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FACTS & STATS: Site: Ross-Ade Stadium (62,500) -- West Lafayette, Indiana. Television: BTN. Home Record: NIU 1-0, Purdue 1-0. Away Record: NIU 0-1, Purdue 0-1. Neutral Record: NIU 0-0, Purdue 0-0. Conference Record: NIU 0-0, Purdue 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: Purdue and Northern Illinois will collide for the first-time ever on the football field this Saturday afternoon when the Boilermakers host the Huskies at Ross-Ade Stadium.

The Huskies are coming off their first victory of the season, clobbering Western Illinois, 41-7. It was a much needed victory for NIU, which opened the new campaign with a tough, 28-20 setback to Wisconsin on the road. The Huskies have had plenty of problems against teams from the Big Ten, posting an atrocious 1-33-1 ledger against opponents from that conference.

As for the Boilermakers they began the 2009 campaign with a convincing, 52-31 decision over Toledo, but the team could not ride the momentum into its matchup with Oregon last Saturday. Against the Ducks, the Boilermakers fought hard, but fell just short against the Pac-10 opponent by a 38-36 margin.

Purdue has enjoyed plenty of success against teams currently in the MAC and hold a strong 37-7-1 ledger against those squads.

The Huskies used a tough ground attack in their victory on Saturday, gashing Western Illinois for 244 yards on 6.0 yards per attempt. Northern Illinois finished with a respectable 395 total yards, and that led to the 41-point performance. Me'co Brown led the way in the win with 117 yards and one touchdown on just 14 carries, while Justin Anderson added 42 yards. Chad Spann contributed just 37 yards against Western Illinois, but still found the end zone twice. Brown and Spann have been a dangerous tandem to open the year, as Brown has churned out 181 yards on 7.2 yards per carry, while Spann has been solid in short yardage situations, currently leading the team with four scores. Chandler Harnish did not have much work on Saturday, but the signal caller still put forth a strong effort, completing 10-of-14 attempts for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Although Northern Illinois is just 1-1 on the year, the team has been solid offensively, averaging 30.5 ppg.

After allowing over 400 yards in a loss to Wisconsin, the Huskies put forth a much better showing in their victory over Western Illinois, limiting the opposition to just 223 yards, including just 82 rushing yards on 2.8 ypc. The defense's success against the run was a big surprise, especially after allowing Wisconsin to rumble for 152 yards and three scores in the opener. The Huskies also made plenty of big plays in the win over Western Illinois, forcing two turnovers, while collecting four sacks. Although it is early in the season NIU has made it a point to use pressure and force big plays and thus far the defense has recorded four sacks, while collecting five turnovers. Tracy Wilson, who recorded 10 tackles in the win over Western Illinois, is currently leading the Huskies with 21 stops.

Although Purdue was defeated by Oregon on Saturday, the Boilermakers still had plenty of success offensively, racking up 451 total yards, including 170 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Purdue has been devastating with its ground game thus far, averaging a whopping 242.5 rushing yards over the first two games, while scoring seven TDs on the ground. Ralph Bolden has been the main source of production for the Boilermakers as the tailback has rushed for 357 yards and four scores on an impressive 7.1 yards per tote. In the loss to Oregon, Bolden did all he could to help Purdue grab a win, as the sophomore rumbled for 123 yards and two scores. As for the passing attack, quarterback Joey Elliott had some consistency issues against Oregon, as the signal caller completed just 24-of-41 passes for 266 yards and one score, but he also tossed two interceptions in the setback. On the season Elliott has completed a solid 59.4 percent of his throws, but has just four TDs against five interceptions.

Unfortunately what has plagued the Boilermakers thus far has been their poor defensive play, as Purdue is surrendering 34.5 ppg and 424.5 total ypg. Opponents have torched this defense through the air, averaging 293.0 yards per contest, but the team's issues against the pass were not the reason for the loss Saturday. Instead it was Purdue's inability to stop Oregon's ground attack, as the Boilermakers allowed the Ducks to churn out 193 yards and three scores on 4.7 yards per tote. Purdue made plenty of big plays in the loss, forcing two turnovers, while grabbing three sacks. However, the unit struggled when deep in its own zone, allowing Oregon to convert on all four of its red zone chances. Jason Werner had a strong showing in the loss, collecting six tackles, three TFLs, one sack and a forced fumble.

The Boilermakers have shown cracks defensively, but the team has too much firepower and should be able to score plenty of points at home en route to a victory over Northern Illinois.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Purdue 38, Northern Illinois 21