Northern Michigan University running back Jake Mayon, left, runs for daylight past Northwood defender Steve Pinkava during their GLIAC football game played at the Superior Dome in Marquette on Saturday. (NMU photo courtesy Cory Genovese)

MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University football team needs a break.

Maybe not in the form of a week off, but definitely in the form of a victory.

The Wildcats (1-5) are on a four-game losing streak with the two most recent outcomes coming in overtime and right at the end of regulation.

The road doesn’t get much easier, though, as NMU heads downstate Saturday to face Saginaw Valley State (5-1), which was just dealt its first loss last weekend, a 21-17 setback at Ashland.

It’s going to be an adjustment for the Wildcats defense. NMU’s previous opponent, Northwood, ran an option-style attack, heavily emphasizing its running game. Saginaw Valley, on the other hand, is more focused on the pass thanks to talented quarterback Ryan Conklin, who is second in the GLIAC in completion percentage at 63 percent.

“With Saginaw, the first place I always look is the quarterback position,” Northern defensive coordinator Kirby Cannon said. “They have a very solid multiple-year starter in the Conklin kid.

“He’s not the runner that we’ve maybe faced the last three weeks, but he’s a better thrower. He’s very much an accurate guy and he’s got a good velocity and he can stretch the field with his arm.

“They’re attempting to be a balanced team, so you see them use a lot of personnel groups to create some advantage in the run game, but the minute you overcompensate with that by loading the box, then he’s going to throw it down the field.

“We’ve got be smart with our blitzes and try to pressure him at times to shorten the completions and hurry up the whole idea and try to get some negative yards out of it if we can’t get some turnovers.

“They’re not into turning it over. They’ve had an interception or two here or there, but none of them are bad throws.

“(Conklin’s) a very good player and we’re going to have to play very well in the secondary to control their big-play ability.”

When the Wildcats have the ball, they’ll face a defense similar to their own, so it won’t be too much of an adjustment. NMU does have a healthy quarterback competition right now between Latrell Giles and Kole Stealy, both of whom played last weekend, so it’ll be interesting to see who starts under center against the Cardinals.

“Saginaw is really similar to our defense,” Northern offensive coordinator Marty Higgins said. “They run the same type of scheme. Their tendencies are a 4-2-5 defense, but they’ll go to a 4-3.

“(It’s) somewhat similar, they’ll have a few wrinkles, but that’s every week. They’re a good defense. Saginaw is a solid team. They’ve got good personnel and they run well. It’ll be a challenge like every week is and I think our guys will be up to the task.

“We’ve got a good room of quarterbacks and we got two guys competing for a job right now. That always makes it interesting. Competition is a good thing. If there is no competition, you get some people taking it for granted.”

Each NMU quarterback definitely has to be better when it comes to turnovers as both threw interceptions, with Giles having his pass picked off in the Timberwolves’ end zone. Later on, after the Wildcats cut a double-digit deficit down to three points midway through the fourth quarter, Stealy threw a costly interception in Timberwolves territory, helping quash any hopes of a comeback.

“We had two turnovers, on one we had a guy open and we threw it short,” Higgins said. “The next one hits the guy right in the hands and he bobbles it and the (defensive back) ends up with it in the end zone.

“Turnovers, that’s the name of the game. If you win the explosive plays and turnover battle, you’ve got a 98 percent chance to win the game. We won every battle except the turnover battle and that was costly.

“It was a tough loss to take because we had it within our grasp and kind of handed (it) to them on a silver platter.”

Defensively, Northern did a pretty good job shutting down the Timberwolves’ option attack as it only gained 132 yards on the ground.

“Defensively, I think there was a lot of positives,” Cannon said. “We’re in a situation where we’re still playing a lot of young kids and anytime you go up against a true option team like Northwood, you wonder when they’ll lose discipline and when they’ll make mistakes.

“It’s not uncommon to get off to a good start against option teams. They have a rhythm and they have a style that sometimes takes awhile to get started, but wears you down as the game goes on.

“I thought since my time here that that’s probably the best that we’ve done as a defense in sticking to a game plan and making it work. That part about it, we came out (of) coverage twice and one of them, we were able to get back and clear it off.

“The other one was their biggest play of the day, the corner that was just trying to do too much. He saw the quarterback escape and left his man and he tried to make a play that you just can’t make. The ball gets caught and (the receiver) ran upfield a long way. That was tough.

“We held them to 2.8 yards per rush and I don’t know if I’ve ever lost a game where you hold people down that far in their run game when that’s what they are, a running team.

“It’s nice to be in games in the fourth quarter and it’s nice to be in games that you take into overtime. You can preach a lot more about the importance of every single play when you’re in those scenarios as opposed to getting beat 45-0 or something. They also take their toll on you as a team and as a coaching staff and you just don’t know what that answer is to be just one more play better.”

The losses may take a toll, but both coaches said spirits were high and the effort was still obvious.

“I think they’re really good,” Higgins said. “We had a practice (Monday) evening, a walkthrough kind of practice. Their spirits are good. Effort has never been a problem with our team.

“It’s consistency and that’s what has to happen, become a consistent team throughout the game. You just can’t flip a switch and turn it on and turn it off. At some point, these guys have got to learn to make a play to win the game versus making a play to lose the game.

“Somebody is going to step up and I’ve been at the other programs I’ve been where a lot of them were down. There’s always one spark and that’s all it takes.

“Then it’s like ‘Hey, we can get this done.’ I believe that’s in them. They’re fighters and there’s no give up in our guys.

“(Head) coach (Kyle) Nystrom has preached effort and toughness since we got here. The only thing we’re lacking offensively is consistency.

“That’s what I always preach to them. Do your job, that’s it. Don’t worry about doing anybody else(‘s). Just take care of your business and good things will happen.”

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.