The Wisconsin Badgers have played their share of memorable football games over the years against teams like Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. Two of the more memorable contests waged by the Badgers in the last 15 years have taken place against none other than Northern Illinois.

The first such match-up, Sept. 17, 1988, was specifically memorable for NIU fans. The Huskies defeated the Badgers 19-17 in front of a stunned crowd at Camp Randall, thus constituting NIU’s first-ever victory over a Big Ten football team. That’s major news in DeKalb, Illinois.

The Huskies nearly did it again Sept. 26, 1992, in Madison. With 2:09 remaining in that game, Brent Moss scored on an 11-yard run to pull UW to within 17-16

With no overtime rules in effect at the time and the Badgers wanting to win, not tie, against a non-conference opponent, Barry Alvarez decided to go for two. Darrell

Bevell skirted around the right side and dove into the end zone for what appeared to be a clean win for the Badgers. Later replays showed, however, that Bevell’s knee had in fact touched down before he got in the end zone. For UW, it became just another win. For

NIU, the game went down in history as the Great Train Robbery.

“It was a hard-fought ballgame,” said UW defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove.

“They came out to play that day and did a nice job, so we’re expecting their best shot when they come in here on Saturday.”

The current NIU team, a member of the Mid-American Conference, arrives for Saturday’s game with a record of 1-1. Last weekend the team was downed by South Florida 37-6, but the members proved they could knock off a major conference team by beating Wake Forest 42-41 in overtime in a wild season opener.

NIU head coach Joe Novak refers to his team as a “running team,” much like the Badgers since the Barry Alvarez era began. Senior running back Thomas Hammock pounded the ball for 172 yards in the win over Wake Forest, a figure that almost guarantees a Huskie win.

“(Northern Illinois’ offense) is very similar to ours,” said Cosgrove. “They want to be able to have success running the football and let their throwing game complement that. Our team has to do a better job tackling.”

Unfortunately for NIU, Hammock, perhaps the best unknown back in major college football, missed the South Florida game and is out indefinitely with a heart-related condition. The team will have to turn to junior Michael “The Burner” Turner to carry the rushing load. Turner is known for his big play ability, and he’ll look to break a few open on Saturday.

While NIU has adopted the ground philosophy, their passing game has been fairly explosive as well, suggesting more of a balanced offense than expected.

Sophomore quarterback Josh Haldi has passed for a solid 349 yards and two touchdowns. His main target has been sophomore Dan Sheldon, who has gained 153 yards and is averaging 21.9 yards per catch.

The Badgers can benefit from playing a team with power running and an efficient passing attack, two things they will often face during Big Ten play.

Offensively, the Badgers look to improve on a ground game that is garnering only 3.7 yards per rushing attempt.

Anthony Davis has yet to pick up full stride this season, something he will have an opportunity to do against an NIU defense that has allowed 460 net rushing yards in two games.

Junior linebacker Nick Duffy and junior strong safety Akil Grant lead the Huskies in tackles, with 24 and 23, respectively.

One thing NIU has that the Badgers lack is a reliable kicking game. Junior place kicker Steve Azar, a candidate for the Lou Groza Award, is widely regarded as NIU’s most valuable player. He nailed a 51-yarder just before halftime and a 46-yarder to send the game to overtime in the Wake Forest game.

“He is a fine kicker,” said Cosgrove. “Whatever the situation is, we’re going to call our defensive core in that situation. Naturally, because of (Azar’s) leg strength and accuracy, you want to keep them out of field goal range, but that isn’t going to change the way we’re going to call the game.”

Whatever the outcome of the game, the Badgers know that NIU is going to come to Camp Randall ready to play. If anybody is expecting this game to be a simple tune-up for Big Ten play, just remember what happened in 1988 and 1992.