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FACTS & STATS: Site: UB Stadium (29,013) -- Buffalo, New York. Television: ESPN Game Plan, ESPN3.com. Home Record: NIU 4-1, Buffalo 2-1. Away Record: NIU 0-2, Buffalo 0-4. Neutral Record: NIU 0-0, Buffalo 0-0. Conference Record: NIU 2-1, Buffalo 1-2. Series Record: Northern Illinois leads, 6-1.

GAME NOTES: It was a rather inconsistent start to the year for Northern Illinois, but the Huskies seem to finally be on the right track as they look to stay the course when they take on the Buffalo Bulls in a Mid-American Conference tussle at UB Stadium.

The defense has been a major disaster this season, as the Huskies have surrendered 45, 49 and 48 points in their three losses. However, since falling to Central Michigan (48-41), the Huskies have buckled down on that side of the football, holding Kent State and Western Michigan to a combined 32 points in victories over both squads.

As for the Bulls, they have had a tough time finding the win column, with just two wins in seven games. One of those victories came two weeks ago, as Buffalo narrowly defeated Ohio, but the good times did not last long as the Bulls were clobbered by Temple this past weekend, 34-0.

The Bulls won the first-ever meeting against the Huskies back in 1968, but since then it has been all Northern Illinois. NIU has claimed the last six matchups, including a 45-14 decision in 2010.

Football is a team game, but for this Northern Illinois squad there is plenty of pressure resting on the shoulders of one player. That player is quarterback Chandler Harnish, who has done everything for this offense.

So far the signal caller has thrown for 1,547 yards and 12 touchdowns, while also pacing the squad with 671 rushing yards to go along with seven more touchdowns. He is joined on the ground by Jasmin Hopkins, who has 540 yards rushing and a team-high eight rushing scores.

Harnish's outstanding season continued in the team's victory over Western Michigan, as the quarterback threw for 203 yards and ran for another 229 yards. Harnish led the way on the ground, but there was plenty of success to go around, as the team managed 494 rushing yards and six scores via the run.

Three of those touchdowns came from Hopkins, who finished with 91 yards. Jordan Lynch also had a big game, rumbling for 113 yards and one touchdown on just 10 totes.

Expect more of the same from NIU this weekend, as the team continues to find plenty of success on the ground.

The offense needs to score at an accelerated rate because the defense has been porous at best. The secondary has been torched for 14 touchdowns through the air, but the main issue has been against the run, as teams are punishing NIU for 198.1 ypg and have already scored 15 touchdowns on the ground.

Because this unit is having so much trouble in that department the opposition is winning the time of possession battle by over five minutes per game and has converted 42 percent of their third down attempts.

In the team's recent win over Western Michigan the defense allowed just 22 points and that is because the front line finally shut down the run, as NIU held the Broncos to just 91 yards on 2.9 yards per carry.

Pat Schiller, who is leading the team with 58 tackles, led the way in the win with 10 stops and also grabbed a sack.

Midway through the season and the Bulls have only two victories and that has plenty to do with the team's lackluster performance offensively.

The only real bright spot at the present moment has been Branden Oliver, who has rumbled for 741 yards and eight touchdowns in seven games. Chazz Anderson has scored the other three rushing touchdowns for Buffalo, but the quarterback has struggled with his arm, throwing for just 1,308 yards. The signal caller heads into this weekend with only five touchdowns against four interceptions.

Even Oliver had a tough time in the team's recent loss, as the tailback managed just 62 yards on 21 carries. The offense as a whole did not do much, which would explain the zero on the scoreboard by the final whistle. Anderson could not figure out Temple's defense, as the quarterback completed just 9- of-26 passes for only 84 yards and he was intercepted once.

If the Bulls are going to have any type of success this weekend they will need to give Oliver some running room.

While the offense found little success against Temple, the Owls had no trouble moving the ball on the ground against this defense, but that should not be surprising. Temple possesses one of the top backs in the nation in Bernard Pierce, and since Buffalo is allowing over 200.0 rushing yards per game, it was obviously how the Owls were going to approach that contest.

By the end of the game the Bulls had surrendered 400 rushing yards on 6.2 yards per attempt and also allowed two players to eclipse the 100-yard mark.

Since the Bulls were unable to stop the run, the defense was on the field for nearly 40 minutes, which is never a good sign for any unit. Some players were very busy as a result, such as Josh Copeland, who finished with 11 tackles.

The Bulls had trouble stopping Pierce this past weekend and now they will have to take on the Huskies, who also run the ball early and often. Look for Buffalo to struggle once again, as the Huskies claim their third straight win.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Northern Illinois 45, Buffalo 17