There’s good news and bad news for the NIU football team (1-4) regarding its 1991 Homecoming match Saturday (1:05 p.m.).

The bad news is the Huskies have been pounded recently—outscored 95-10 in their last two games and their opponent, Western Michigan, is 4-2 and is coming off a 25-16 victory at Ball State.

The good news for the Huskies is their Homecoming game is at home—sometimes you have to take a positive wherever you can find one.

NIU had won 14-straight Huskie Stadium games prior to Saturday’s 37-3 loss to Louisiana Tech. The loss prevented NIU from setting a school record for most consecutive home wins.

The Huskies’ opponent Saturday is a program with a long association with NIU.

Western Michigan is still a member of NIU’s former conference, the Mid-American (MAC). This year’s version of the Broncos are 4-2, 3-1 in the MAC.

In its victory over Ball State, Andre Wallace rushed for 118 yards on 40 attempts and the Broncos’ defense held Ball State to 58 net rushing yards.

In the all-time series between the schools, Western Michigan holds a 14-6 series lead. The Huskies last met WM in 1988 with NIU capturing a 15-7 victory. The Huskies have won the last five meetings.

Western Michigan returns 37 of 49 letterman from 1990’s 7-4 squad which finished third in the MAC. The Broncos return four All-MAC players. Running back Corey Sylve finished the ‘90 campaign with 840 yards with a 5.7 average per attempt.

Also earning All-MAC honors were junior quarterback Brad Tayles, junior tackle Paul Hutchins and senior punter Todd Rawsthorne.

The Broncos feature Sylve in their one-back offense and run a 4-3 defensive scheme. Senior tackles Mark Nabozny (6-3, 255) and Paul Johnson (6-3, 244) anchor the defensive line.

The Huskies enter the game smarting from consecutive thumpings. After recovering from a 58-7 hammering at Top 10 Iowa two weeks ago, the Huskies returned home with a record-tying 14-game home winning streak.

Louisiana Tech running back Jason Davis led the Bulldogs with 148 yards and two touchdowns in their 37-3 streak-ending win.

But Homecoming has proven to be a good day for the Huskies recently.

In last year’s Homecoming match, Fresno State entered Huskie Stadium unbeaten and ranked 24th nationally. The Huskies responded by pounding Fresno State 73-18 in a record-setting blow out.

NIU quarterback Stacey Robinson set several school and NCAA records with his 308 rushing yards and six different Huskies put points on the board in the massacre.

Overall, NIU has a 49-24-10 record in Homecoming games, including a 15-9-2 mark at Huskie Stadium. The Huskies have a modest two-game winning streak in Homecoming matches.