True freshman quarterback Brady Davidson got his first start of the year and NIU responded on its first two drives, scoring touchdowns on both of them.

But the Huskies couldn’t score again, opening MAC play with a 25-14 loss to Miami (Ohio), their fourth straight loss.

NIU falls to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the MAC while the RedHawks improve to 2-3 and 1-0.

Here are five observations from the loss.

Miami puts game away in fourth

After Miami went up 22-14 in the third quarter, the Huskies had three drives with a chance to tie the game. They picked up a total of 36 yards on those three drives.

Taking over with 10:04 left in the fourth, the RedHawks rolled off a 13-play, 68-yard drive that drained 6:33 off the clock and ended with a field goal. They converted two third-down plays.

Offense implodes after hot start

NIU scored touchdowns on its first two drives with Davidson at quarterback. But the Huskies managed just 32 yards in the second quarter.

Things got worse in the third, when on the first play of the half Davidson was intercepted, the first turnover for either team. Silas Walters tipped a pass and it fell into the hands of Koy Beasley. Miami took over on its 28, but the defense held and the RedHawks settled for a field goal, making the score 14-13 with 13:34 left in the third.

The next sequence was even worse for the NIU offense and special teams. After a false start, Davidson was sacked and fumbled for a 13-yard loss, though Izzy Ozoh recovered for NIU. The Huskies had to punt from their 9, but Jermaine Agee blocked the punt out the back of the end zone. The safety gave Miami a 15-14 lead with 11:33 left in the third, its first lead of the game.

Miami started the ensuing drive at midfield, got a 21-yard run from Dequan Finn, then Finn found Deion Colzie in the end zone on third-and-goal from the 8 to push the Miami lead to 22-14 with 8:11 left in the third quarter.

New quarterback, new spark early

The Huskies scored a touchdown on their first offensive play. Lazaro Rogers took a handoff from Davidson, getting the start in place of Josh Holst, the first of his career.

Rogers blew through the middle of the line and then was off to the races, untouched for a 76-yard touchdown.

After the defense picked up another stop, Davidson led the Huskies on an 11-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Jake Appleget on third-and-8. It was the fifth catch of his career and first touchdown.

Davidson was 7 for 8 on the drive for 60 yards. NIU led 14-0 with 3:23 left in the first.

Another big game for Urwiler

Senior linebacker Quinn Urwiler entered the game as the second leading tackler in the country, averaging 12.5 tackles per game.

He finished with 14 tackles on Saturday, including a sack and 1½ tackles for a loss.

And they came in big situations as well. He forced Finn out of bounds on a third-and-13 to force a third-quarter punt. He held Finn to two yards on third-and-7, forcing another punt in the second. He also had a fourth-quarter stop on Jordan Brunson, holding him to six on third-and-10.

RedHawks dominate second quarter

The RedHawks scored 10 straight points in the second quarter, cutting into the NIU lead.

Finn unleashed a 56-yard bomb to Kam Perry late in the first, which resulted in a third-and-1 touchdown run by D’Shawntae Jones to put Miami on the board.

After the defense’s first stop of NIU, the RedHawks added a field goal to cap a 13-play, 50-yard drive that drained 6:31 off the clock. They faced a third-and-20, but Finn ran for 15, then Finn found Perry for a 9-yard pass on fourth-and-5. They got to the 20, but Urwiler got a sack to set up a third-and-7 that Miami would not convert.

Dom Dzioban’s field goal sailed in from 41 yards, cutting the NIU lead to 14-10 with 4:55 left in the half.

Three of Miami’s scoring drives were 50 yards or less.