Jordan Lynch
Northern Illinois University quarterback Jordan Lynch (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel) earned his second consecutive Mid-American Conference honor when he was named the MAC West Co-Offensive Player of the Week following NIU’s 30-23 victory over Kansas, the league office announced Monday.
Lynch, Central Michigan quarterback Ryan Radcliff and Ball State signal caller Keith Wenning shared the weekly honor after each led his team to a victory over a BCS automatic qualifying league opponent.
Lynch followed up last week’s performance at Army, which earned him MAC West Offensive Player of the Week honors, by leading Northern Illinois to 17 fourth-quarter points in the fourth quarter as the Huskies came back from a 23-13 deficit to defeat Kansas.
He threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns on 25-of-35 passing and added 134 yards on the ground on 22 rushing attempts. In just his fourth career start, Lynch surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in both passing (1,024) and rushing (1,046).
The Chicago native’s 65-yard touchdown pass to Martel Moore on a fake run/pass play early in the fourth quarter sparked the Huskie comeback. Then, with NIU facing third and one from the Kansas 26 on the game-winning touchdown drive, Lynch ran for 14 yards on a quarterback sneak, leading to the NIU score.
This is the fourth-straight MAC player of the week honor for Northern Illinois in 2012, and the sixth straight dating back to the final two regular season games of 2011. Defensive end Sean Progar was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week following the Huskies’ season opener against Iowa, while Jimmie Ward was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week after NIU’s victory over UT-Martin.
Lynch and the Huskies open conference play Saturday, Sept. 29, when NIU welcomes Central Michigan to Huskie Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
For more information on NIU football and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
