After facing a team with the No. 1 rushing offense in the MAC last week, NIU now has the challenge of stopping the No. 1 rushing offense in the nation.

The Huskies travel to Annapolis, Md., Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff in their first ever game against the Navy Midshipmen.

With Saturday’s game unlike any other, head coach Joe Novak plans on taking his team on a tour of the Naval Academy Friday afternoon before a walk-through at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

“I have had the great fortune of passing through town the past several years and just taking the time to look at the academy, and I want the kids to see that,” Novak said. “I think that a big part about a trip like this is just the experience and the admiration we have for those kids.”

With a 6-4 record, Navy has already accepted a Poinsettia Bowl Game bid, the same bowl game the Huskies went to last year. The Midshipmen average 40 points per game and are coming off a record-setting 74-62 win over North Texas.

“This is the kind of offense that runs you out of coaching when you are trying to defend it, it’s that good,” Novak said. “The only teams that have beaten them are the teams that are able to top 35 to 40 points at the end of the game.”

Redshirt sophomore running back Justin Anderson is expected to play after sitting out most of the second half last week against Kent State. However, David Bryant, the only other available running back, is questionable for Saturday’s game.

If something happens to Anderson or Bryant, safeties Jeff Fontana and Justin Stewart, along with Matt Schiffler, are prepared to step in at tailback.

As quarterback, Ryan Morris is expected to get the start after Dan Nicholson suffered his second concussion of the season in the win over KSU.

“The likelihood Dan will start is about 10 percent,” Novak said. “This concussion isn’t as bad as the other one, but we figure we won’t have him this week.”

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