DETROIT – The losers of the last two Mid-American Conference Championship Games meet Friday night and the winner will come away with their first-ever victory in the game.

Despite the success both Ohio and Northern Illinois have found the past several seasons, neither has been able to capture a MAC championship, and doing just that has been a goal since the beginning of the year.

“We need to break through that barrier and ideally it would be this year, but we’ll see,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “… Our goal has not been to make it to the MAC Championship Game. Our goal has been to win a MAC championship. That’s a step that we’re going to have to take.”

The Bobcats last won the MAC championship in 1968, while the Huskies won their only MAC title in 1983. Ohio lost in the title game, 20-10 in 2009, and 31-10 in 2006, both times to Central Michigan. Northern Illinois was defeated by Miami, 26-21, last year, and by Akron, 31-30, in 2005.

“This has been a goal of our team but more importantly a goal of our seniors to get back to Detroit and erase some poor memories of a year ago,” Northern Illinois coach Dave Doeren said.

A key for Ohio winning its first-ever postseason game is stopping the MAC Player of the Year Chandler Harnish. He has accounted for 34 touchdowns and more than 4,000 yards this season.

The 6-2, 220-pound senior quarterback has completed 63.0 percent of his passes for 2,692 yards and 23 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He has added 1,351 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground with an average of 7.9 yards per carry.

“When you look at him, what you see is a big, physical, fast running back when he’s got the ball tucked away,” Solich said. “When he’s got the ball to where he’s ready throw, what you’ve got is a big, fast, physical throwing quarterback. He’s what I think every school looks for in terms of the type of quarterback you want to run any kind of offense.”

Senior running back Jasmin Hopkins (5-9, 180) has been an effective runner, rushing for 872 yards and 15 touchdowns with an average of 5.2 yards per carry.

Senior Nathan Palmer (5-11, 195) leads the Huskies in receiving with 42 receptions for 568 yards and five scores. Junior Martel Moore (6-2, 182) has 36 catches for 464 yards and five touchdowns, while junior Perez Ashford (5-10, 185) has made 36 grabs for 405 yards and two touchdowns.

Altogether, the Huskies rank second in the MAC in both scoring and total offense with averages of 39.6 points and 488.2 yards per game.

Ohio linebacker Noah Keller said stopping the run, particularly Harnish will be the key for the Bobcats’ defense.

“They always try to run the ball first, it seems, so one thing we’ve been trying to do is when we go to attack the run, we want to make sure take away the quarterback run first and have them try to beat us with their running backs,” he said. “He’s definitely a very dynamic player and can beat you with his legs and his arm, so like always, the No. 1 thing we’re going to have to try to do is shut down the run and stopping the quarterback run can be difficult at times, but we just have to be disciplined and make sure everybody’s getting their right fix and everyone’s running to the ball and tackling solid.”

The Bobcats rank among the top of the league defensively. They are second by allowing just 22.0 points per game and fourth in total yards, allowing an average of 351.1 yards per game.

Keller is the team’s leading tackler with 92, while safety Gerald Moore has made 73 stops.

Tremayne Scott, who has 55 total tackles, is tops on the team with eight tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Cornerback Travis Carrie has a team-best four interceptions and 11 pass breakups.

While Northern Illinois has one of the highest ranking offenses in the league, its defense has taken some scrutiny by giving up some huge numbers on a few occasions this year. The Huskies allowed 45, 49 and 48 points in their three losses and gave up 60 in a victory against Toledo.

Overall, Northern Illinois ranks ninth in the MAC by allowing an average of 421.7 yards per game and 10th by giving up 32.0 points per game.

However, with the exception of that game against the Rockets, the Huskies have shown an improvement on the defensive side during their current seven-game winning streak. Besides that game, they have allowed just 21.0 points per game.

“I think they have been an improving defense and you see that throughout the course of the season,” Solich said.

Northern Illinois lost nine starters from the defensive side of the ball from last year’s team and went through an adjustment period this year, Doeren said.

Pat Schiller leads the Huskies with 103 tackles and also has 10 tackles for loss and six pass break-ups.

Along the defensive line, ends Sean Progar (10.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks) and Alan Baxter (10.5 TFL, 4 sacks) and tackle Ron Newcomb (11.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks) all have been effective, while in the backfield, Rashaan Melvin has six break-ups and two interceptions.

That defense will be challenged by an Ohio defense that ranks third in the MAC in yards (461.0) and fourth in points (31.9).

The Bobcats also are led by their dual-threat quarterback, who has accounted for 34 touchdowns and more than 3,500 yards. Sophomore Tyler Tettleton has completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,864 yards and 26 touchdowns with seven interceptions and has rushed for 576 yards and eight scores with an average of 4.4 yards per carry.

“I think you’ll see two of the more fun quarterbacks maybe to watch in college football on the same field,” Doeren said. “I think Tettleton and Harnish are just extremely talented, gifted guys that have great command and leadership, guys that create plays for themselves when things break down. It’s going to be fun to see those two guys compete and go head to head.”

Despite missing two full games and parts of others, Donte Harden has rushed for 866 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He also has caught 21 balls for 216 yards and another two scores.

LaVon Brazill, the school’s all-time leading receiver, has 58 receptions for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns. Riley Dunlop has made 36 grabs for 520 yards and six scores, while Donte Foster has made 27 catches for 320 yards and four scores.

“Whenever we get the ball, we just have to take advantage of it and put points on the board because obviously they’ve got a great offense,” Tettleton said. “It’s been fun watching them and really just keeping the ball in our hands, moving the chains and whenever we do get in the red zones, we’ve got to put the points on the board. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Both teams have strong special teams play. Ohio junior place kicker Matt Weller was named the Special Teams Player of the Year in the MAC, making 22 of 30 field goal attempts, including all 16 inside of 40 yards, with a long of 49. He also has been good on 43 of 44 extra points.

Northern Illinois’ Mathew Sims was the All-MAC first-team kicker and has made 18 of 23 field goal tries and 57 of 58 extra points. His long made field goal is 44 yards and three of his misses have been blocked.

Punter Ryan Neir has averaged just 35.4 yards per attempt, but has forced 30 fair catches and has had 13 of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He has netted 35.2 yards an attempt, as opponents have been able to return just seven points for a total of 11 yards.

Paul Hershey has averaged 40.0 yards per punt with 19 fair catches and 22 attempts downed inside the 20 for Ohio. He has netted an average of 36.9 yards an attempt.

Tommy Lee Lewis, who returned back-to-back kicks for touchdowns against Toledo, has averaged 27.2 yards an attempt. The team’s punt returners have averaged 7.3 yards per try.

Sharing kick return duties, Harden has averaged 27.2 yards per attempt, while Ryan Clark has averaged 22.4. Brazill has gained 6.5 yards per punt return.

“We’re going to have to play well in all three phases of the game,” Solich said. “We’re going to have to slow them down a little bit, in terms of their offense. We’re going to have to find a way to put points on the board and we’re going to have to play really well in special teams.”

Doeren said his team’s concentration will be on itself.

“I think championship games are about yourself, not the opponent,” he said. “You’ve got play within yourself. You can’t beat yourself. You’ve got to protection the ball. You’ve got to execute the scheme. It’s really just about doing what you do to the best of your ability and not giving your opponent a chance, because if you’re in a championship game, your opponent is a championship-caliber team. You can’t give them opportunities. You’ve got to make them earn them.”

Kickoff between the Bobcats and Huskies is set for 7 p.m. at Ford Field in Detroit.