DeKALB — Head Coach Thomas Hammock and his team have had some time to reflect on Saturday’s defeat. He said it’s all about taking accountability for the loss and evaluating as a team to be better in the future.

“The great thing about football is that you win or you learn,” Hammock said. “We learned a lot. Last week was a tough game. We had every opportunity to win that football game, but we made some mistakes at the wrong times, and it cost us.” 

The Huskies look to take on their second Mid-American Conference opponent Saturday when they travel to Athens, Ohio, to take on the Ohio University Bobcats.

The last time the pair met was Oct. 12, 2018 when NIU won 24-21 over the Bobcats. Hammock said the team could protect the ball more for the next game, balance on offense and score touchdowns within the red zone. 

Daniel Crawford, redshirt senior tight end, said he and his team know they have to take accountability and work to get better. 

“Our mindset going into practice is that we have to get better,” Crawford said. “As I said after [Saturday’s game], we have to look in the mirror individually, and the whole team just has to look and see what they can do specifically to get better.”

Hammock and redshirt sophomore linebacker Jordan Cole mentioned Bobcat’s quarterback, senior Nathan Rourke, who was the winner of the second annual Joe Cornish Trophy, awarded to the most exceptional Canadian player in the NCAA.

Rourke has 1,012 passing yards, six passing touchdowns and four interceptions this season.

“The quarterback is really versatile, so we’ll be focusing more on trying to keep him contained, trying to keep his level down and his intensity,” Cole said. “Hopefully,  [we’ll] also be able to control the offense and what they do.”

The Huskies kick off against Ohio 2:30 p.m Saturday at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio.