No. 18 Northern Illinois 44, No. 19 Kent State 37 (2 OT): Quarterback Jordan Lynch rushed a career-high 36 times for 160 yards and three touchdowns – including one in the second overtime – as the Huskies outlasted the Golden Flashes to claim their second straight Mid-American Conference championship.

Lynch, a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate, added 212 yards passing and another touchdown for Northern Illinois (12-1), which has defeated Kent State (11-2) six consecutive times and won 17 straight conference games.

Each team notched a field goal in the first overtime, but the Huskies needed only two plays to get Lynch his 19th rushing touchdown of the season. On its possession in the second extra period, Kent State drove to the 9, but Spencer Keith’s fourth-down pass was intercepted by Demetrius Stone in the end zone.

The Huskies held a commanding 27-13 advantage as the Golden Flashes could manage only 92 total yards through three quarters, but Dri Archer’s 60-yard catch-and-run sparked a 96-yard scoring drive which ended with Keith's 5-yard run and cut the lead in half. Fifteen seconds later, Lynch fumbled on a zone-read play and Zack Hitchens returned it 22 yards for the tying score.

Northern Illinois needed only four plays and 86 seconds to answer on the ensuing possession and retake the lead on Lynch's 9-yard run, but Kent State rallied once again, getting a 19-yard touchdown strike from Keith to Tim Erjavec with 44 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Lynch posted his 11th consecutive 100-yard rushing performance – extending his own FBS record for such games by a quarterback – and broke Denard Robinson’s FBS mark for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season (1,771). … This was the first overtime game in the 16-year history of the MAC Championship. … Kent State intercepted its 23rd pass of the season, pulling into a tie with Oregon for the most in FBS.