After the Huskies’ painful 18-17 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, NIU will try to regain its composure for the 1992 season Saturday night.

The Division I-AA Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State (2-1) will come to DeKalb for a 6:35 kickoff at Huskie Stadium.

Run by head coach James “Boots” Donnelly, MTSU is the second of three Division I-AA teams on the Huskies’ schedule but is nothing like the Illinois State Redbirds that came to town on Sept. 12.

The Blue Raiders were ranked No. 12 in I-AA preseason polls and are coming off of a 66-6 shalacking of Murray State University, which turns out to be their highest point output since 1927.

A Huskie defense that has given up an average of over 200 yards a game will have to toughen up for what may be their biggest challenge yet. MTSU is led by senior tailback Walter Dunson, who ranks in the Top 20 in rushing with 137.5 yards per game, along with three other I-AA categories (total offense, scoring and kickoff returns).

“Walter Dunson might be the best tailback we’ve seen this season,” said Sadler. “Whenever you play against someone like that, it’s really hard to defend speed. They have tremendous speed on their offensive side, and that’s a concern.”

One thing that NIU has going for them is that MTSU has yet to beat a I-A ballclub in five tries. Besides facing NIU once in the past, the Blue Raiders have gone up against the likes of Florida State, Cincinnati and Nebraska. However, Sadler and the Huskies are not about to take this team lightly.

“This is a good football team—I-AA or I-A,” said Sadler. “Middle Tennessee has moved the ball and made some big plays. They’re very good offensively, and they’ve got a balanced attack. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”