Saturday’s NIU home-opener will finally give Huskie fans a chance to see the “new” Huskies in person.

“New,” as in new head coach Charlie Sadler, new Multiple-I offense, new 5-2 defense and new quarterback Stacey McKinney.

As an added attraction, the “new” Huskies have a chance to tie an old record.

NIU has won 13 straight games at Huskie Stadium, one short of matching the school record established from 1962-65. The old record was set when NIU was in the “College Division” and the Huskies played at Glidden Field.

The team standing in NIU’s way Saturday has yet to record a victory this season. The Division I-AA Arkansas State Indians are 0-2 after losses to Colorado State (38-24) and Northwestern Louisiana (28-3).

The Huskies also enter the game winless after a 55-7 thumping at Fresno State.

“Our players have responded well in practice (to the Fresno loss),” Sadler said. “We’re determined to get our first victory.”

Despite the Indians’ unimpressive appearance, Sadler is wary of a potential upset.

It should be a highly competitive game. They’ve got good team speed and their quarterback (Roy) Johnson had over 100 yards passing against Northern last year,” Sadler said.

The senior signal-caller actually had only 96 yards through the air, but no one did much better for the Indians who were trounced 35-0 in last years’ match.

Sadler hopes NIU’s game plan against the Indians will liven the Huskies’ slumbering offense.

“We’d really like to get the offense clicking,” Sadler said. “We’re going to try to stick to the game plan we had against Fresno State. (But) we want to be a more representative team than we were against Fresno.”

The game plan against Fresno State might not have panned out, but the rookie coach expects that the motivation of a home-opener, and the chance to tie a record, will produce a better effort from his squad.

“For the players who have been here, (the record) should be important to them,” Sadler said. “They’re the guys who have been a part of that.”

Saturday’s game is also a landmark contest because it features the home-debut of NIU’s 18th head coach.

“I’m excited about it,” said Sadler, who downplayed any pressure he might be feeling. “I feel pressure in every game, whether it’s the home-opener or the last game of the year.”

Sadler said he will make few changes from last week’s lineup, although Nick Jones will start Saturday’s game at linebacker and injured nose guard Richard Kennedy will probably sit out the opener.

McKinney will again get the start at QB despite his 0-for-6 passing performance in his debut against Fresno State. McKinney did score NIU’s only 1991 TD in the game and rushed for 57 yards on 18 attempts.

The Huskies will be putting two other streaks on the line Saturday—NIU has won its last six night games and has come away with a victory in its last three home-openers.