At 3 p.m., Saturday, NIU will take on Bowling Green State University in the final of three straight home games. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Chicago (ESPN GamePlan/ESPN360.com) and can be heard on WSCR AM 670 (Chicago), WLBK AM 1360 (DeKalb). The last time the Huskies played the Falcons was in 2004 in DeKalb, with NIU winning the contest 34-17. To help gain an understanding of the Falcons, the Northern Star breaks down the team’s offense and defense.

Quarterback

So far on the season, Falcon quarterback Tyler Sheehan has thrown for 1,671 yards and 11 touchdowns. Sheehan ranks No. 6 in the MAC in passing efficiency and has thrown just five interceptions on the season.

Last season, Sheehan threw for 3,264 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, earning him third-team All-MAC honors. He also became the fourth Bowling Green quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season. Coming into the 2008 season, Sheehan ranked third on

the all-time Bowling Green passing yards list, and second all-time in passing attempts.

Last week against Miami (Ohio), Sheehan went 21-of-34 for 224 yards. The junior threw for two touchdowns and one interception.

Grade ­— B

Running Backs

Bowling Green has two tailbacks who get the load of the team’s carries.

Junior Chris Bullock has 59 carries on the season, while senior Anthony Turner has 56 carries.

Bullock had only two carries last week against Miami and didn’t have any against Akron two weeks ago due to an injury, but is listed as this week’s starter on the team’s depth chart.

So far on the season, Bullock has 267 yards rushing (4.5 per carry), while Turner has 279 yards (5 per carry). Each back has two rushing touchdowns.

Last season, Turner had 106 carries for 519 yards (4.9 per carry) and nine touchdowns, while Bullock had 64 carries for 281 yards (4.4 per carry).

Expect sophomore Willie Geter to see a few carries, as he has 28 for 131 yards so far this season.

The Falcons rank No. 12 in the MAC in rushing offense

Grade ­­— D+

Wide Receivers

Bowling Green is one of the many teams in the country that runs a spread offense.

The team starts four receivers – seniors Corey Partridge, Marques Parks, and Jermiah Kelly, and junior Freddie Barnes.

Partridge leads the Falcons in catches with 37 and has 385 receiving yards and four touchdowns, the most of any receiver.

Partridge ranks No. 10 in the MAC in catches per game with 5.14.

Barnes is second on the team in catches with 27 and has 218 receiving yards. He has also carried the ball 17 times this season for 70 yards.

Another receiver that isn’t listed as a starter but will be a factor for Bowling Green is junior Tyrone Pronty, who has 23 catches for 161 yards on the season.

Junior tight end Jimmy Scheidler has only 11 catches for 74 yards on the season, but leads the Falcons with six receiving touchdowns.

Grade — C+

Offensive Line

The Falcons certainly have experience on their offensive line, starting two seniors and two juniors.

Junior Brady Minturn and senior Jeff Fink are the team’s starting tackles, while junior Shane Steffy and senior Brandon Curtis are at the guard spots.

The only underclassman on the offensive line is freshman Ben Bojicic, the team’s starting center.

Bowling Green was hurt by the loss of Kory Lichtensteiger, last year’s starting center and a first-team All-MAC selection.

Lichtensteiger was a fourth round pick of the Denver Broncos in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Bowling Green is tied for No. 6 in the MAC with 13 sacks allowed.

Grade – C-