Mississippi State will try to complete a spotless non-conference schedule by beating Northern Illinois in their first-ever matchup on Saturday in Starkville, Miss.Coming off a 63-0 rout of Alcorn State, coach Jeff Lebby’s Bulldogs (3-0) are in great shape to enter Southeastern Conference play unbeaten but they are wary of the Huskies (1-1).”It’s about the ability to be 4-0 … for us to have an undefeated non-conference (schedule),” Lebby said on Monday. “We have a great, great test on Saturday. (The Huskies) have gone on the road and won huge games. You point to that more than anything.”NIU does have a reputation under seventh-year head coach Thomas Hammock of crafting upsets against Power 4 schools.The Huskies’ greatest one came a year ago against No. 5 Notre Dame, leaving the legendary South Bend stadium with a 16-14 shocker in the Fighting Irish’s only regular-season loss.It was NIU’s first victory over a top-10 foe, and it became the first MAC program to beat a top-five team.However, this season’s Huskies, a three-touchdown underdog against the Bulldogs, struggled to a 19-17 win over Holy Cross before succumbing to Maryland two weeks ago before a bye week.”I’m proud of the way the guys played,” Hammock said after the 20-9 defeat at Maryland, which required a fourth-quarter touchdown pass by the Terrapins to ice the win. “I’m proud of the way they competed for four quarters against a Big Ten opponent with a lot more resources, and we showed we have a lot of heart.”
