2005 MAC Championship Game

The 2005 MAC Championship Game was played on December 1, 2005, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.^[2] The game featured the Akron Zips, winners of the Mid-American Conference East Division, and the Northern Illinois Huskies, winners of the West Division.

2005 Marathon MAC Championship Game
Conference Championship
Akron Zips Northern Illinois Huskies (6–5) (7–4) 31 30 Head coach:  J.D. Brookhart Head coach:  Joe Novak
1 2 3 4 Total Akron 10 0 0 21 31 Northern Illinois 0 10 14 6 30
Date	December 1, 2005
Season	2005
Stadium	Ford Field
Location	Detroit, Michigan
MVP	QB Luke Getsy (Akron)
Favorite	Northern Illinois by 13
Referee	Bill Alge[1]
Attendance	12,051[1]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Mike Tirico, Kirk Herbstreit, Erin Andrews[2]
MAC Championship Game  < 2004  2006 >

2005 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Akron xy$		5	–	3					7	–	6
Miami (OH) x		5	–	3					7	–	4
Bowling Green x		5	–	3					6	–	5
Ohio		3	–	5					4	–	7
Buffalo		1	–	7					1	–	10
Kent State		0	–	8					1	–	10
West Division
Northern Illinois xy		6	–	2					7	–	5
Toledo x		6	–	2					9	–	3
Western Michigan		5	–	3					7	–	4
Central Michigan		5	–	3					6	–	5
Ball State		4	–	4					4	–	7
Eastern Michigan		3	–	5					4	–	7
Championship: Akron 31, NIU 30
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

Down 14 points the fourth quarter, the Zips manufactured a comeback. Northern Illinois led by 6 points with 17 seconds remaining in regulation when Luke Getsy connected with Domenik Hixon on a 36-yard touchdown pass. This and the subsequent successful extra point attempt would prove to be the game winning plays. Their victory earned the Akron football program its first MAC championship and bowl game berth.^[3][4]