The term “must-win game” is thrown around a lot.

But, realistically, NIU (5-5, 4-3 MAC) must win this game against Kent State if it wants to stay in contention for a bowl game. Should they lose, the Huskies most likely will stay home this bowl season.

“Our kids have been pretty much the same all year. I think we know where we’re at, and we know we’ve got to get better,” said NIU head coach Jerry Kill. “We just went back to work this week, tried to correct the things we didn’t do early in the game against Central. We’re still, in our minds, playing for a lot right now, so I think we’ll be very motivated.”

Kent State (3-7, 2-4) is led by its offense, with quarterback Julian Edelman and running back Eugene Jarvis. The running back averages 4.9 yards per carry, and has run for 636 yards in seven games this season.

Last season, Jarvis ran for a school record 1,669 yards and was named first team All-MAC.

Edelman has struggled at times through the air, throwing 11 interceptions on the season, but is a threat on the ground. The quarterback currently leads Kent State in rushing with 1,095 yards. The senior also has 13 touchdowns on the ground.

“They’ve got a very, very good offensive team. It all starts with their quarterback, and it’s one of those things where it’s like chasing a rabbit all day – it‘s just hard to catch and he‘s very athletic,” Kill said. “Jarvis is an excellent tailback. I think they’re healthy and playing very well right now.”

The Golden Flashes defense has not been as successful, giving up at least 30 points in its last three contests. It has, however, forced a combined 12 turnovers in that span.

“We’re not playing as well on defense as we would like to,” said Doug Martin, Kent State’s head coach. “Although the thing I think our defense is doing that we didn’t do at the beginning of the year is we’re causing turnovers.”

Even though the Huskies fell short in their comeback attempt against Central Michigan last week, Kill said the team can still use momentum from that game.

“I talked about it last night after practice,” Kill said. “We want to take that momentum that we had in the second half and carry it right on into the next game, and that’s what we’re going to try to do and, hopefully, we’ll be able to do that.”