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The Northern Illinois Huskies (9-3, 7-1) meet the Ohio University Bobcats (9-3, 6-2) at Ford Field on Friday night in the Mid-American Conference Championship game, and all eyes will be on the quarterbacks. Chandler Harnish of NIU and Tyler Tettleton of Ohio are two of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation, and Harnish ranks No. 7 nationally in total offense per game (336.9 yds/gm). In fact, no quarterback has rushed for more yards than Harnish this season, as the senior QB has run for 1,351 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Both quarterbacks are also very good at taking care of the ball, with Harnish sporting a 23/4 touchdown to interception ratio, and Tettleton carrying a 26/7 ratio into the MAC Championship. As a result, these are two fairly exciting offenses that each average over 30 points per game, with NIU averaging 39.6 points and Ohio averaging 31.9 points. If you like offense and high-stakes college football, this might be the game for you.
SB Nation's MAC blog, Hustle Belt, provides a reference sheet for all the conference honors bestowed on players from each school this season:
| School | First Team (3 pts/selection) |
Second Team (2 pts/selection) |
Third Team (1 pt/selection) |
Total Points |
| Northern Illinois | QB Chandler Harnish C Scott Wedige OL Trevor Olson PK Mathew Sims |
WR Perez Ashford RB Jasmin Hopkins DT Sean Progar DB Jimmie Ward |
WR Nathan Palmer | 21 |
| OHIO | OL: Joe Flading | OL Eric Herman WR LaVon Brazill PK Matt Weller ILB Noah Keller DL Tremayne Scott DB Travis Carrie |
QB Tyler Tettleton OL A.J. Strum DB Donte Harden KR Donte Harden |
19 |
Game date, time: 6:00 pm CST, Friday, December 2, 2011.
Location: Ford Field, Detroit, MI
TV channel: ESPN2
Spread: Northern Illinois favored by 3.5
Series history: Series tied 9-9, with Ohio winning the last matchup 38-31 in 2009.
Head over to SB Nation NCAA Football for more on Championship Weekend.
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