A three-game winning streak will be put on the line this Saturday when the NIU football squad takes the field at the Rubber Bowl against Akron (3-5-1).

The Huskies (5-3) will also be looking to snap a three-game losing streak on the road that has accounted for all of the Huskies’ losses this fall.

A streak that the coaching staff feels has nothing to do with being on the road.

“I don’t attribute losing on the road to anything but not playing very well,” quarterback coach Jay Schaake said. “I don’t think there’s anything to it. We prepare the same way for a road game as we do for a home game. We have a high confidence level when we play at home because of the amount of success we’ve had here.”

“I don’t think it’s a problem for us to play on the road, because we’ve played well on the road in the past,” head coach Jerry Pettibone said. “The games we’ve played on the road this year have been against two excellent teams, Nebraska and Toledo. We just did not play well against Northwestern. Whether that had anything to do with being on the road or not, I don’t think so. I think it was one of those games where we couldn’t get anything going.”

The Huskies have an advantage in that they had an open date last week, which has given them the opportunity to recover from some nagging mid-season injuries.

“A week off this late in the season is great because it gives all the injuries a chance to heal,” defensive lineman Cary Caliendo said. “It gives us a chance to rest and recover from eight weeks of straight hitting.”

“It (the off-week) worked out to be a real plus for us this year, because of the injury situation,” Pettibone said. “Players like Kevin Cassidy, Nick Jones, Mike Strasser and Tom Osteen, who wouldn’t have been able to play last week, will be able to play this week. Eric White (strained back) and Raymond Patterson (shoulder) are still out and won’t make the trip, but those other players are back and that will be a plus for us.”

“The week off has given me a chance to get my knee going,” tri-captain free safety Kevin Cassidy said. “It’s close (to 100 percent), and it’s definitely playable. I’ll wear a knee brace and it should be able to last the game and then by next week it’ll be 100 percent.”

Akron’s quarterback situation has been a popular topic this week. The Zips (3-5-1) lost their starting quarterback, Jeff Sweitzer, for the season two weeks ago against Florida, and his replacement, Mark Friday, went out with an injury last week against Rutgers. That forces them to start a true freshman, Wayne Wade, if Friday is not able to return.

“They’re probably going to come out and run the ball,” linebacker Steve Henriksen said. “We’re going to stop the run and then they’ll have to pass the ball. We’re going to taunt him and play with his mind and try to confuse him.