Football (8-5, 6-3 MAC) fell in a dominating loss to Bowling Green on Friday, dropping the MAC Championship for the second time in three years.

Bowling Green took over early in the contest, picking up a first quarter touchdown relatively quickly. The Huskies were able to remain close despite not putting any points on the board in the quarter and struggling to make many plays on offense.

The Falcons put together an even better second quarter, scoring two more touchdowns against the Huskies’ defense. NIU’s lone big play on defense in the first half came on an interception, but the team wasn’t able to score off of the turnover. Bowling Green led 21-0 at halftime.

The Falcons continued their dominant play in the third quarter, going up 28-0 after another early scoring drive. The Huskies scored their first points of the game in the third period after freshman quarterback Tommy Fiedler connected with senior tight end Desroy Maxwell for a touchdown to decrease the deficit to 21 points.

Sophomore cornerback Shawun Lurry returned an interception for 63 yards later in the quarter, scoring a touchdown and shrinking the lead to 28-14.

Bowling Green picked its play back up in the fourth quarter, scoring on a goal-line touchdown to push its lead back up to 20 points. The Huskies blocked the extra point attempt.

NIU had opportunities at trimming the lead in the final period, but continuously turned the ball over, losing by a final score of 34-14.