A loss is always hard to take, and for the NIU football team the 24-20 loss last Saturday to East Carolina University was an especially bitter pill to swallow.

“We played well enough to win,” said NIU head coach Jerry Pettibone. “They (ECU) got some breaks and took advantage of them.”

The biggest break of the game for ECU came on a blocked punt in the first quarter which led the way to a 10-0 lead for ECU. The Huskies were forced to play catch-up football the rest of the way.

The Huskies used up every second of the clock in their comeback effort but fell short, two yards short to be exact.

Despite the loss, Pettibone was pleased by the performance of his team on the natural grass playing field at ECU.

“I’m really pleased at what our offense was able to do,” Pettibone said. “We executed well and the grass field had no effect on us.”

“Grass surfaces have really been a problem for us in the past four or five years, so we overcame a big mental obstacle with our performance Saturday.”

Defensively, the Huskies performed well against an East Carolina team that nearly defeated Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida State this season.

“Our defense played good against a really good East Carolina offense,” said Pettibone. “Their quarterback has excellent speed and quickness and he put a lot of pressure on our perimeter.”

“They (ECU) also have a good defense,” added Pettibone.

ECU held NIU to 264 yards on the ground, 102 yards less than NIU’s average. The Huskies had entered the contest as the nation’s leading rushing offense, averaging 366 yards a game.

NIU will try to avenge Saturday’s loss when they travel to Southwestern Louisiana Saturday for the season finale.

Pettibone dosen’t feel the need to motivate his club for the SWL game. The performance against ECU is one reason, but there is another reason the Huskies will be motivated for this week’s game.

“These guys don’t have to be motivated,” Pettibone said. “They are self-motivated.”

“There are 23 seniors who will be playing Saturday in their final game of college football. They’ve had great careers here and they’re going to go out there and give it their best shot.”