College football game
2021 Rocket Mortgage MAC Championship GameConference Championship 1 2 3 4 Total Kent State 0 0 10 13 23 Northern Illinois 10 7 7 17 41
Date December 4, 2021 Season 2021 Stadium Ford Field Location Detroit, Michigan MVP Offense: Jay Ducker (RB, Northern Illinois) Favorite Kent State by 3.5 Referee Jeremy Valentine[ 1] Attendance 10,317 United States TV coverage Network ESPN Announcers Jason Benetti (play-by-play),Andre Ware (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
The2021 MAC Championship Game was acollege football game played on December 4, 2021, atFord Field inDetroit, Michigan . It was the 25th edition of theMAC Football Championship Game and determined the champion of theMid-American Conference (MAC) for the2021 season . The game began at 12:00 p.m.EST and aired onESPN . The game featured theNorthern Illinois Huskies , the Western Division champions, and theKent State Golden Flashes , the Eastern Division champions. Sponsored by mortgage lending companyQuicken Loans through their Rocket Mortgage brand, the game was officially known as theRocket Mortgage MAC Championship Game .[ 2]
The 2021 MAC Championship Game will feature theKent State Golden Flashes , champions of the East Division, and theNorthern Illinois Huskies , champions of the West Division. This will be the teams' 30th all-time meeting; Northern Illinois enters the game leading the series 21–8.[ 3] 1949 , and have beenMid-American Conference opponents since1975 .[ 3] [ 4] [ 5]
Kent State clinched a spot in the championship game following their win overMiami (OH) .[ 6] 2012 ; Kent State is looking for their first MAC title since1972 .
Northern Illinois clinched a berth in the championship game following their win overBuffalo .[ 7]
Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Kent State Northern Illinois 1 9:43 10 41 5:17 Northern Illinois 37-yard field goal by John Richardson 0 3 1 2:09 10 78 4:57 Northern Illinois Clint Ratkovich 2-yard touchdown run, John Richardson kick good0 10 2 8:33 15 81 7:52 Northern Illinois Rocky Lombardi 1-yard touchdown run, John Richardson kick good 0 17 3 11:38 9 56 3:22 Kent State 41-yard field goal by Andrew Glass 3 17 3 3:55 Northern Illinois Interception returned 26 yards for touchdown by CJ Brown, John Richardson kick good 3 24 3 0:27 9 75 3:28 Kent State Nykeim Johnson 17-yard touchdown reception fromDustin Crum , Andrew Glass kick good 10 24 4 10:54 8 75 4:33 Northern Illinois Rocky Lombardi 5-yard touchdown run, John Richardson kick good 10 31 4 6:55 5 21 2:48 Northern Illinois Rocky Lombardi 2-yard touchdown run, John Richardson kick good 10 38 4 4:16 10 78 2:39 Kent State Collin Schlee 4-yard touchdown run, Andrew Glass kick good 17 38 4 2:01 5 17 2:15 Northern Illinois 30-yard field goal by John Richardson 17 41 4 0:00 10 92 2:01 Kent State Luke Floriea 17-yard touchdown reception from Collin Schlee, kick not attempted, time expired 23 41 "TOP" =time of possession . For other American football terms, seeGlossary of American football . 23 41
Statistics KENT NIU First downs 24 28 Plays–yards 62–391 76–368 Rushes–yards 36–195 61–266 Passing yards 196 102 Passing:comp– att– int 16–26–2 7–15–1 Time of possession 19:59 40:01
Team Category Player Statistics Kent State Passing Dustin Crum 11/21, 128 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing Xavier Williams 8 carries, 93 yards Receiving Dante Cephas 7 receptions, 102 yards Northern Illinois Passing Rocky Lombardi 7/15, 102 yards, 1 INT Rushing Jay Ducker 29 carries, 146 yards Receiving Trayvon Rudolph 3 receptions, 50 yards
^ "Officiating crews for the 2021 college football conference championship games" .footballzebras.com . November 30, 2021. RetrievedDecember 4, 2021 .^ "Rocket Mortgage sponsors MAC championship game to help keep it in Detroit" .Detroit News . RetrievedAugust 9, 2022 .^a b "2021 Northern Illinois Football Game Notes - MAC Championship" (PDF) .Northern Illinois Huskies Football . RetrievedDecember 3, 2021 .^ "Kent State scores 31 points in 2nd quarter, beats NIU 52-47" .CBS Sports . November 3, 2021. RetrievedDecember 3, 2021 .^ "2021 Northern Illinois Football Media Guide" (PDF) .Northern Illinois Huskies Football . RetrievedDecember 3, 2021 .^ "Kent State football beats Miami, advances to MAC Championship game" .kentwired.com . Archived fromthe original on November 28, 2021. RetrievedNovember 27, 2021 .^ "NIU Huskies Beat Buffalo, Clinch Mac West Division" .chicago.cbslocal.com . RetrievedNovember 18, 2021 .
Division I FBS Division I FCS
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons
