Northern Illinois star Sutton Smith proposes on field after winning MAC title

Friday night was a good one for Sutton Smith.

Not only did the Northern Illinois star help his team beat Buffalo in the MAC championship game, he also got engaged.

After registering 10 tackles and two sacks in NIU’s 30-29 come-from-behind victory, Smith proposed on the turf at Ford Field. She said yes!

Pretty great, right?

Smith has been one of the most productive players in college football in recent years. He put up 30 tackles for loss and 14 sacks last fall. After Friday night’s game, he is up to 24 tackles for loss and nation-leading 15 sacks ahead of NIU’s bowl game.

Smith is undersized compared to the average NFL defensive end, but it’d be a surprise if he didn’t somehow work his way onto a roster in the future. Whether that is after this season remains to be seen. A redshirt junior, Smith has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining after this season.

NIU overcame a 19-point second half deficit

Things were not looking good for NIU most of the night. Buffalo led 22-10 at halftime and expanded the lead to 29-10 at the 11:25 mark of the third quarter. From there, however, it was all Northern Illinois.

The Huskies cut UB’s lead to 29-24 with 12:51 left in the fourth and finally went ahead in the final minutes when Marcus Childers found D.J. Brown for a 35-yard score with 1:09 to go.

That proved to be the winning score, clinching the fifth MAC title in NIU history. The Huskies improved to 8-5 entering bowl play.

A rough patch in a special season for Buffalo

Buffalo entered the game with a 10-2 (7-1 MAC) record — the best in program history. Two of its offensive players — quarterback Tyree Jackson and receiver Anthony Johnson — have been getting NFL hype.
They lived up to the hype in the first half when they connected for two touchdowns. But NIU’s defense tightened up in the second half, and the Bulls managed only seven points in the final two quarters.

A win would have meant the second MAC title in school history. That is off the table, but Buffalo will still have a chance for the first bowl win in program history. The Bulls are 0-2 in their only other postseason appearances, losing in the 2008 International Bowl and the 2013 Idaho Potato Bowl.

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