NIU’s No.7 rushing offense in the nation will face the nation’s No. 7 rushing defense when the Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels visit Huskie Stadium Saturday at 1:05 p.m.

The Huskies average 311 yards per game on the ground, including 118.2 ypg from the nation’s No. 11 rusher, quarterback Stacey Robinson. On the other hand, the Rebel defense has held its opponents to only 82.8 ypg. In UNLV’s last game, the Pacific offense managed to gain only 49 yards on the ground.

The 4-2 Huskies are coming of a 42-21 loss to Louisiana Tech last Saturday and are looking to repeat as winners against the Rebels, who NIU defeated 34-31 in the last game of the 1987 season.

“It’s not going to be like it was last week,” linebacker Nick Jones said. “(By) letting people score 42 points on us, the defense has something to prove to the people who don’t think we’re tough. We’re going to show them we are a tough defense.

UNLV increased its record to 3-2 two weeks ago with a 30-7 victory over Pacific. In their first game of the season, the Rebels were squashed by Houston 69-0. The next week, they squeaked by Weber State 16-12 and followed that with a 26-14 win over New Mexico State. In their first road game of the season, the Rebels were defeated by Cal State-Fullerton 34-20.

The Rebels are led by fullback Darin Brightmon, who has rushed for 580 yards this season and is ranked 13th in the nation. UNLV is ranked No. 12 in the nation in team rushing, averaging 240.4 ypg.

“I kind of like that they’re going to rush,” linebacker Ron Delisi said. “We haven’t had a rushing team here in a long time. Everybody’s been passing the ball. All we have to do is line ‘em up, play ball and we’ll be all right.”

UNLV coach Wayne Nunnely has one thing in common with NIU coach Jerry Pettibone in that they both earned their first wins against a Big Ten team by defeating Wisconsin. Pettibone’s Huskies beat the Badgers 19-17 during the 1988 campaign, while Nunnely’s Rebels defeated them 17-7 in 1986.

Some unfortunate news for the Huskies is that halfback Brett Schroeder, who recently turned in an 80-yard touchdown run against Southern Illinois, has a broken right clavicle and is out for the year. Schroeder carried the ball 28 times for 278 yards, an average of 9.5 ypc, and two touchdowns before going down.

“They have a lot of talent_fast receivers, big backs, short, powerful linemen,” cornerback Brett Tucker said. “They’re a smart team. They’ve looked at the films and I think they’ll pass more than usual. They’re going to want to establish a running game and then go to the pass.”

Defensive line coach Sheldon Herd feels they will stay with the run.

“People have been throwing the ball against us,” Herd said. “We’re looking forward to playing some good old-fashioned football. I think they’ll run the ball. You have to stick to your philosophy and their philosophy is run the ball first, throw the ball second.”

Pettibone hopes to get things back in working order.

“We’ve got to get things back on track,” Pettibone said. “This will be a real challenge for our offense—to go against a defense in the nation’s Top 10 against the run.”

Once again, a large turnout is expected for the game which is being played on Parent’s Day. The last two home games for NIU featured crowds in excess of 20,000.