The NIU football team will try to snap its five-game losing streak Saturday when it faces defending MAC champion Ohio.

The Bobcats (3-3, 1-1) enter the game after a bye week. Two weeks ago, they lost to Ball State, 20-14. They’ve already faced three Power 5 schools, beating West Virginia 17-10, losing to Rutgers 34-31 and falling up the road at Ohio State 37-9.

The Huskies (1-5, 0-2) lost 16-10 to an Eastern Michigan team that had been surrendering almost 35 points per game. They haven’t scored more than 14 points against an FBS team this year, and their only win is a 19-17 triumph against Holy Cross, an 0-6 FCS program.

Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Here are three things to know about the game.

Brady Davidson’s progress: ‘Getting better, learning on the run’

Against Eastern Michigan in his second career start, true freshman Brady Davidson was 11 for 26 with 94 yards and an interception. He’s completed 44.8% of his passes this year with a touchdown and three interceptions. He replaced Josh Holst, a sophomore from Marengo, who in more pass attempts has only thrown two interceptions.

NIU coach Thomas Hammock said ideally Davidson would still be developing under Holst. With his next game, Davidson will lose his redshirt eligibility for the season.

“The first game of the season, he looked at me when Josh went down and said, ‘I’m ready to go,’ ” Hammock said. “We always think we’re ready to go until you actually get out there for the first time. Now he understands it’s a little bit different, there’s a little more that goes into it than your natural ability.”

The offense continues to struggle, the only touchdown against the Eagles an 80-yard run by Telly Johnson Jr.

The Huskies are in the bottom three nationally in seven offensive categories, including last in passing efficiency (85.76). They’ve converted 27.5% of their third-down opportunities, third-worst. They are the second-worst scoring offense in the country, averaging 10.8 points per game.

“I feel like it’s a snowball effect,” running back Cahvon Wright said. “One bad thing happens, and we just can’t recover.”

Hammock: ‘Can’t tell our record by the effort these guys give’

Hammock said the locker room after the Eastern Michigan loss is the same as it ever was.

Defensive end Jalonie Williams said a big reason for that is the Huskies are still in the hunt for the MAC title, with teams like Ohio and Toledo ahead of them on the schedule.

“Our mindset has not changed,” Williams said. “We know if we win out, we have the possibility of getting to Detroit. We just keep that mindset. We have great leaders on this team, and I don’t think they’ll let our attitudes drop in any way.”

Hammock said that leadership is program-wide.

“I think that’s a testament to the players in the program,” Hammock said. “That’s a testament to the coaches. That’s a testament to the culture. And that gives you a chance. And until we get it all the way figured out on offense, we’re going to continue to grind.”

Punter switch, young players helping special teams

Hammock said he liked the progression of the special teams. The Huskies had allowed four blocked punts this year, but against the Eagles switched to Jake Ference at punter.

His average (41.8) was slightly less than Danny Vuckovic’s (42.3), but he wasn’t blocked.

“They tried to rush us the first couple times and realized the operation is a lot faster,” Hammock said. “Then they tried returns. The operation, snap-to-punter, is everything for a punt team. They can always overload you. They can always outnumber you to a side.”

He also said the development of the younger players makes a difference. True freshmen Devin Habermehl, Triston White and James Little are among those who are having an impact.

“You see a guy like Devin, we call the hammer, made a big play on kickoff last week,” Hammock said. “Triston White playing special teams, James Little. You’ve got young guys playing special teams, increasing their roles and getting more confident as we go.”