In a game where the NIU offense needed to step up to compete with the University of Toledo Rockets, they did the opposite by turning the ball over twice, going on to lose by a score of 27-17.

“We lost to a good football team tonight, “ said Head Coach Rod Carey, according to NIU Media Services. “That being said, we made too many mistakes and hurt ourselves, the offense do enough and the defense had a hard time getting off the field on third down.”

{{tncms-inline account=”RunAdrianMyers” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We still have some games left to play, and so do they. Lets finish strong and let the chips fall <a href="https://twitter.com/NIU_Football?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NIU_Football</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheHardWay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheHardWay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MACtion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MACtion</a> ❤️🐾🏈</p>— Adrian Myers (@RunAdrianMyers) <a href="https://twitter.com/RunAdrianMyers/status/926264408229273600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>” id=”926264408229273600″ type=”twitter”}}

Toledo was led by their potential all-american candidates in senior quarterback Logan Woodside and senior running back Terry Swanson.

Woodside threw the ball for 361 yards while moving the ball throughout the entire game and Swanson chipped in by rushing for three touchdowns and 116 yards.

The Rockets started off the game with a heavy dose of passing through the air, capped off by a Swanson touchdown to make the score 7-0.

The Huskies answered almost immediately after as Tre Harbison, redshirt freshman running back, capped off a 12 play, 70 yard scoring drive to tie the game at 7-7.

Heading into the second quarter, Woodside connected to sophomore wide receiver Diontae Johnson on a 89 yard touchdown reception to put Toledo up by seven.

After almost going down by another score, NIU forced a fumble on Woodside, but threw an interception off of a tipped passed retrieved by the Rockets.

“We’ve got to hit those [deep] shots,” redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Childers said. “That’s the difference between us and them tonight.”

Junior kicker Jameson Vest knocked down a 23 yard field goal to give Toledo a three point lead going into the locker room.

NIU got on the board first to start the third quarter with a one yard touchdown run by Childers, giving the Huskies the lead for the first time in the contest.

Swanson answered with his 10th and 11th touchdown of the year, giving the Rockets a 10 point advantage.

{{tncms-inline account=”NIUNorthernStar” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Toledo scores again with senior running back Terry Swanson’s third rushing touchdown of the game to put the Rockets up 24-14. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NIU?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NIU</a></p>— Northern Star (@NIUNorthernStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIUNorthernStar/status/926246001836482565?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>” id=”926246001836482565″ type=”twitter”}}

After a second consecutive game with a blocked punt from senior safety Jackson Abresch, NIU had chances to climb back into the game but could only muster a 25 yard field goal by senior kicker Christian Hagan.

The Rockets closed out the game with another field goal by Vest in route to a 27-17 win over the Huskies..

NIU will be at home against the Ball State Cardinals 6 p.m. Thursday at Huskie Stadium.