Illinois clings to a 14-13 lead over Miami of Ohio. Most didn’t expect the unranked RedHawks to mount such stiff competition, but they only trail by virtue of the woes of their kicking game.

The first half ended rather comically. With seconds remaining in the second quarter, Miami quarterback Austin Boucher found Chris Givens near the sideline of Northern Illinois’ 25-yard line. It appeared as though Givens made his way out of bounds, but the officials apparently ruled that he was stopped by forward progress, which kept the clock running. Upon realizing this, Boucher and company hustled to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball.

During Friday night’s Mid-American Conference Championship, the scoring is coming early and often, as No. 24 Northern Illinois leads Miami (OH) at the start of the second quarter, 14-13. Receiver Martel Moore was the star of the first quarter, as he ran both of his receptions in for touchdowns.

Thanks in part to Moore, Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish already has 129 passing yards. His first touchdown pass was a 69-yarder on only the third play of the drive.

Miami quarterback Austin Boucher, meanwhile, was perfect in the first quarter, completing all six of his passing attempts for 64 yards. The RedHawks’ offensive attack has been balanced by running back Thomas Merriwether, who has managed 79 yards and a touchdown on only five carries.

The PAT after Miami’s first touchdown was blocked by Northern Illinois, allowing for the Huskies’ one-point lead to enter the second quarter. Miami now has the ball. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for further updates.

SB Nation’s Red And Black Attack celebrates a special group of Huskies that have led the team to a conference championship berth:

SB Nation’s MAC blog, Hustle Belt, examines the obvious mismatch between Northern Illinois and Miami (OH) heading into tonight’s conference championship game:

(Sports Network) This incredible run for Northern Illinois continues to get better, as the team was recently place in the Top 25 for the first time since 2003. However, coach Jerry Kill realizes why it is a great honor, his team must also be focus on the task at hand and that is winning the MAC title game.

“It’s good for our school and good for our football program, and this Friday we’ll see if we’re worthy of it,” Kill said. “We’ve done a nice job, so far, but those are the key words - so far.”