If there was ever a case in which the Montana State University-Northern football team needed some time off, it would have been last week.
    Three games in which the Lights had chances to win every one of them, and then a 65-13 loss to Carroll College piled on top of it, and a bye week was a welcomed sight for a Lights’ team which started the season with a 20-3 road win at Western.
    But as the Lights prepare to face the Bulldogs for a second time Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium, spirits are high in the Northern camp following the bye week. And Samson said his team is approaching the second half of the year with a positive mentality.
    “Practice was really good this week,” Samson said. “I think it’s a situation where the bye week was a good one for us. It gave us a chance to step away from things a little bit and really evaluate things as a team and as a coaching staff.
    “We used this time to get rested and healthy again,” he added. “But we also got back to work and worked on some basics, correcting the things that have gone wrong for us so far this year.”
    And while plenty has gone wrong for Northern through five games, Samson said his team is focused on making things right over the course of the last five games of the year.
    “Looking back I really believe we’re better than a 1-4 team right now and I know the kids do to,” he said. “So our record certainly doesn’t sit well with us. We feel like we gave a couple of games away. But we also realize that record not something we can do change now. So instead, we’re approaching the rest of this season as a fresh start. We’re going into this game against Western looking at it as, we’re 0-0 and we have plenty of things we can play for an accomplish the rest of this year.
    “There is a lot of talent on this team,” Samson added. “And the kids have worked hard to get better, to be ready for this game and for the rest of the season so that we can finish with some positive things for this program. I’m pleased with the attitude and the approach this team has taken through the last two weeks. So as far as bye weeks go, they can either hurt you or help you, and I think this is one that will help us in the long run.”
    The Lights will try and defeat Western for the second time this season when the two teams square off at 12 p.m. Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium.