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FACTS & STATS: Site: Memorial Stadium (50,250) -- Lawrence, Kansas. Television: Fox College Sports. Home Record: Northern Illinois 1-0, Kansas 1-0. Away Record: Northern Illinois 0-0, Kansas 0-0. Neutral Record: Northern Illinois 0-0, Kansas 0-0. Conference Record: Northern Illinois 0-0, Kansas 0-0. Series Record: Northern Illinois leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: Northern Illinois will open its 2011 road schedule this weekend against Kansas in non-conference action.

Northern Illinois gave head coach Dave Doeren his first-ever win at the school last weekend in a 49-26 drubbing of Army, which also marked the first season opening win since 2003 for the Huskies. It was a historical win in many regards, as Doeren became the first Northern Illinois coach to win his debut since 1985, and the school beat a service academy for the first time in its history.

Kansas was looking for redemption on opening day after last season's disastrous 6-3 upset loss to North Dakota State in the first game of the season. The Jayhawks played with more attitude in this season's opener, walloping McNeese State 42-24 in a game that featured breakout performances from a number of different young players for the Jayhawks. Four different players made their debuts starting on defense, while a sophomore quarterback and three underclassmen running backs all shined for head coach Turner Gill,

Northern Illinois owns a 1-0 lead in the all-time series against the Jayhawks, with that win coming in 1983.

The Northern Illinois offense was predicted to be one of the best in the MAC heading into the 2011 schedule, and that assertion seemed correct for at least the opener. The Huskies compiled 509 yards of total offense, and were led by quarterback Chandler Harnish's five passing touchdowns. Harnish, who also rushed for 80 yards and another score, was named the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week after the opening weekend. Harnish's six touchdowns gave him 59 for his career, and his 195 yards passing was spread to seven different receivers. Martel Moore led the bunch with four catches for 46 yards and a score, while the run game was led by Jasmin Hopkins, who rushed for 138 yards on 14 carries, giving him 9.9 yards per rush and cementing a multi-dimensional offense that overwhelmed Army. Northern Illinois scored 42 unanswered points after only leading 7-6 late in the first quarter. Much of the explosion was due to Harnish's ability to move the chains, as Northern Illinois finished 11- of-13 on third down.

While the Huskies' defense was overshadowed at times by the offense, Northern Illinois followed a bend-but-don't break path to the win over the run-minded Knights. Army amassed 303 yards on 63 rushing attempts, and the Huskies proved to be opportunistic, forcing two fumbles and intercepting one of Army's 16 pass attempts. Sophomore Jimmie Ward had a breakout game of sorts, blocking a punt in the first quarter that was returned for a touchdown by Courtney Stephen in the first quarter. Ward also recorded the first sack of his career.

Kansas sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb had an accurate day against McNeese State, and his three passing touchdowns tied a career high. But he only completed 7-of-10 passes, evidence that Gill wants to establish a smash-mouth brand of football in Lawrence in 2011. The Jayhawks rushed 55 times for 301 yards, the most rushing attempts the team has had in a game since 2002, and the most rushing yards in a game since 2008. Sophomore James Sims rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown, while freshmen Tony Pierson and Darrian Miller combined for 136 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Jayhawks.

The Jayhawk defense welcomed four new starters to the mix against McNeese State, who moved the ball well against Kansas (22 first downs) and gained 420 yards of total offense. The positives for the Jayhawks are that they shut down the Cowboys on the ground (95 yards rushing) and stopped McNeese State from scoring on two red zone possessions. Kansas also had strong individual performances from senior linebacker Steven Johnson and junior defensive end Toben Opurum, who collected 15 and 11 tackles respectively, both good for career highs. Junior safety Bradley McDougald added eight stops.

Matchup questions loom for the Kansas defense against the prolific attack of Northern Illinois, which proved last week against Army that it can be highly productive through the air and on the ground behind Harnish and Hopkins.

On the other side of the ball, Kansas will likely pound it the way Army did a week ago against the Huskies, who struggled with the Knights' scheme. Kansas will likely have to rely more on Webb to throw in order to keep up with the up-tempo pace of the game Northern Illinois will establish. If that is the case, the Huskies will carry the edge.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Northern Illinois 34, Kansas 24