Getting off to a 1-3 start isn't what Lincoln was shooting for.
But the Blue Tigers are still confident they can achieve their ultimate goal.
"Our team, bottom line, is trying to have a winning football season," head coach Mike Jones said Thursday. "We're still in the position to do everything we're shooting for. We've just got to quit shooting ourselves in the foot, do what we're supposed to, and we should be fine."
Lincoln will try to get back on the right track when the Blue Tigers travel to William Jewell for the first-ever meeting with the Cardinals at 6 p.m. today in a Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup at Greene Stadium in Liberty.
"William Jewell is a good football team," Jones said. "They're going to do everything in their power not to lose this game. It's going to be a great challenge."
The Cardinals (1-3, 1-0) have lost three straight games since claiming a 29-26 win in the season opener against Southwest Baptist, while Lincoln (1-3, 1-2) is trying to bounce back from a 29-20 loss in Week 4 against Truman State.
A victory today would give the Blue Tigers their first true road win since beating Haskell in 2008, and it would also be Lincoln's first conference road win since defeating Central Missouri to end the 1975 season.
"(A win) would be huge," Jones said. "It's a road victory in a conference game. That hasn't happened in almost 40 years, so that's what we're striving for. That's one of our goals is to have a road victory in the conference."
The Blue Tigers didn't do themselves any favors last week when they played Truman State (3-1, 2-0), the conference leader, on the road. Lincoln committed three turnovers and had 13 penalties, resulting in a loss of 123 yards.
Cutting down on those miscues were a point of emphasis for the Blue Tigers in practice this week.
"The first thing I told our guys was, "We have got to cut down on penalties,'" Jones said. "We're having too many penalties that are hurting us."
The Blue Tigers were hurt in other areas, too.
Morris Henderson was limited to 29 yards rushing on 19 carries against Truman - a week after the senior running back set a school and GLVC record with six touchdowns during Lincoln's Week 3 win against Quincy.
Jones said Henderson, ranked third in the conference with 402 yards rushing on 81 carries, has already put that game behind him.
"He wants to be great, and the only way he can do that is keep playing hard," Jones said. "(Truman) did some things to eliminate some of the plays that he was making before, but he understands this is a team sport and we need all 11 guys playing well.
"He plays as hard as he possibly can all the time, so he just needs to keep playing with that same intensity and the rest of our guys will do the same."
Owen Jordan completed 21-of-38 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown last week. But the junior, filling in for the injured Jacob Morris, also threw three interceptions.
Jones said Morris will likely be sidelined with a neck injury for two more weeks. Still, Jordan has completed 56-of-87 passes with four touchdowns and four interceptions in three starts for the Blue Tigers.
"(Jordan) is getting some valuable experience, and he's playing hard for us," Jones said. "He's getting better each week. Last week he took a little step back, but that's credit to a really, really good defense in Truman State."
William Jewell is ranked fifth in scoring offense (25.8 points per game), last in total offense (342.5 yards) and is eighth of nine teams in scoring defense (43.2 points).
That doesn't mean Lincoln, ranked second in scoring offense (32.8), second in total offense (391.5) and seventh in scoring defense (33.2), is looking past the Cardinals
"They play extremely hard, that's the first thing," Jones said. "They do a lot of different things, and we've got to make sure we account for it."
The Cardinals' air attack is led by sophomore quarterback Nick West, who has competed 42-of-80 passes for 615 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. D.J. Balazs has also completed 38-of-71 passes for 367 yards with a touchdown and four picks in three games this season.
West, the primary starter, is coming off one of his strongest performances after going 27-of-29 with five TDs and an interception against SDSMT.
"When we have some one-on-one opportunities, we've got to beat the one-ones," Jones said. "We have to get in the rush lanes where we rush the quarterback, because he does scramble around a lot and makes plays."
Thomas Cook is a dual-threat running back, leads the Cardinals with 231 yards rushing on 61 attempts. The junior is also second on the team in receptions and leads the league in punt-return average at 9.0 yards.
"We've got to make sure we can corral him," Jones said.