Updated: 7:40 p.m. Saturday

DeKALB, Sept. 9 | For the second straight week, the NIU football team faced off against a school from Ohio. But that’s where the similarities were supposed to end as NIU lost yet again Saturday 35-23.

No longer were the Huskies on the road playing at a venue of over 100,000 fans against the No. 1 team in the nation.

They were now playing at home in front of 19,000 plus fans against a team that wasn’t even predicted to win the MAC.

Predictions, however, didn’t stop the Bobcats as they gathered 509 yards of total offense. That is 365 more yards than they had last week against Tennessee-Martin, a Division I-AA school.

The Huskie defense struggled to contain the Bobcats as it allowed 11 of 16 third down conversions.

“Every time it was third and whatever half the time we tried to cover,” said NIU coach Joe Novak. “And the other half time we tried to blitz, and boy they executed real well.”

Execution wasn’t a problem at the start of the game, as NIU held Ohio to two three-and-outs before taking an early 7 to 0 lead on a Garrett Wolfe 21-yard rushing touchdown.

Both teams came back and added quick scores. The Bobcats tied the game just two minutes after NIU took the lead.

Only 58 seconds later, NIU tailback Wolfe broke out on a 46-yard rush to give NIU a seven advantage again.

NIU kicker Chris Nendick added to the Huskies’ lead in the second quarter as he booted in a 36-yard field goal, but that would be NIU’s last score until the fourth.

With a scoring drive at the end of the second quarter, the Bobcats went off with 21 unanswered points.

There still seemed to be hope for the Huskies as wide receiver Marcus Perez connected with quarterback Phil Horvath for a 41-yard reception that set up a 14-yard touchdown to Perez.

Down 23-28, Novak decided to go for a two-point conversion. The Bobcat defenders were prepared though, as they swiped down Horvath’s pass.

With pressure on them, the Huskies defense prevented Ohio from obtaining another score.

It was down to the final march for NIU as the clock read 6:48. The Huskies took the field and got a quick 27 yards off of a 12-yard rush from Wolfe and a 15-yard penalty for face masking.

Wide receiver Matt Simon kept the drive alive by catching a 15-yard pass from Horvath to bring the Huskies down to Ohio’s 38-yard line.

It seemed as if a miracle play was in the book as Wolfe was handed the ball, but he was only able to gather five yards.

Staring at second and five, Horvath threw three passes. Although Horvath had 19 completions for 261 yards and one touchdown, he couldn’t connect with any of his receivers, leading to a turnover on downs.

Seeing their opportunity, Ohio marched down the field and sealed a victory with a final touchdown on a 24-yard run by Kalvin McRae, who had 106 rushing yards for two touchdowns for the day.

Although Wolfe attained 196 yards and two touchdowns, he left the field unsatisfied and frustrated.

“I hate losing and I don’t consider myself a loser,” Wolfe said. “I’m willing to do anything to win and I know my teammates share that passion with me. I just think we’re not bring that all together on Saturdays.”

Ben Gross is an NIU football beat reporter for the Northern Star.