NIU football will face its first road MAC contest Saturday as it heads to Muncie, Ind., to square off with Ball State.

The Cardinals (3-2, 1-1 MAC) will be looking to rebound from a close MAC loss against Kent State, while NIU (4-1, 1-0 MAC) will aim to stay hot and continue its current four-game winning streak.

NIU coach Dave Doeren said the physicality of the Cardinal squad is the biggest factor of their success.

“I think they were the best team in the West last year that we played,” Doeren said in a press conference. “I thought they were really physical. Their offense is good. I’m not going to say it’s scary. I mean, it’s a challenge and I look forward to it. You know, I think any time you are playing a team that is playing well on either side of the football it raises the hair on the back of your neck a little bit more and you lock it in.”

The physicality of Ball State that Doeren references resulted in a closely fought battle last season, with NIU coming out on top, 41-38.

Since then, both NIU and Ball State have made changes and have returned more starters. Doeren believes Ball State has improved offensively with its returning starters.

“They are better this year on offense, for sure,” Doeren said in a press conference. “It’s hard to tell defensively. Again, they have played three BCS teams. Some of them were, skill-wise, really good. Is it a fair evaluation? I don’t know.”

The Huskies will also look to continue their MAC winning streak, which stands at nine games dating back to last season. If NIU wants to continue its winning ways, they will need to account for two players specifically: junior quarterback Keith Wenning and sophomore Willie Snead,

“I think it’s not just what Wenning is doing with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions, but the receivers, Sneed and Smith, are great playmakers,” Doeren said in a press conference. “The two tailbacks, both averaging 5.7 yards per carry, are very different from each other, but both are very productive. It’s a balanced offense with four seniors on the offensive line. That’s the main reason I think they’re playing so well.”