Home sweet home.

The phrase means something for the NIU football team, as they will play their second home game Saturday against Miami (Ohio) after playing four out of five games on the road.

“It’s a great feeling,” said NIU head coach Jerry Kill, referring to playing at Huskie Stadium. “It’s one of those things where you don’t have to worry about getting home at three or four in the morning and you don’t sleep after a game like [last week].”

NIU (2-3, 1-1 MAC) is coming off a 13-9 loss to Tennessee in Knoxville. Even though the Huskies came up short, Kill is proud of the way they played against an SEC opponent.

“I think that we certainly gained some respect,” Kill said. “I think from the opening play to the end, we played physical and we played hard.”

“We left it all out there on the field,” said wide receiver Landon Cox. “

NIU has started two different quarterbacks this season, and there’s a good chance it will use a third different starter Saturday against Miami (1-4, 0-1 MAC).

Senior quarterback Dan Nicholson had surgery on his right throwing shoulder in January and injured his left shoulder against Western Michigan earlier this season.

If Nicholson is unable to start, which seems likely, red-shirt freshman DeMarcus Grady will get the start. Grady, a mobile quarterback, has been used in certain situations this season and got some experience in the Tennessee game after Nicholson went down. So far on the season, Grady is 8 for 14 with 75-yards and no interceptions.

“[Last week] definitely helped me out a lot,” Grady said. “Just being poised, confidence, trusting my arm as well as my legs.”

The RedHawks are ranked No. 1 in the MAC in total defense (NIU is ranked No. 3), but struggle on the offensive side. Miami averages only 10 points per game; last in the MAC.

Like NIU, Miami is unsure of who its starting quarterback will be Saturday. Junior Daniel Raudabaugh began the season as the team’s starter but was benched at the beginning of the second half last week in favor of red-shirt freshman Clay Belton. Belton completed 14 of 22 passes for 147-yards in the second half, with one interception.

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.