Head football coach Joe Novak knows the significance of the Huskies’ final home game this Saturday.

“There is certainly a lot more on the line for this game,” Novak said. “Winning the West would be another step for our program.”

If the Huskies win Saturday, they can clinch a share of the West Division Championship. If Toledo loses to Eastern Michigan, NIU will host the Mid-American Conference Championship game November 30th.

A conference title for NIU would be the first for the Huskies since Bill Mallory guided the team to an 8-1 Mid-American Conference record and a bid in the California Bowl in 1983.

Saturday’s game also has special significance for the 12 senior Huskies who will play their last game at Huskie Stadium.

Scott Battas, Eric Cheeseman, Trent Clemen, Chris Finlen, Darrell Hill, Ryan Laurenti, Chris Maholy, John Pedersen, Jon Peters, Joey Reed, Alan Rood and Rashad Walker will make their final appearance in front of the home crowd.

“Leadership-wise, this is one of the best groups I’ve been around,” Novak said of the graduating class. “Having a shot at sharing the division title is a tribute to these seniors.”

Saturday’s game also provides an interesting matchup at the running back position.

Ball State’s Marcus Merriweather and NIU’s Thomas Hammock both rank in the top-25 nationally in rushing yards, and both backs are on pace for back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Merriweather and Hammock enter Saturday’s contest as the second and fourth leading rushers in the MAC.

Both backs are from Ft. Wayne, Ind., where the two players squared off three times in high school.

Merriweather’s Snider High School topped Hammock’s Bishop Luers squad in all three meetings.

“They had one of the top teams in the state,” Hammock said. “I’ll try my best to outdo him because I want bragging rights.”

On Saturday, Hammock and the Huskies will go for their third straight win against Ball State. Last season’s 43-14 win for the Huskies was the first win in Muncie since 1983. The win also signified the second in a row against the Cardinals for the first time since 1970.

The Huskies scored all 41 of their points before the Cardinals reached the end zone.

In the first quarter, freshman Akil Grant blocked a Reggie Hodges’ punt that led to seven points for the Huskies.

In the third quarter, backup quarterback Dan Urban hooked up with receiver Justin McCareins for a 99-yard pass that set an NCAA record.

This year’s contest will have more on the line than last year’s game, when both teams took 1-2 records into Ball State Stadium.

Ball State will be playing for its sixth conference title in 12 years under head coach Bill Lynch. Lynch and his staff have been involved in many of the big games at Ball State including a Las Vegas Bowl appearance in 1996.

“This win would do a lot for the school,” Hammock said. “It would help a lot with recruiting. If people know that we are on the rise, they will want to come here.”