Despite No. 18 football (9-0, 5-0 MAC) blowing out its last two opponents, it won’t continue steamrolling whomever’s in its path.

The Huskies defeated their last two opponents — the Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-8, 0-5 MAC) and the Massachusetts Minutemen (1-8, 1-4 MAC) — by a combined score of 122-39. The Huskies’ offense looked outstanding the past two games, but NIU fans should not be fooled by those two performances because the Huskies played two of the worst teams in the MAC.

Two weeks ago the Huskies posted a then-season-high 59 points against an Eastern Michigan squad that is giving up a MAC-worst 45.6 points per game and a MAC-worst 523.6 yards per game. Last week they eclipsed their 59-point mark and put up a season-high 63 points against Massachusetts; however, the Minutemen are fourth-worst in the MAC in points allowed (32.7) and third-worst in the MAC in total defense (455.5).

NIU’s offense flattened two inferior teams, but it will have its toughest stretch of the season fast approaching. In its next two games it hosts the Ball State Cardinals (8-1, 5-0 MAC) and then squares off with the Toledo Rockets (6-3, 4-1 MAC).

Ball State has one of the stingiest scoring defenses in the MAC, surrendering only 23.6 points per game and giving up a total of 422.4 yards per game, which ranks seventh in the MAC. The other test for NIU is a Toledo team that is sixth in the MAC in scoring defense (26.6) and fourth in the MAC in total defense (394.4).

Unlike EMU and UMass, Ball State and Toledo aren’t pushovers; they are two good teams that have a semblance of a chance to slow down the NIU attack.

A lot of the offensive success is due to quarterback Jordan Lynch, but nothing in the offensive gameplan would be able to be executed effectively without great play from the offensive line. The Huskies were fortunate to have the same five starters start on the offensive line for the first nine games; however, left tackle Tyler Loos, part of an offensive line that gave up only five sacks this season, broke his left leg and dislocated his ankle on the team’s first drive of the second half last week.

In that game, the Huskies moved right tackle Ryan Brown over to left tackle and moved backup right tackle Matt Krempel to starting right tackle. While it is not known whether this change in position will stand going forward, a lot of the Huskies’ success will be tied to how well their offensive line holds up.

With hungry teams waiting for the Huskies, fans may see a slightly different-looking Huskies team, but they will also see what this team is made of.