LINCOLN — Over the course of the last two weeks, the Huskies have faced the two toughest opponents they will see on their schedule this season.

NIU heads into a bye week before heading to Nashville to play Vanderbilt University on Sep. 28 to close out their non-conference schedule. The Huskies will face yet another tough task, but this one doesn’t involve Vandy, at least not yet.

Instead, it’s fixing the problems that were exposed in playing the no. 11 University of Utah, and following that with another road game in a tough environment at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

Saturday’s 44-8 loss to the Cornhuskers meant the Huskies were outscored 79-25 by their first two Power 5 opponents this season. Even worse is that the Huskies only trailed Utah by four points at halftime, 21-17, meaning they have been outscored by a count of 58-8 in their last six quarters.

“Obviously this wasn’t one of our best performances,” Head Coach Thomas Hammock said. “I told my team that I take full responsibility. We wanted to give ourselves a chance, and we didn’t do that. We have a week to improve the depth of our roster, and make sure we are clicking on all cylinders for Vanderbilt.”

Hammock said one of the biggest areas of improvement the coaches will be focusing on will be the offense, especially on first and second downs. Through the first three games of the season, the Huskies are 10-for-47 on third down conversions. Hammock said he traces that back to not getting enough yards on the first two downs.

“We’ve got to grind and to get the running game going,” Hammock said. “[Senior quarterback Ross Bowers] is doing a good job distributing the ball and giving us a chance to manage our offense, but we’ve got to run the football better.”

After starting 1-for-7, Bowers bounced back to complete 25 of his 44 passes for 248 yards and an interception, while distributing the ball to nine different receivers.

The running game was a different story. The Huskies managed just 74 yards on 32 attempts, for an average of 2.3 yards per carry. By contrast, the Cornhuskers carried the ball 33 times for 238 yards. If the Huskies can’t grind out yards on the ground, it puts more pressure on the passing game.

“We need to have balance,” Hammock said. “Nebraska got us into third and long situations, and those defensive guys were pinning their ears back to get to the quarterback, which makes it hard. When you get to third-and-7, the percentages [of getting a first down] go way down. We have to create movement, see the holes and run the ball.”

Despite the Huskie offense holding a 15-minute time of possession advantage over the Cornhuskers, Nebraska still cranked out a season-high 525 yards on the night.

Dual-threat sophomore quarterback Adrian Martinez did most of the damage. Martinez threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns while running for 44 yards and another score.

Any adjustments made on the defense will be easier — get the best players on the field. Between injuries and suspensions for targeting penalties, the Huskies had to dig deep into the depth chart Saturday night, especially in the secondary, leaving some personnel in a baptism-by-fire situation.

Jalen McKie, Huskie redshirt sophomore cornerback, continued his breakout season with two passes defended and two blocked kicks on special teams. McKie echoed Hammock’s feelings on getting more out of the roster’s depth.

“Guys have to be ready to step up,” McKie said. “Guys who didn’t expect to play got put into the fire today. A couple of [first-year players], who didn’t expect to [go] in, [played corner]. We have to use the next two weeks to get them prepared.”

Everyone agreed a week off would do the Huskies some good. When they travel to Vanderbilt in two weeks, the Huskies will be playing a Commodores team that is 0-2 on the season.

Vanderbilt will be coming off a tough game against No. 4 Louisiana State University. The Huskies, on the other hand, will be rested and a lot healthier than they are now.

“I think this is the perfect time for a bye week,” Bowers said. “We’re going into this bye week [ticked] off. We’re tired of being average and tired of losing. For us to have that little chip on our shoulder, [it] will be good. It’s a chance to see what guys are made of. Knowing there is going to be another game, we have to come back hungry and with a vengeance.”

A kickoff time for the Vanderbilt game will be announced Monday.