The NIU football team heads to Toledo on Wednesday to take on the Rockets, the last scheduled meeting between the two teams before the Huskies leave the Mid-American Conference at the end of the school year.

The Rockets (4-4 overall, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) lost Oct. 25 to Washington State, 28-7. The Huskies snapped a six-game losing streak in their last game, a 21-7 win over Ball State.

Toledo has won three straight in the series, including 13-6 in DeKalb last year. The Huskies last won 22-20 at the Glass Bowl in 2021.

Here are three things to know heading into the game.

Huskies show flexibility at cornerback

In the win over the Cardinals, starting cornerbacks Jacob Finley and Donte Harrison missed the contest. True freshman James Finley IV and redshirt freshman Dev’ion Reynolds got the start.

Finley IV and Reynolds had played in every game this year, and each made his second start. The Huskies ended up with their second-best performance against the pass, allowing 136 yards.

Finley IV had an interception for the second straight game as the Huskies forced a season-best three turnovers.

The Rockets are averaging 253 yards per game through the air behind quarterback Tucker Gleason. Trayvon Rudolph, a longtime NIU receiver, is second on the Rockets with 28 catches for 333 yards.

NIU coach Thomas Hammock refused to comment on the status of the cornerbacks and who would be starting Wednesday, but said he thought Reynolds and Finley IV both played well, including what he called the most physical game Reynolds played all year.

“It was amazing going back, watching that film and seeing how well they both played,” said safety Jasper Beeler, who also had an interception against Ball State. “It really put a big smile on my face for those guys to step up the way that they did.”

Huskies facing stingy Toledo defense

The Rockets enter Wednesday 10th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 16 points per game. The Huskies are 132nd out of 134 teams in scoring offense, putting up an average of 13.4 points per game.

NIU’s season high in points is 21, set each of the last two weeks in a 48-21 loss to Ohio and matched the following week in the win over Ball State.

The Huskies ran the ball right at the Cardinals with 305 rushing yards, only the second time they’ve gone for more than 180 in a single game this season.

Hammock said the Huskies will have to find more balance in their offense.

“I think their defense plays tremendously hard and physical. They have a bunch of veteran players,” Hammock said. “Two of their interior defensive linemen were guys that we were highly interested in during the recruiting process. They’ve matured in that program. ... This is going to be a tremendous challenge for us, but this is about us, our preparation and how we go about it.”

NIU searching for better ball security

Hammock said the offense is taking steps in the right direction. He pointed out a receiver running the wrong route last week that cost them a touchdown, the need to run play-action more and better ball security.

The Huskies had a chance to ice the game late, but Chavon Wright - who had 37 carries for 170 yards - fumbled at the end of a 17-yard run with less than two minutes left. The Huskie defense kept the Cardinals off the board.

In the third quarter, Telly Johnson fumbled at the Ball State 18 on what was looking like a scoring drive.

“We didn’t fumble all year at the running back position,” Hammock said. “Telly’s fumble was just a lack of focus. He cut inside and he didn’t have the ball high and tight. ... Von, at the end of the game, we’re in our 4-minute offense. Half the problem was Von, half the problem was the wide receiver. In the 4-minute offense the wide receiver needs to go block and the guy he was responsible for was the guy who made the play on the football.”

With how effective the Huskies were running, Hammock said they need to exploit run fakes more often. Quarterback Josh Holst was 6 for 11 for 65 yards.

“You can’t run the ball the way we do and do a drop-back pass. That doesn’t marry,” Hammock said. “So we have to make sure we build it in a way where the play action look similar to the runs so you have a chance to create one-on-one situations.”