When the NIU football team heads to Ames, Iowa to face Iowa State at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Huskie coach Joe Novak will take three things into account:

“One, they just got beat by Iowa, so they won’t be too happy,” Novak said. “Two, we beat them last year, and three, they’re playing at home. They’ll be looking for the win, and we’ll just have to match their intensity.”

The Cyclones, who lost 24-16 in DeKalb last year, shut out Northern Iowa 23-0 before losing 17-10 to No. 16 Iowa on Saturday.

“I have no question that we’re going to be playing a tougher team this year,” Novak said. “They almost beat us last year, but it didn’t quite get done for them.”

ISU won 54-10 in the only other meeting between the two teams in 1993. The Huskies are 4-8 all-time against Big 12 teams.

“I expect the game to be a lot like Maryland,” NIU wide receiver Dan Sheldon said. “I think they expected to win last year, but this time they won’t take us lightly. They’ll be ready for us, but it’ll be a great atmosphere to feed off of.”

The Cyclones’ offense is led by quarterbacks Bret Meyer and Austin Flynn, who have combined to average 173 yards per game.

Novak said one key to the game will be getting past the Cyclones’ “big, strong Big 12 defense.” Iowa State has allowed only 121 rushing yards in its first two games.

“From what I’ve seen on film, they make mistakes,” free safety Lionel Hickenbottom said. “We’ve made some mistakes, but those were a lot of mental mistakes – those will be corrected.”

The Huskies come off a 23-22 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday. Running back A.J. Harris ran for a career-high 139 yards in the victory.

Sophomore running back Garrett Wolfe added 45 rushing yards and 48 receiving yards with a touchdown.

“Garrett [Wolfe] is kind of a change-up,” Novak said. “You’ve got the power guy in A.J. [Harris] and then this quick little guy. He’s a talented kid and provides another play-maker for us.”

Sophomore quarterback Phil Horvath will start Saturday in place of Josh Haldi, who is recovering from a stress-fracture in his right foot.

Horvath threw 2-of-6 complete passes for seven yards in the first quarter of the SIU game and 7-of-16 in the first half against Maryland.

Horvath played better in the second half of both games, finishing 12-of-20 for 132 yards against Maryland and 11-of-22 for 148 yards against SIU.

“I guess we’ve got to tell him the first quarter is the third quarter,” Novak said.

Wide receivers Shatone Powers and Sam Hurd will return to the lineup after being suspended from Saturday’s game for missed study tables.

Iowa State will be NIU’s final non-conference opponent, a game Novak views as the last chance to work out some problems before MAC play begins.

“I was a little disappointed by the progress from game one to game two,” Novak said. “We’re still making too many dumb penalties. There are some areas I hope we see progress in this week.”