For possibly the last time in their career, NIU football players like Tim McCarthy, Larry English, Marcus Perez and 17 other seniors will adorn a Huskie jersey.

NIU will finish its regular season at 6 p.m. tonight as it hosts Navy. The game will be televised on ESPN Classic and broadcast on radio by 670 AM and 1360 AM.

The Huskies (6-5) are looking for their seventh win of the season. A win will greatly increase NIU’s chances of a post-season.

This is because NCAA rules require that a team with a winning record be selected before a team with a .500 record if there are any at-large bids for a bowl game.

Beating Navy (6-4), however, will be no easy task for NIU. So far this season, the Huskies have not beat a team with a winning record.

The last time the Huskies beat a team with a record above .500 was on Nov. 17, 2006, when they defeated Central Michigan 31-10.

NIU may also have to deal with some hostile fans. The Midshipmen are bringing approximately 45 fan buses to DeKalb.

The Huskies are hoping to negate this fact and fill the stadium with NIU fans; $1 tickets are offered to fans that are not students.

Students will still be able to get into the game for free as they have for the five previous home games.

“I think it’s a huge game for us and one of the bigger games that have been played here for a while. We just need a big crowd,” said NIU head coach Jerry Kill. “To have the young people who represent our country and protect our country, and they’re coming here to play I think is a special thing, especially during Thanksgiving.”

The Huskies will have one final challenge, as for the first time this season they will face the triple option offense. Under this offensive scheme, the Midshipmen have produced the second best rushing offense in the nation, as they average 295 yards per game on the ground.

“We had two good full pad practices to have looks to see what it’s going to be like,” English said of the defense. “It’s going to come down to us playing our keys and playing with discipline.”

But to be successful, NIU’s offense will also have to beat a Navy defense which is seventh in the country in turnover margin. The Midshipmen are averaging positive 1.2 turnovers per game.

When NIU has won the turnover margin, it is 4-1 this season. When the Huskies, however, lose or tie the turnover margin during a contest, they are 2-4 this year.

“Don’t turn the ball over,” Kill said in reference to what his offense must do to be successful. “We have to score when we have the ball and we can’t turn the ball over.”