TODAY, WE PLAY.
On Saturday, Sept. 11,  the University of North Dakota will face its second Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent in as many games. The Fighting Sioux will travel southeast to Illinois to face the Huskies of Northern Illinois. The Saturday evening kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. (central) at the Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Ill.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will mark the second meeting between North Dakota and Northern Illinois. The series opened between the two teams when they met in the 1965 Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo. On that day, UND forced eight NIU turnovers while committing none enroute to beating the Huskies, 37-20.

It was Northern Illinois' third trip to the Mineral Water Bowl, while the Sioux were making their first appearance. It was UND's first postseason action since 1930, when the Sioux defeated the Los Angeles Firemen, a major college all-star team, by a score of 14-9 on Christmas Day on the west coast.

Full game recap on page 6.

ON THIS DAY IN FIGHTING SIOUX HISTORY
The Fighting Sioux played their first Sept. 11 game in 1965. On that day, the Sioux defeated Bemidji State 20-6 at Memorial Stadium ... North Dakota is currently on a four-game winning streak when playing on the 11th day of September ... Three of the last four wins have been shutouts (52-0, 29-0, 34-0) ... UND is winning Sept. 11 games by an average score of 28-9.

Overall: 6-1-0; Home: 4-1-0; Away: 2-0-0

NOTING THE FIGHTING SIOUX
North Dakota is in its third year of transition towards NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) status ... UND returns 2009 Great West Conference Rookie of the Year Mitch Sutton (So., RB, Plover, Wis.), along with first team all-conference Ryan Kasowski (Sr., LB, Grand Forks, N.D.), second teamers Ty Boyle (Sr., DL, International Falls, Minn.) and Dominique Hawkins (Jr., CB, Plymouth, Minn.), and honorable mention Kris Ankenbauer (Jr., DB, Murphy, Texas) and Ross Brenneman (So., DL, Omaha, Neb.) ... UND has tallied a winning record in the past seven-straight seasons and has turned in a winning record in 19 of the last 20 years.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
While North Dakota failed to put points on the board against Idaho, it did see some marked indicators for better things in the future ... The combination of 2008 first team GWC all-conference running back Josh Murray (Jr., Pepin, Wis.) and 2009 GWC Rookie of the Year Mitch Sutton (So., RB, Plover, Wis.) will give UND more options on the ground. In the season-opener, Murray led the team with 49 yards on 10 carries (4.9 yards/carry). Sutton added another 30 yards on eight touches (3.8 yards/carry). Backup quarterback Brent Goska (Jr., Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) gave the Sioux another 47 yards on the ground with six QB keepers ... Starting QB Jake Landry (Sr., Grand Forks, N.D.) went 19-for-34 for 122 yards, but was picked off twice ... In his first game at tailback, junior Catlin Solum (Fargo, N.D.) tallied 45 yards on seven receptions, including an 11-yard catch ... Playing in their first game as a Fighting Sioux: Redshirt freshmen Greg Hardin (WR, Bellevue, Neb.), Spencer Bickel (RB, Minot, N.D.),and  Joe Kleason (OL, Eagan, Minn.), and true freshman R.J. McGill (WR, Phoenix, Ariz.).

DEFENSIVE NOTES
The UND defense logged four quarterback sacks, two by redshirt freshman Damon Andrews (DB, West Concord, Minn.) and totaled 60 tackles in the season opener at Idaho ... Junior defensive back Dan Hendrickson (Minot, N.D.) led the team with a career-high seven tackles (four unassisted). Hendrickson added a sack for a loss of eight yards ... Senior corner Mitch Kudrna (Dickinson, N.D.) tallied his first career interception and added five tackles (two solo) and a pass breakup ... Playing in their first game as a Fighting Sioux: Junior Johnnie Daniels, Jr. (LB, Miami, Fla.), redshirt freshmen Andrews, Dominique Bennett (LB, DeSoto, Texas, Brent Cole (DL, Warroad, Minn.), Chavon Mackey (DB, Jacksonville, Fla.), Brian Otto (LB, West Allis, Wis.), and Seth Stanchik (DL, Hudson, Wis.).

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
Newly appointed starting punter Brett Cameron (So., Winnipeg, Manitoba) averaged 39.9 yards per punt. He logged a 47-yard boot and five of his seven kicks landed in the red zone ... Redshirt freshman Zeb Miller (K, Ankeny, Iowa), who was playing in his first career game as a Fighting Sioux, recorded his first collegiate stat with a 70-yard kickoff to start the game.

NOTING THE HUSKIES
Northern Illinois opened the 2010 season with a 10-27 loss to Iowa State ... The Huskies lost their seventh straight season-opener dating back to the 2003 overtime win over No. 15 Maryland at Huskie Stadium ... All seven losses have been to ACC, Big Ten or Big XII opponents.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
Chad Span led the Huskies on the ground with 80 yards on 17 carries (4.7 yards/carry), including a 13-yard run ... Quarterback Demarcus Grady went 14-for-29 for 93 yards. Grady tossed three interceptions and was sacked once. He also added 54 yards on the ground via 14 carries and logged the team's lone rushing touchdown ... Martel Moore recorded 21 yards on four receptions (5.2 yards/reception).

DEFENSIVE NOTES
Tracy Wilson and Tyrone Clark each posted an interception in the NIU season opener ... Wilson led Northern Illinois with 10 tackles (six unassisted) and swatted down one Iowa State pass ... Sean Progar landed the team's lone quarterback sack ... D.J. Pirkle picked up a loose ball for the Huskies' only fumble recovery.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
Tommy Davis  logged 57 yards on a trio of kick returns (19.0 yards/return), including a 30-yard run ... Mathew Sims hit a 19-yard field goal and was 1-for-1 in PATs to give the Huskies four points ... M Cklamovski missed both of his 30-plus yard field goal attempts ... Josh Wilber  averaged 33.8 yards per punt and Cklamovski averaged 63.3 yards per kick.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH JERRY KILL
Jerry Kill's 25-year coaching career has included stops at nearly every level of football. From high school to NAIA, NCAA Division II, Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and over the past two years at Northern Illinois, NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Kill has seen the players get bigger, faster and multiply in number at his various stops. The crowds have grown, media interest is higher and the coach's obligations have increased along the way.

At each of his five head coaching stops, the common denominator among Kill-coached teams is wins. His 16 previous collegiate teams have won at a 62.3 percent clip and he enters his 17th year as a collegiate head coach with a 117-70 record. At Northern Illinois, Kill's first two teams have played in bowl games, the first time in the school's 42-year history as an FBS institution that the Huskies have made back-to-back bowl appearances.

HUSKIE STADIUM QUICK FACTS

• Huskie Stadium has undergone a series of redesigns, additions and renovations since its opening in 1965. The latest upgrade to the stadium was the installation of a new FieldTurf surface this May, giving the playing surface a brighter look and smoother surface for 2009.
• The three-millionth fan passed through the stadium turnstiles in 2005.
• In 44 seasons, over 3.4 million people have watched Northern Illinois football at Huskie Stadium.
• Several facility upgrades coincided with the ascension of the Huskie football program.
• After the long-awaited East Grandstand was constructed in 1995, a state-of-the-art FieldTurf playing surface was installed in 2001 and the scoreboard and video display system were both modernized over a two-year span from 2000-01.
• Huskie Stadium was dedicated Nov. 6, 1965, on Homecoming with a 48-6 triumph over Illinois State before 18,858 spectators.
• It was originally constructed to accommodate 20,257 spectators-15,000 on the concrete West stands.

NORTH DAKOTA ON THE RADIO
All UND football games can be heard on 96.1FM ("The Fox") in Grand Forks and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Radio Network. Dan Hammer calls the play-by-play with former Grand Forks Central High School football coach Mike Berg as his color analyst. Sean Johnson  will serve as the sideline reporter for all away games and Bruce Nelson will step in for home games.

Here is a full listing of broadcasts in the area:
Grand Forks KQHT 96.1 FM
Fargo WDAY 970AM
Bismarck KFYR 550AM
Beulah KDKT 1410 AM
Devils Lake KDVL 102.5 FM
Dickinson KTLC 1460 AM
Langdon KYTZ 106.7 FM
Mahnomen KRJM 101.5 FM Minot KRRZ 1390 AM
Thief River Falls KKAQ 1460 AM
Williston KDSR 101.1 FM

Coaches Show

Grand Forks KKXL 1440 AM
Fargo WDAY 970AM
Bismarck KXMR 710AM
Thief River Falls KKAQ 1460 AM

LIVE FROM DEKALB
Fans unable to attend Saturday's game in DeKalb, Ill., can keep tabs on the Fighting Sioux using a variety of options.

Log onto FightingSioux.com to find links to live chat, live stats*, and live audio.
* provided by Northern Illinois athletics department

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the Northern Illinois season-opener are available anytime on www.NIUHuskies.com or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center during normal business hours at 815-752-6800. Tickets are just $20 for a single game.

See attached game notes for more information.

-Go Sioux -