Nov. 25--Northern Illinois' hopes for a Mid-American championship game berth now come down to scoreboard watching.
Tuesday's 26-21 home loss to Ohio cost the Huskies an outright MAC West title and left a sixth straight trip to the league championship game in doubt.
If No. 24 Toledo (9-1, 6-1) beats Western Michigan in a MAC regular-season finale Friday, the Rockets will represent the West against Bowling Green on Dec. 4 at Ford Field in Detroit.
"These are the cards we were dealt with, now we'll have to see what happens," said outside linebacker Sean Folliard, who matched a career-high with 10 tackles.
The Huskies (8-4, 6-2) would reach the MAC title game if the Rockets lose because they beat them in their meeting earlier this season.
Tommy Fiedler, a walk-on freshman quarterback from Lyons Township, stepped in for injured Ryan Graham and guided the Huskies on a late drive that narrowed the margin to 26-21 on an 11-yard pass to Kenny Golladay with 1 minute, 45 seconds to play.
But Ohio (8-4, 5-3) recovered the subsequent onside kick and ran out the clock.
"We didn't execute well enough at times and weren't in the right positions to get a win," Huskies coach Rod Carey said. "We dug ourselves a hole in the first half offensively, we weren't good enough. (But our) defense did a great job of holding that to a 20-7 (Ohio halftime) lead."
Northern Illinois trimmed the deficit to 20-14 on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Graham to Golladay in the third quarter.
Ohio kicker Josiah Yazdani's 26-yard field goal with 11:42 to play gave the Bobcats a 23-14 edge. He later had a 48-yard attempt blocked, but the Bobcats recovered the loose ball at the NIU 11 and he then hit a 26-yarder for a 26-14 lead.
The Bobcats jumped to a 7-0 lead as starting quarterback J.D. Sprague and wide receiver Jordan Reid combined on a 28-yard touchdown play with 6:36 left in the first quarter.
Northern Illinois running back Jordan Huff evened the score with a 5-yard touchdown run with three minutes left.
But then Ohio scored 13 unanswered points in the second period. Yazdani hit field goals of 22 and 31 yards and backup quarterback Greg Windham, playing for the injured Sprague who left early in the quarter, found tight end Keith Heitzman on a 5-yard touchdown pass.
The Bobcats held the Huskies to 73 yards rushing, their second lowest of the season since running for just 72 against Boston College.
"Our defensive goal was to stop the run and make them one-dimensional," Ohio linebacker Chad Moore said.
Jack McCarthy is a freelancer for the Chicago Tribune.
2-minute drill
Back for bowl? Huskies coach Rod Carey didn't know the extent of quarterback Ryan Graham's injuries immediately but doesn't expect him to be back if his team plays in next week's MAC title game. Graham could return for the Huskies' bowl game, expected sometime in mid- to late December.
Fresh frosh: Freshman Tommy Fiedler, a walk-on from Lyons Township, saw his first collegiate action and went 9 of 17 for 113 yards and a touchdown as he filled in for Graham.
Streaks snapped: Northern Illinois saw an end to a 22-game November winning streak that went back to 2009. It was also their first lost to a MAC East opponent since a Nov. 21, 2009 setback at Ohio. The Huskies had won 17 straight against the division.
Tough in second half: Ohio has been virtually unbeatable when leading at halftime. The Bobcats are now 48-1 since 2009 with the only loss coming to Northern Illinois when the Bobcats gave up a 20-0 lead to lose 23-20 in the 2011 MAC championship game.
Biggest hole: The Huskies' 20-7 halftime deficit was their largest of the season
