Northern Illinois vs. Kent State: TV schedule, game time, spread and more

The Kent St. Golden Flashes face off with the Northern Illinois Huskies in the Marathon MAC Championship on Friday night, as two of college football's best rushing teams meet at Ford Field in Detroit.

It would have been easy for week two's 41-17 loss at the hands of Kentucky to derail Kent State's season, but Darrell Hazell kept his team focused, allowing them to have their best season in over a decade.

Arriving at this point is a rare occurrence for the Kent State Golden Flashes. The last time they played in the MAC Championship was 1972, when they won the conference championship. Rather than having an elite dual-threat quarterback like Jordan Lynch, the Golden Flashes have relied on two running backs -- Dri Archer, and Trayion Durham who have combined for over 2,500 rushing yards, and 28 touchdowns.

For Northern Illinois, being back at the MAC Championship has become par for the course. In each of the last three years the Huskies have been present, and are looking to win their second title in a row, after beating Ohio last year. Junior quarterback Jordan Lynch has defined North Illinois's offense this year, passing for 2,700 yards, while rushing for over 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Game time, TV channel: 7:00 p.m., ESPN2

Point Spread: Northern Illinois are favored by 6.5 points.

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