NIU wants to end on high note

Western Michigan is playing for a prospective title. Northern Illinois is looking to play spoiler.

NIU coach Thomas Hammock says there's plenty of motivation for the Huskies (4-7, 3-4 MAC) in their season finale on Senior Night at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Huskie Stadium (ESPNU, WIND AM-560).

"If you're a competitor, anytime you step on the football field you want to win," he said. "And to me, that's the motivation, an opportunity to go win. You want to have positive momentum heading into the off-season, and you have an opportunity to stop a team from going to a championship game."

Western Michigan (7-4, 5-2) needs a win or a Central Michigan loss to Toledo, to ensure a trip to the MAC championship game against Miami.

The Broncos have won three straight games heading into Tuesday. They are led by LeVante Bellamy, a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award given to the top running back in the FBS. Bellamy is tops in the FBS with 21 rushing touchdowns and is 10th in rushing yards with 1,284.

"He's fast, he's physical, he's got great vision, he's got great feet," Hammock said. "He can stop, start, he can jump-cut, he can catch the football, and the interesting thing is they rotate him quite a bit."

Quarterback Jon Wassink leads the top scoring offense in the MAC (36 points and 467 yards per game), and has thrown for 20 touchdowns.

"This quarterback runs it better than you think," Hammock said about Wassink, who has 267 yards rushing. "He's got at least a 50-yard run that I've seen on tape."

WMU coach Tim Lester wants his team aggressive from the get-go.

"You watch a lot of these games and they all come down to turnovers," Lester said. "I'm a big believer in touchdowns and turnovers, and that's why we're really aggressive in the red zone because I believe touchdowns matter more than field goals."

The Huskies are 2-2 at home and looking to avoid what would be only their second losing home record since 2008.

NIU will honor 18 seniors before the game.