Bowling Green wins MAC East over Buffalo, to face NIU for title

Published Nov. 29, 2013 10:15 p.m. ET

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Bowling Green will meet No. 18 Northern Illinois in the Mid-American Conference championship game after securing the MAC East division title Friday with a 24-7 win over Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Travis Greene rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown, Matt Johnson threw for one touchdown and passed for another, and the Falcons' defense held Buffalo to season lows in points and yards (236).

Bowling Green (9-3, 7-1 MAC) managed just seven first downs on its first seven possessions, but scored touchdowns on consecutive drives in the third quarter to take control of the game.

Shaun Joplin caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to put Bowling Green in front 10-7 early in the third quarter, and Green's 14-yard touchdown run capped a 93-yard drive and extended the Falcons' lead to 17-7 with 2:05 left in the quarter.

Johnson scored on a seven-yard run after completing a 62-yard pass to Joplin (six receptions, 149 yards) to set the final score with 8:18 left in the game.

Branden Oliver's 2-yard touchdown run put Buffalo (8-4, 6-2 MAC) in front 7-3 midway through the second quarter. The Bowling Green defense had not allowed a touchdown in its previous 12 quarters.

Bowling Green took an early lead on Tyler Tate's 40-yard field goal with five minutes left in the first quarter.

NOTES: Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack tied Jason Babin's FBS career of 75 tackles for loss with 2 1/2 against the Falcons. . Bowling Green last won a division title in 2003 when it was a member of the MAC West. . The Falcons have outscored opponents 128-14 in third quarters this season. . This was the first college football game played at Ralph Wilson Stadium since Oct. 27, 1979, when Syracuse hosted Miami while the Carrier Dome was being built.