Akron – Jeremy LaFrance, WR

Aside from 37 points in a loss to Gardner-Webb the Zips’ offense has scored a combined 33 points in its other three games.

Leading that offense is senior wide receiver Jeremy LaFrance, who enters Saturday with 17 catches for 232 yards and a three touchdowns. He leads the Akron (0-4) receivers all categories.

“Offensively, they have a big, tall quarterback and good receivers,” said NIU head coach Jerry Kill. “Pretty much in the MAC you’re going to play somebody that can beat you so you have to play well. We have to continue to just take care of what we can do.”

LaFrance has been held in check for the past two games, facing Kentucky and Indiana, combining for three catches and 69 yards. His only two catches against the Hoosiers, however, were touchdown grabs.

NIU – Tommy Davis, DB

With starting safety Tracy Wilson’s status for Saturday up in the air, Davis will be key in limiting Patrick Nicely and LaFrance. Nicely has a 93.70 passer rating with 508 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and a 44.1 completion percentage so far this season.

NIU (2-2) is coming off a game where it allowed Minnesota’s Adam Weber to throw for 373 yards but has not allowed any other quarterbacks to top the 300-yard mark with Wilson on the field.

North Dakota’s Jake Landry threw for 267 yards, Iowa State’s Austen Arnaud tossed the ball for 265 and Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase threw for just 70 yards against the Huskies.

Add to the fact that the Zips have played from behind the majority of this season, so Davis and the secondary could be seeing a lot of Nicely and LaFrance on Saturday.