DeKalb | After winning the first two games of the season in comeback fashion on the road, the football team is excited to make its home debut Saturday.

Not only will the Huskies (2-0) look to extend their undefeated season, they will also put their 21-game home winning streak on the line against the Eastern Illinois Panthers (3-0). The streak is the longest in the nation.

The Huskies will take the home field for the first time in front of their friends, peers and fans. In addition, many of the Huskies will have the opportunity to shine in front of their families, as this weekend is Fall Family Weekend.

“We’re excited,” said redshirt senior quarterback Jordan Lynch. “It’s our first home game, so we’re excited. A lot of our families will get to come to this game…. It’s our home stadium, our home fans, the longest winning streak in the nation, and, you know, we want to put on a show — that’s why they come out. They support us and everything, so we want to make sure they get their money’s worth.”

After being away two games, senior safety Jimmie Ward can’t wait to step foot on the home field in front of the home fans.

“Man, I missed it,” Ward said. “I know my team missed it. I know the coaches missed it. Man, I’m excited to play. I’m excited to come out here and practice. We finally get to play in front of our friends and family.”

Ward knows what his team is capable of and is excited to finally get to show the fans what the Huskies can do.

“Come out to the game because we’re undefeated, we’re on a winning streak at home,” Ward said. “They [the fans] should come out and support us, you know, we like the support — it makes us play harder and then play with passion…. I think it’s gonna be a lot of big plays.”

Redshirt junior running back Cameron Stingily will make his home debut as the Huskies’ starting running back. While he said he’s “treating it like a regular game,” he’s excited for the team to finally take the field in front of the home crowd

“The fans should come because our offense is exciting,” Stingily said. “We have T-Lee [Tommylee Lewis], Da’Ron [Brown] making catches, Lynch running, and AJ [Angelo Sebastiano] making Randy Moss-type catches. And our defense is real good. With run-stopping [defense], you’re gonna see big hits from Jimmie Ward, [Ken] Bishop and Jamaal Bass.”

NIU is raring to go in front of its home crowd and plans to put on a show for the fans, winning a football game in the process.

“They should expect to see just a fun team flying around,” Lynch said. “A fast team, a physical team that just loves to play the game.”