Miami vs. Northern Illinois: What you need to know about tonight’s game

Who: Miami (4-6, 2-2 Mid-American Conference East Division) at Northern Illinois (7-3, 6-0 MAC West).

When: Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Where: Huskie Stadium (23,595), DeKalb, Ill.

Coaches: Miami Chuck Martin, fifth season, 20-39 at Miami, 94-46 overall; Northern Illinois Rod Carey, sixth season, 51-27 at NIU, same overall.

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Last time: The visiting Huskies dominated Miami on its home field, scoring three unanswered first-quarter touchdowns on the way to a 45-12 win on Oct. 17, 2015.

Series notes: NIU leads, 9-8, and has won the last two and seven of the last eight games against the RedHawks. Miami's lone win in that span was a 26-21 victory in the 2010 MAC Championship game in Detroit.

Stat pack: Miami RB Alonzo Smith 105 carries, 499 yards, 4.8 avg., 6 TD; QB Gus Ragland 200-of-331 passing, 2,281 yards, 16 TD, 4 int.; WR Jack Sorenson 43 catches, 629 yards, 2 TD; LB Brad Koenig 88 tackles, 48 solo.

Northern Illinois TB Tre Harbison 145 carries, 804 yards, 5.5 avg., 4 TD; QB Marcus Childers 162-of-282 passing, 1,383 yards, 10 TD, 6 int; WR Jauan Wesley 42 catches, 473 yards, 2 TD; LB Antonio Jones-Davis 88 tackles, 49 solo.

Local flavor: Sr. K Andrew Gantz, Centerville.

Worth noting: The game is scheduled to be televised on ESPNU … It is the inaugural Mallory Cup game, honoring former Miami and NIU coach Bill Mallory … Both teams had players named their division's Special Teams Player of the Week … Miami junior punter Kyle Kramer averaged 45.8 yards per punt on six attempts in a 30-28 win over Ohio last Wednesday. … Kramer downed a punt inside Ohio's one-yard line with seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter … Three plays later Miami recorded a safety that eventually was the difference in the RedHawks victory. … Northern Illinois junior defensive end Sutton Smith made a key special teams play in a 38-15 win over Toledo the same night … Smith changed the game when he blocked Toledo punter Bailey Flint's third punt of the game late in the second quarter, picked up the block and ran it in for a touchdown … The block and 27-yard return turned a 10-9 NIU lead into a 17-9 margin going into halftime … The Huskies were in "punt safe" mode, not going for a block … Smith added a sack, a tackle for loss and forced his fourth fumble of the year on defense … Smith's punt block was his second of the year … He ranks third in the nation in blocked kicks and in punt return touchdowns … Harbison was named the division's Offensive Player of the Week after running for 139 yards on 21 carries for his fourth 100-yard game of the season … He averaged 6.6 yards per carry.

Quotable: Carey, who played for Mallory at Indiana, on the inaugural Mallory Cup game: "Every time that Northern Illinois and Miami play, it'll be for the Mallory Cup. I know we already have a trophy game, and they might have one or two, but in this case, this was appropriate to what Coach Mallory meant to both institutions and this league."

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