Football (8-4, MAC 6-2) will play in its sixth consecutive MAC Championship game Friday in Detroit, facing off against MAC East Champion Bowling Green (9-3, 7-1 MAC).

The contest will be the third consecutive meeting between NIU and Bowling Green in the championship game. The Huskies won last year’s meeting 51-17 and the Falcons won the previous meeting 47-27.

“This is totally different than last year what we went through,” said head coach Rod Carey of this year’s matchup since last season’s championship bout. “I’m not making excuses. I’m just saying that’s how different each year is.”

The Huskies are coming off a loss against Ohio on Tuesday by a score of 26-21. They were one win away from solidifying the MAC West, but were instead crowned champions after a Western Michigan win over Toledo.

“I was back home for Thanksgiving, and I was able to watch it,” said junior offensive lineman Josh Ruka. “It was a little nerve-wracking, but it was a good win by Western [Michigan]. We are blessed to get back to the MAC Championship.”

The Falcons are one of the top offenses in the MAC and average 44.2 points a game while holding their opposition to only 27.8 points a game. They are led by senior quarterback Matt Johnson, who’s been one of the top quarterbacks in all of college football this year. He leads the nation in passing yards with 4,465, is seventh in completion rating at 68.9, and second in touchdowns with 41.

“They have a lot of tools on offense,” said redshirt senior linebacker Boomer Mays. “They have a high-tempo offense, so I feel like they’re going to come out ready to play. We just have to come out and get lined up, know what we’re doing and be ready.”

Johnson will have to deal with a Huskies defense that only allows 24.7 points per game. Sophomore cornerback Shawun Lurry leads the nation with eight interceptions this season and is a semi-finalist for the Jim Thorpe award.

True freshman and walk-on Tommy Fiedler will make his first career start against the Falcons after starter Ryan Graham injured himself in last week’s game against Ohio. He will be the Huskies’ third quarterback to start this season after injuries to Graham and junior Drew Hare, who ruptured his Achilles and is out for the season.

“Tommy [Fiedler] got his feet wet at the end of the [Ohio] game and led us down to a good drive where it was all him throwing,” Carey said. “So we feel really excited for him.”

Kick off will take place at 7 p.m. Friday at Ford Field and will air on ESPN2. A win would give the Huskies their fourth MAC Championship in five years.