Northern Illinois @ Kent State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 30, 2012 ) Northern Illinois 44, Kent State 37

No. 23 Northern Illinois takes its high-powered offense and undefeated record on the road once again, traveling to Kent State for its Mid-American Conference opener. The Huskies, coming off a 55-24 rout at Purdue, have a national-best 17 straight wins in conference play, with their last league loss coming in October 2011. The Golden Flashes are coming off a big win at Western Michigan that snapped a three-game losing streak.

This game is a rematch of a double-overtime thriller between the two teams in last year's MAC Championship Game, which the Huskies won, 44-37. Northern Illinois' offense has been in high gear this year, averaging 43.3 points, which ranks 15th nationally. Kent State comes off its best offensive showing of the year, racking up 452 yards of total offense in a 32-14 victory over the Broncos.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: Northern Illinois -9

ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS (4-0): Despite the fact his team is 4-0, nationally ranked and coming off its second win over a Big Ten team this season, Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey sees the season as starting this week. That's because he's focused on another MAC title, and nothing the team has done so far has helped them toward that goal. “No matter what you did in non-conference, with the way our schedule set up where you're playing all your non-conference in a row and then getting all conference, it really didn't matter, 0-4, 4-0,” Carey told the DeKalb Daily Chronicle. “Everything's still in front of everybody in this conference.”

ABOUT KENT STATE (2-3, 1-1 MAC): The Golden Flashes had a bit of their flash back last week when senior running back/receiver Dri Archer played his first full game after being slowed by an ankle injury. Archer's big-play ability showed as he had two plays of over 30 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown reception. “Having Dri back is huge,” Kent State coach Paul Haynes said. “All the teams know who he is and where he is on the field. You don't have to give him the ball all the time to make things open up.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Kent State senior DT Roosevelt Nix ranks second among active FBS players in career tackles for loss with 59.

2. The Huskies rank second in the country in quarterback sacks (4.25 per game), sixth in turnover margin and fifth in turnovers gained (13).

3. Northern Illinois leads the series between the two schools 17-7, including wins in the last six meetings.

PREDICTION: Northern Illinois 38, Kent State 20