The NIU football team heads to Arizona on Saturday to face the Wildcats, looking to avoid its first 0-3 start since 2020.
The Huskies (0-2) finished that COVID-19-shortened season 0-6. Their last 0-3 start in a full season was 2016.
The Wildcats (1-1) are coming off a 28-17 loss to No. 15 BYU after opening the year with a 35-7 win against Northern Arizona. The Huskies lost 40-0 at Iowa and 28-24 at home to Illinois State.
Kickoff is at 9:30 p.m. central time. The game is televised on TNT and streamed on HBO Max.
Here are three things to know about the Huskies heading into the game.
Tyger Dickens set to make first start at NIU
The Huskies have been outscored 34-0 in the first quarter this year. To work on the offensive half of that, interim head coach Rob Harley is making a change at quarterback.
Tyger Dickens will get the nod, although he played most of the game Saturday in the loss to the Redbirds, leading the comeback from 21 down. NIU led 24-21 in the fourth, but the defense gave up a late touchdown and Dickens threw an interception in the final two minutes, his first turnover of the game.
The junior transfer from Western Carolina was 22-of-27 for 193 yards with a touchdown and ...