The 2012 Marathon MAC Championship Game was an American football game held on November 30, 2012 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan between the West Division champion Northern Illinois Huskies and the East Division champion Kent State Golden Flashes to determine the Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion. This is the first time since 2003 that both teams entered the game ranked in the BCS standings, AP Poll, and Coaches' Poll.
The pre-game buildup focused primarily on the two high-powered offenses, both of which were led by strong rushing attacks. The rushing attacks differed; Northern Illinois' was led by junior quarterback Jordan Lynch, who finished fourth in the nation in rushing, while Kent State's was led by a running back tandem consisting of Dri Archer and Trayion Durham. The opening line favored Northern Illinois by seven points. After being tied at the end of regulation, the game went into two overtime periods and eventually concluded with Northern Illinois winning 44–37. The Huskies were subsequently invited to the 2013 Orange Bowl.
Potential BCS implications
Multiple media outlets speculated that if Kent State won, it could earn a BCS bowl bid. Under then-current BCS rules, the highest-ranked team from outside the six "AQ" conferences received an automatic at-large BCS bid if it was (1) in the top 16 of the final BCS rankings and (2) ranked higher than at least one champion of an AQ conference.
Kent State had entered the weekend of November 24 ranked 23rd in the BCS standings, but after every team ranked between 15 and 21 lost that day, the Golden Flashes rose to 17th in the November 25 rankings, with Northern Illinois rising to 21st. At the same time, no team from the Big East, which had an automatic place in a BCS bowl, was in the top 25. The teams ranked immediately ahead and behind Kent State, UCLA and Texas, had to play higher-ranked teams on the road during the championship weekend. UCLA visited 8th ranked Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game, and Texas visited sixth-ranked Kansas State to end both teams' regular seasons. Because of Northern Illinois' ranking entering the game, it had not been initially thought that the Huskies would be able to jump into the top 16 with a win, even with losses by UCLA and Texas.
Both UCLA and Texas would lose their respective games; also, Nebraska, which had entered the Big Ten Championship Game at No. 12 in the BCS, was blown out 70–31 by a Wisconsin team that entered the game at 7–5. All of this opened the door for the winner of the MAC game to enter the top 16. Northern Illinois won and vaulted to #15 in the BCS Standings, earning a spot in the 2013 Orange Bowl. The berth was the first ever for a MAC team in a BCS game, and was also the first BCS berth ever for a one-loss non-AQ team.
Kent State was invited to the GoDaddy.com Bowl, their first bowl game appearance since the 1972 Tangerine Bowl.
Pre-game buildup
Northern Illinois
Offense
Northern Illinois finished tenth in the nation in total offense, finishing the season with 6,574 total yards. Their success can largely be attributed to their star quarterback, junior Jordan Lynch, who achieved first-team all-MAC honors and was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year. He finished in the top-30 nationally in passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, and passer rating. Perhaps Lynch's best contribution, however, was in the rushing game, where he amassed 1815 yards which was fourth in the country, and best among quarterbacks. Two other running backs, both juniors, made contributions in the rushing game as well: Leighton Settle and Akeem Daniels. His leading receiver was senior Martel Moore who, during the season, became the first Northern Illinois receiver to surpass 1,000 yards receiving since 2005, and led the team with 75 receptions for 1,083 yards. The Huskies' offensive line was anchored by left tackle Tyler Loos, who achieved second-team all-conference accolades.
Defense
Coordinated by Jay Niemann, the Huskies' defense was led by linemen Alan Baxter and Sean Progar, who totaled 9.5 and 8.5 sacks respectively, as well as defensive back Jimmie Ward, all of whom achieved all-conference honors. Northern Illinois finished tied for tenth in the country with 38 sacks on the season. In total, Northern Illinois gave up 19.9 points, ranking 21st in the country.