2018 MAC Championship Recap: NIU storms back to win title over Buffalo 30–29

Down 22 points after the opening drive of the 2nd half, the NIU Huskies hunkered down and stone-walled the Buffalo Bulls en route to its 4th MAC Championship this decade

Down 22 in the 2nd half? No problem for the NIU Huskies. Marcus Childers, Spencer Tears, and DJ Brown were fantastic down the stretch as the Dekalb Dynasty added another title to its resume after the Huskies’ 30–29 thriller over Buffalo on Friday.

NIU started with the ball and made some solid progress moving down the field. However, the drive stalled near mid-field after Juwan Wesley dropped a catch for a first down — with the drop initially ruled a fumble before being overturned — and the Huskies were forced to punt the ball to pin the Bulls deep in their own territory.

But Tyree Jackson and Company came out on fire. Using a mix of passing and Jaret Patterson/Kevin Marks runs, the Bulls were able to get into the red zone with the additional help of a pair of defensive pass interference penalties on the Huskies. After Antonio Jones-Davis was taken to the medical tent with an apparent head injury (he would return later in the game), Marks punched in a short three-yard touchdown to make it 7–0 early.

The score appeared to startle NIU, as its second drive started out with a 34-yard bomb to Wesley to put the Huskies in plus territory. However, the Buffalo defense would hold Childers from making any substantial progress as another punt would pin the Bulls deep.

The ensuing Buffalo drive would see a lot of runs. Patterson got a first down early before a huge Jackson scamper got the Bulls into NIU territory. Back-to-back passes to Anthony Johnson sandwiching the end of the 1st quarter break gave the Bulls a 13–0 lead (Alex McNulty missed the PAT).

Desperate, the Huskies started off slow on the ensuing drive to face a 3rd and long. DJ Brown was the savior though, as the senior wide-out took a short pass and went 17 yards to keep the drive alive. Shortly after that, Tre Harbison picked up a 4th and 1 at mid-field before a Mitchell Brinkman catch moved the Huskies near the red zone. After picking up a first down, Childers found Spencer Tears in the end zone, with the junior making an impressive one-handed catch to make it 13–7.

The Bulls would respond with another impressive touchdown drive set-up by the run. Marks would get 44 yards over 5 carries on the drive, with Tyree again finding Johnson in the end zone for a touchdown, this time from 26 yards out to make it 19–7 (the two-point try would fail).

The Huskies would finally find their success on the ground, with Harbison picking up a critical 4th-and-1 to start the drive before Childers took a keeper 33 yards to set up NIU in the red zone. Another spectacular catch by Tears would be taken off the board due to holding, but Andrew Gantz’s 39-yard field goal would inch the Huskies closer at 19–10.

But the Bulls would not be finished. With only 1:39 on the clock, back-to-back runs set-up what would’ve been a 3rd-and-short and what looked like a running of the clock. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty would be followed by a Patterson run for 9 before Tyree hit KJ Osborn over the middle to put Buffalo in the red zone with 19 seconds left. Tyree would get 8 on a scamper before missing on back-to-back end zone shots to Osborn. Mitcheson’s 24-yarder to end the half was drilled off the upright and somehow in to make it 22–10 at the half.

With the Bulls deferring the opening coin toss, they got the ball to start the 2nd half and immediately found Patterson for a first down before needing a huge 36 yard bomb to Johnson to not only pick-up a 3rd-and-long, but to move near the red zone. An Osborn 16-yard catch moved the chains again before Patterson capped off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run to make it 29–10.

NIU did nothing on the ensuing drive, needing a 4th-and-1 run from Harbison to get a single first drive before punting from its half of the field for the first time all night (for either team at that point). The Huskie defense would respond though, holding Buffalo to its first scoreless drive: a three-and-out inside its own 15. Childers would respond with a deep ball to Tears that would be picked off by Tatum Slack, whose momentum carried him -13 yards down to the Buffalo 5.

The backed-up position meant the Bulls would have to be safe. After a run went for little, Jackson was sacked by Sutton Smith at the 2 to force a very precarious 3rd-and-long. Lance Leipold called timeout, and called a short pass to Johnson’s sure hands, with the senior wide-out picking up just enough to move the sticks.

But NIU would not relent, getting Jackson on back-to-back drop-backs to force another punt from the end zone, setting up great field position for a critical drive with 17 minutes left in regulation. After Harbison picked up a first down, Childers found DJ Brown over the middle for a 28-yard score to close the gap to 29–17 just before the end of the 3rd quarter. With NIU’s defense hunkering down (Buffalo only had 7 rushing yards in the 3rd), it appeared we’d be set-up for a fantastic 4th quarter. The Bulls would go three-and-out to start the 4th, giving NIU a great chance to get into the game. Cole Tucker caught a 19-yard pass to open the drive before Childers found Tears three plays later to make it a 29–24 game on a 32-yard score, sparking the vocal support of the Huskie faithful.

Buffalo came out with some solid rushing, but would stall out near midfield. A great punt by Evan Finegan would be downed at the 3, meaning the Huskies would have 10 minutes to try and take the lead, but would have to go 97 yards to do it. A Harbison run followed by a Tears catch produced a first down that got the Huskies out of the shadow of their own end zone.

From there, a false start penalty dropped NIU backwards before Khalil Hodge got a huge sack to all but end the Huskie threat. Buffalo would get the ball back, but a holding call followed by a Sutton Smith sack would give the ball back to the Huskies for one final shot at the winner with only 3:20 left.

A huge 3rd-and-10 catch and run by Marcus Jones kept NIU alive and then a Mitchell Brinkman catch softened up the defense at the Buffalo 35. That’s when Childers faded back, and found Brown streaking down the sideline. The sophomore quarterback hit his man in stride for the go-ahead touchdown with just 69 seconds left.

The ensuing Bulls drive would gain some traction, but Jackson would miss on a pair of passes late to end the their hopes at a game-winning field goal, closing the title tilt at 30–29 Huskies.

Childers was named Offensive MVP of the game after going 21-for-33 for 300 yards and 4 touchdowns (and a pick), while adding 58 rushing yards on the night. Smith was Defensive MVP after a 10 tackle, 2 sack, 3 TFL night. Both Brown and Tears finished with a pair of touchdowns, with Tears getting 6 catches for 73 yards and Brown getting 4 catches for 84 yards.

For the Bulls, a lost opportunity will be rued for years. Johnson finished with 7 catches for 124 yards and 2 scores in his final MAC game. His quarterback, Jackson, went 18-for-35 for 252 yards and 2 scores, but was sacked 4 times to negate 35 positive rushing yards to a net of -2. Patterson and Marks finished with 72 rushing yards and a score each across 35 total carries (Patterson had one more than Marks). Khalil Hodge led all Bulls with 9 tackles, and added a half a sack.

In the end, the 2nd half is what turned this game. Buffalo only had 13 rushing yards in the 2nd half on 19 carries (including sacks) and 108 passing yards on 8-for-18 passing in the half. Meanwhile, the Huskies went 12-for-19 passing for 172 yards, and used the good field position to set-up each scoring drive.

Both teams now wait to see where they head for bowl season. NIU (8–5) will most likely be headed to the Dollar General Bowl as MAC Champions. Buffalo will likely head to either the Camellia Bowl or the Potato Bowl as the top MAC “free agent”.