DeKALB | It’s homecoming week for Miami-Ohio — something the Redhawks have been longing for.

At 7:00 p.m. on ESPN, Sunday night will be the culmination of a week full of school spirit and pride. Fans will pile into Fred C. Yager Stadium screaming for their team in a battle that was suppose to be between two top MAC programs.

But the last few weeks, in fact the whole season, hasn’t been the year Redhawk fans expected.

With an 0-5 start, it will be a wonder if Yager Stadium will draw fans to cheer for the home team, or to watch a Heisman candidate.

Yet, NIU coach Joe Novak has no doubt Miami’s record isn’t the whole picture of his opponent.

“They lost a lot of good players,” Novak said “But I’ll go back, and if I remember right, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Ball State was 1-6 when we played them last year.”

Yes, the Cardinals were 1-6, but that didn’t make a difference when they entered Huskie Stadium last season.

BSU produced more than 500 yards of offense in a shocking victory; one that put doubt in the heads of thousands of NIU fans.

It appears as if time will repeat itself as NIU faces another bird which seems to have its wings clipped.

But Novak knows this is not always the case in the MAC.

“When you look at our league early in the year, you realize that we’re all playing BCS teams, and that those records can be awful deceiving,” the 11th-year coach said.

BSU came into DeKalb last season with three of its losses being delivered by Iowa, Auburn and Boston College.

Miami appears to have followed a similar formula, losing four of five games against Northwestern, Purdue, Syracuse and Cincinnati.

Miami’s competition has an overall record of 14-11 this season. But if you eliminate losses to top-25 teams from the AP poll, Miami’s competitors have a record of 14-7 — a .666 winning percentage.

Ben Gross is a NIU football beat reporter for the Northern Star.