At this point in the season, the success of NIU football seems more storybook than reality.

If it is indeed storybook, the next exciting chapter for the Huskies (11-1, 8-0 MAC) will come Friday with a victory over Kent State (11-1, 8-0 MAC) in the MAC Championship game at Ford Field.

The matchup features not only the two teams with the most wins, but also two of the top statistically-ranked teams in the MAC. Coach Dave Doeren knows that a matchup like this is not always the norm.

“To have a championship game with two 11-1 teams that rank first-through-third basically in every category statically in the conference, I think says a lot,” Doeren said. “Sometimes you don’t get to see the best two teams play each other in the conference championship, you know, it just doesn’t work out that way…for the MAC to have that on a national stage I think is outstanding for our conference and the players.”

NIU leads the MAC in six statistical categories, the two biggest being total offense and the top red zone defense. Kent State leads the MAC in five categories, with their key factors being the top fourth down conversion team, just ahead of NIU, as well as being the leading team in the turnover margin.

Junior quarterback Jordan Lynch knows the turnover game will be a huge factor for both teams and could swing the game depending on how that statistic creeps into the contest.

“We’ve seen them on film, they’re physical,” Lynch said. “They’re well-coached, disciplined and fundamentally sound. They look like a group of guys who just like to get after it. They pride themselves on turnovers. We pride ourselves on keeping the ball, too. It should be a great battle.”

Overall, both teams led their divisions in points scored, while NIU led in fewest points allowed. Kent State ranked second in their division. Doeren believes the Golden Flashes’ defense is similar to the Huskies’ and said they play with a lot of passion.

Kent State head coach Darrell Hazell knows his team will be up against a stiff defense. The Golden Flashes are dead last in the MAC in pass offense and Hazzell is concerned with the pressure of the Huskies.

“Their defensive ends are really good,” Hazzell said in a news conference. “They come off the edge and create all kinds of issues, especially number 90 [Alan Baxter]. I think they do a good job, they’re very simplistic defensively but they do a good job of putting pressure on you. So we’re gonna have to do a good job to slow those guys down, take what we can get, our 3- to 4- to 5-yard gains, and try to move the ball down the field that way.”

While NIU has its chance to repeat as MAC champions, Kent State will make its first appearance in the history of the championship game. The winner of the game also has the outside chance of reaching a BCS Bowl game, depending on the shakeout with the few teams above the No. 16 spot in the BCS rankings.

“I think it was more of, ‘Hey, wouldn’t that be cool if this happened,” Doeren said. “Now it’s a real conversation because nine teams lost that were ranked higher than us and so that really opened up some doors. None of them are worth their salt if we lose this weekend, so we got to win. We put ourselves into a position to make it a real argument and now we need to finish what we started here.”