Football (7-3, 5-1 MAC) will play its third consecutive weekday game as it goes head-to-head with conference rival Western Michigan on Wednesday.

The Huskies are on a five-game winning streak and average 45.2 points per-game, outscoring opponents by 19 points in the span. All five wins have come against conference opponents.

The Broncos were on a five-game winning streak of their own before falling to Ball State Wednesday 41-27. They’ve also gone 5-1 in the MAC and rank third in the MAC West behind Toledo and NIU.

“Western is obviously a good football team,” said head coach Rod Carey. “It’s going to be a battle. Year three in their system and you can tell the difference on film. They understand what they’re trying to do.”

Western’s last win against the Huskies came in 2008-09 when it downed NIU 29-26 in week two of the season. The Huskies have defeated the Broncos in six consecutive games since then, outscoring them 229-115.

NIU will return home for its final two games after playing three out of the last four games on the road. Carey said it’s good to be back home but he only focuses on one week at a time.

“As far as looking back, we have played 10 games so far and six of them have been on the road with a three-in-a-row stretch there,” Carey said. “Then road, home, road, home or however it’s sorted out here these last few weeks. It gets to be all a blur. It’s going to be definitely good to get home in front of our fans. ”

Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Graham helped lead a Huskies offense that scored 41 points last week in his first career start and went 15-24 for 190 yards. He threw two touchdowns and one pick, getting sacked just once in the game. NIU relied heavily on its running game, carrying the ball 67 times versus 24 pass attempts.

“I think he’s getting more comfortable as we go, but it’s certainly not like he has a ton of experience now under his belt,” Carey said. “He’s certainly still progressing there. I think … your biggest jump is always after your first game into your second when you see that much improvement. I think we’ll see some of that improvement with Ryan, too.

Sophomore cornerback Shawun Lurry tallied his eighth interception of the season last week, giving him the nation lead. The Huskies are also tied for second in the nation in interceptions with 17.

“It just comes from practicing hard every day and taking practice seriously and the D-Line putting pressure on the quarterback,” Lurry said. “When they do that, the quarterback just throws the ball up in the air, and I’ll be in the right area sometimes.”

Kickoff will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Huskie Stadium.