Football Preview: Northern Colorado vs. #2 Eastern Washington

Calendar

Sep 13

12 p.m. MT | 1 p.m. CT

Football

at #20/12 South Dakota

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Sep 20

5 p.m. MT | 6 p.m. CT

Football

at Houston Christian

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Sep 27

1 p.m. MT

Football

vs Idaho State

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Oct 11

3 p.m. MT

Football

at #10/8 Idaho

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Oct 18

7 p.m. MT | 6 p.m. PT

Football

at #21/21 Sacramento State

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Oct 25

1 p.m. MT

Football

vs #9/9 UC Davis

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Nov 1

12 p.m. MT

Football

vs #6/4 Montana State

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Nov 8

4 p.m. MT

Football

at #19/18 Northern Arizona

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Nov 15

2 p.m. MT | 1 p.m. PT

Football

at Eastern Washington

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Bears Notes
Eagles Notes
Big Sky Notes

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GAME TIME:
The Northern Colorado football team (2-4, 1-2 Big Sky) heads to the "Inferno" at Cheney, Washington this Saturday, taking on #2 Eastern Washington (6-1, 3-0 Big Sky) at 2:05 p.m. (MT). This will be the first time in three years that the Bears will square off against the Eagles.

LAST GAME:
UNC dropped its first game at Nottingham Field in a high scoring affair to Sacramento State, (4-3, 1-2 Big Sky) 43-38 on Saturday. A late fourth quarter touchdown reception by sophomore wide out, Stephen Miller cut the Hornets' lead to six, but the Bears special team unit couldn't capitalize on the onside kick to give themselves one final attempt to win the game.

After missing the last two weeks of action sophomore quarterback Sean Rubalcaba returned to the field in a big way, going 25-35-0 for 301-yards and three touchdown passes. Rubalcaba also added 48-yards on the ground and rushing TD in the loss.
Miller led UNC in the receiving game, hauling in nine balls for 142-yards and a visit to the end zone. Senior wide receiver, Dimitri Stimphil ended his day with seven catches for 95-yards.

Senior running back, Robert Holland was the premiere back for the Bears, breaking loose for 122-yards on 13 carries and a touchdown.

Defensively, sophomore cornerback, Brandon Lenoir and redshirt freshman linebacker, James Riddle led the team in tackles, collecting 12 stops each. Northern Colorado continues its streak of at least one interception in each game, giving the team a total of 14 on the year. This was also the Bears best offensive outing of the season, tallying 471-yards in the loss.

EASTERN WASHINGTON:
The second-ranked Eastern Washington University football team rushed for 280 yards to take pressure off the first career start by West, and the Eagles went on to defeat Southern Utah 42-30 Saturday (Oct. 11) in a Big Sky Conference game at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah.

Sophomore Jalen Moore and senior Mario Brown had career-best performances to combine for 267 yards and three touchdowns, while West had 288 yards through the air. Eastern had 54 rushes in the game and passed 27 times en route to a 568-513 advantage in total offense.

Sophomore Kendrick Bourne had four catches for 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half. Cooper Kupp led EWU receivers with six catches for 63 yards, but was held out of the end zone for only the second time in his career.

Freshman redshirt cornerback Victor Gamboa had the first two interceptions of his career for the Eagles. His first came at the EWU 3-yard line in the second quarter, and then he had a pick on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter, helping preserve an 11-point EWU lead. He also finished the game with seven tackles.

THE COACHES:
Earnest Collins Jr. - Northern Colorado Record: 8-32 (4th year) Overall Record: 16-44 (6th year)
Beau Baldwin – Eastern Washington Record: 62-23 (6th year) Overall Record: 71-26 (7th year)

UP NEXT:
Northern Colorado returns to Greeley, Colorado to take on Idaho State University, Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1:30 p.m. The Bears look to keep their winning record at Nottingham Field intact as they continue Big Sky play.