At one point this season the NIU football team had the leading rusher in the nation.

However, junior running back Garrett Wolfe suffered a knee injury Oct. 5 against Eastern Michigan, leaving senior Adrian Davis to carry the load.

Davis ran for 252 yards against Kent State, but since then NIU has run for a combined 72 yards as a team in its last two games.

Tuesday night from his hotel room in Toledo, Ohio Wolfe took a few minutes to discuss the status of his injury, today’s game and the Huskies’ struggling rushing attack.

Northern Star: Has coach Novak told you if you’re going to play?

Garrett Wolfe: Coach hasn’t said much to me. We’ve talked a few times and he’s asked me how my leg felt. He knows how bad I want to play, and it’s going to come down to how good I feel at game time.

NS: This is a must-win game for you guys. What would keep you from playing this game?

GW: This may be a situation where if I’m not ready I could be doing more harm than good to myself. I have to make this decision with my mind and not my heart because your heart can be misleading.

NS: After missing last year’s game against Toledo, is there extra incentive for you to be there for the team tomorrow?

GW: I felt like I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and I had a hand in costing us the MAC Championship. It’d be great to play tomorrow and help us take another step toward that.

NS: Why has the running game been suffering lately?

GW: We’ve been missing assignments and haven’t been executing. When we don’t do the little things, it hurts the running game.

NS: To beat Toledo, does the team really have to run effectively?

GW: When you run the ball down their throat it takes the heart out of them. It hurts them mentally and physically.