No. 21 Northern Illinois 48, Ball State 27: Jordan Lynch added to his stellar career with 468 total yards and four touchdowns, including the decisive 36-yard score with 5:49 left, as the undefeated Huskies held off the visiting Cardinals to take over first place in the Mid-American Conference.

With BCS hopeful Northern Illinois hoping to take advantage of the national spotlight, Lynch was 26-of-32 for 345 yards and two touchdowns and added 123 yards and two scores on the ground for the Huskies (10-0, 6-0 MAC), who extended two of the longest streaks in the nation - their home winning streak to 25 and their conference winning streak to 23. Da'Ron Brown caught eight passes for 209 yards, including the winning touchdown, while Tommylee Lewis chipped in 12 receptions for 71 yards.

Keith Wenning finished 35-of-49 for 324 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals (9-2, 6-1), who compiled 494 total yards of offense but allowed 569 to the Huskies. Willie Snead had 12 catches for 121 yards for Ball State, which had its seven-game winning streak snapped.

Ball State led 24-20 after a thrilling first half that featured eight consecutive scoring drives - four by the Huskies, each promptly followed by a score from the Cardinals. Wenning and Lynch each had one passing touchdown and one rushing score in the first half, while Ball State also received a 5-yard rushing TD from Jahwan Edwards (29 carries, 156 yards).

The teams were tied at 27 before Lynch guided the Huskies on a 94-yard touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter - a march in which the fifth-year senior had a 24-yard run and later escaped a heavy pass rush to find Matt Williams for 25 yards before launching the go-ahead TD pass to a wide-open Brown two plays later. The Cardinals then drove to midfield, but Edwards was stuffed on fourth-and-1 with less than four minutes left before Lynch put an exclamation point on the victory with a 16-yard rumble to the end zone with 1:26 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Northern Illinois defensive end Joe Windsor had a 49-yard interception return for a touchdown in the game's final minute. ... Snead's first-quarter TD catch was his 13th of the season, extending his own school record. ... The 27 points allowed by the Huskies were their most surrendered in any game since a 43-39 victory over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 21.