The football team suffered a 27-17 loss Thursday against the University of Toledo Rockets in Toledo, Ohio.

Here are three takeaways following the team’s pivotal loss.

1. Redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Childers is good but has work to do.

The Adairsville, Georgia product has gone 3-1 in his four starts this year and has thrown nine touchdowns with three interceptions. The quarterback has hurt defenses with his ability to run, but his accuracy is still in question after defenses are daring him to beat them with the pass.

Childers turned the ball over twice this past week in a critical game that could’ve put NIU in the lead for a potential Mid-American Conference championship game birth. Childers was 23-43 with just a 53.5 completion percentage and a 29.1 raw quarterback rating being his lowest of the season.

If NIU wants to win out and put themselves in a better bowl game, the young dual threat quarterback needs to find more accuracy and not be as inconsistent as he was this past week.

2. Even without Jordan Huff, redshirt senior running back, NIU has serviceable backups who can do some damage.

With Huff being sidelined for the past two games with an ankle injury, Tre Harbison, redshirt freshman running back, has stepped up along with Marcus Jones, redshirt sophomore running back.

Harbison scored his first collegiate touchdown this past week and averaged an impressive 7.1 yards per carry, getting eight touches in the game. Jones did the bulk of the work, averaging 5.7 yards per carry and rushing for 80 yards in the game.

This young tandem of explosive backs could mean original backup Tommy Mister, redshirt junior running back, could see significantly less playing time. Harbison is the more shifty but versatile back, while Jones has a lower center of gravity that runs north to south overpowering his oppositions.

3. NIU is good, but not great, and that will eventually cost them a MAC Championship.

NIU came into the game Thursday one game behind Toledo with a 6-2 record, compared to 7-1 by the Rockets. If the Huskies would have won, both teams would have been 7-2 with three games remaining, and NIU would have held the tiebreaker.

Instead, the Rockets took care of business and defeated the Huskies to put them two games ahead in the MAC West with only three games to go. The Huskies will need some help with some Toledo losses the rest of the way, but a MAC Championship birth may now be out of reach.

The Huskies made some noise early in the season with their triumphant win in Lincoln, Nebraska, making national news upsetting the Cornhuskers. Nebraska has taken a lot of criticism so far this year because they currently sit at .500 with a 4-4 record.

San Diego State was a big test NIU almost pulled off, but four key turnovers prevented them from that win. With wins over Eastern Illinois, Kent State, Buffalo, Bowling Green and an overtime win against Eastern Michigan, the Huskies have won the games they should and lost the games they should as well.

NIU will close out the season against Ball State, Western Michigan and Central Michigan, hoping to claim a better bowl game.