University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, October 3
Sacramento, CA
7:05 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado
3-2 , 1-2
27
at
20
Sacramento State
1-4 , 0-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Northern Colorado
7
3
10
7
27
Sacramento State
7
3
0
10
20
Team Stats
UNCO
SAC
Total Yards
194
438
Pass Yards
130
294
Rushing Yards
64
144
Penalty Yards
60
93
1st Downs
19
28
3rd Downs
8
7
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
25:59
34:01
1st Quarter
UNCO 7, SAC 0
UNCO - Hakeem Deggs 100 yd kickoff return (Jamie Falloon kick)
UNCO 7, SAC 7
SAC - Stone Sander 2 yd pass from Kolney Cassel (Brad Cornish kick) 4 plays, 14 yards, TOP 1:52
2nd Quarter
UNCO 10, SAC 7
UNCO - Jamie Falloon 28 yd field goal 15 plays, 59 yards, TOP 6:42
UNCO 10, SAC 10
SAC - Brad Cornish 22 yd field goal 14 plays, 85 yards, TOP 1:56
3rd Quarter
UNCO 13, SAC 10
UNCO - Jamie Falloon 38 yd field goal 14 plays, 59 yards, TOP 6:24
UNCO 20, SAC 10
UNCO - AJ Battle 26 yd fumble recovery (Jamie Falloon kick)
4th Quarter
UNCO 20, SAC 13
SAC - Brad Cornish 35 yd field goal 10 plays, 47 yards, TOP 4:41
UNCO 20, SAC 20
SAC - John McGill 14 yd pass from Kolney Cassel (Brad Cornish kick) 5 plays, 77 yards, TOP 1:54
UNCO 27, SAC 20
UNCO - Trevor Douglass 58 yd fumble recovery (Jamie Falloon kick)
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
16
TD
0
YDS
130
INT
0
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
K
/ Football
RB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
Photo by: Bob Solorio
@UNCBEARSFB Defense Scores Twice in First Ever Win Over Sac State
10/3/2015 11:32:00 PM | Football
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – On a night when the offense wasn't up to par, the other two-thirds of the team stepped up and helped Northern Colorado (3-2, 1-2 Big Sky) to a thrilling 27-20 road win over Sacramento State (1-4, 0-2) to pick up its first league victory of the season.
This was also the first time in program history that UNC defeated Sac State.
Both the defense and the special teams accounted for all three of the Bears touchdowns and junior kicker Jamie Falloon tacked on two field goals (28, 38 yards)for all 27 of the team's points.
UNC totaled just 179 yards of offense on the night compared to Sacramento State's 438 yards, but head coach Earnest Collins Jr. was proud of the way his team stepped up when the offense wasn't clicking.
"The defense showed up today – the offense did what they had to do, they put a couple drives together – we scored on special teams. It feels awesome," Collins said. "We kept talking about facing adversity and understanding that we were going to have our ups and downs and that we have to keep fighting through it and we did that today."
Senior leadership was the theme on defense as three different seniors made defining plays throughout the game.
Senior corner A.J. Battle was the first to score on the defense, taking a fumble recovery 26 yards the other way for six. Fellow senior Trevor Douglass repeated the fumble recovery act late in the fourth quarter, taking the ball 58 yards for a touchdown, and the eventual game winner, and finally, senior corner James Davis made the game-winning break up on fourth down in the end zone after the Hornets drove all the way to the Bears' five-yard line.
"These guys are fighters. Our defense has been through some things with injuries, but these guys stepped up when the team needed them and made the big plays when they had to," Collins added.
In his second start of the year redshirt freshman quarterback Jacob Knipp finished 16-of-32 for 131 yards. Knipp had a difficult time getting into a rhythm due to a big Hornets defensive line that had the quarterback hurrying most of the night.
The run game combined for just 78 yards on 22 attempts. Junior back Darius Graham finished his day with 26 yards and redshirt sophomore Brandon Cartagena ended with 32 yards on the ground.
Redshirt sophomore Hakeem Deggs started the game off with a bang, taking the opening kickoff 100 yards to put the first points on the board for the Bears. With the big touchdown return, Deggs tied the all-time single game record of longest kick return in program history.
The last time Northern Colorado had a 100-yard kickoff return for a TD was during the 2014 season when playing Sacramento State in Greeley. Redshirt sophomore Ellis Onic II achieved the same mark, taking it from end zone to end zone.
Ten minutes later in the half, SSU tied the game up going 14 yards in four plays for a two-yard touchdown pass after the Hornets recovered a muffed punt from Onic deep in UNC territory.
Both teams exchanged a field goal in the second quarter and headed into the locker room tied at 10-10.
After long drives from both teams in the third quarter, Northern Colorado put its second field goal of the night through the uprights on a 38 yarder from Falloon.
The Bears traveled 59 yards in 14 plays and took 6:24 off the clock during the scoring drive. Falloon's second make gave UNC a slight edge, 13-10 over the Hornets with 3:47 remaining in the third quarter.
On the very next drive, the defense contributed to the cause after junior defensive end Mikhail Dubose knocked the ball loose from the Hornets' back, Jeremiah Reddick.
With the ball loose, Battle scooped it up and traveled 26 yards the other way, making it a 20-10 UNC lead with a little over a minute remaining in the third.
Sac State methodically worked its way back into the ball game, going 47 yards in 10 plays to begin the fourth quarter. After moving into UNC territory behind a series of runs, the Bears' D held the Hornets for three straight plays, forcing them to take a 35-yard field goal attempt. The field goal was true and the Bears lead dwindled back to seven, 20-13 with 11:21 to play in the ball game.
After a quick three-and-out from the offense, Sac State tied the game up for the third time, going 77 yards in just five plays, capping the drive off with a 14-yard touchdown pass, making it all square at 20-20 with 7:18 left in the fourth.
The saving play of the game came after a facemask penalty from Battle, moving the ball 15 yards into UNC territory, setting up the Hornets with 1st and 10 on the UNC 40-yard line.
The very next play redshirt freshman defensive end, Keifer Morris stripped the ball from SSU running back Jordan Robinson.
Once again the Bears were quick to pounce on the ball. This time Douglass picked it up and sprinted 58 yards the other way, giving UNC the 27-20 lead, and the eventual game winning touchdown.
"We're going to enjoy this win tonight and get back home and go over the film on Sunday," Collins said. "We'll get a couple of days work in with the guys and give them a couple of days off to get everyone healthy, but now we're focused on homecoming and the game against UC Davis."
In terms production, the defense had one of its best performances of the season. Northern Colorado chalked up two fumble recoveries, two sacks, four pass breakups, five QB hurries, and 10 tackles for losses.
For the second straight game junior safety Taylor Risner recorded double-digits tackles with 10 (3 solo, 7 assisted). This is his third game of the season having at least 10 tackles.
Behind Risner was Douglass who ended his night with nine tackles (6 solo, 3 assisted) and the 58-yard fumble recovery TD.
After the bye week Northern Colorado hosts UC Davis (0-5, 0-2 Big Sky) on Oct. 17 during homecoming. Kickoff against the Aggies is set for 1:05 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast Entertainment Television (CET).
This was also the first time in program history that UNC defeated Sac State.
Both the defense and the special teams accounted for all three of the Bears touchdowns and junior kicker Jamie Falloon tacked on two field goals (28, 38 yards)for all 27 of the team's points.
UNC totaled just 179 yards of offense on the night compared to Sacramento State's 438 yards, but head coach Earnest Collins Jr. was proud of the way his team stepped up when the offense wasn't clicking.
"The defense showed up today – the offense did what they had to do, they put a couple drives together – we scored on special teams. It feels awesome," Collins said. "We kept talking about facing adversity and understanding that we were going to have our ups and downs and that we have to keep fighting through it and we did that today."
Senior leadership was the theme on defense as three different seniors made defining plays throughout the game.
Senior corner A.J. Battle was the first to score on the defense, taking a fumble recovery 26 yards the other way for six. Fellow senior Trevor Douglass repeated the fumble recovery act late in the fourth quarter, taking the ball 58 yards for a touchdown, and the eventual game winner, and finally, senior corner James Davis made the game-winning break up on fourth down in the end zone after the Hornets drove all the way to the Bears' five-yard line.
"These guys are fighters. Our defense has been through some things with injuries, but these guys stepped up when the team needed them and made the big plays when they had to," Collins added.
In his second start of the year redshirt freshman quarterback Jacob Knipp finished 16-of-32 for 131 yards. Knipp had a difficult time getting into a rhythm due to a big Hornets defensive line that had the quarterback hurrying most of the night.
The run game combined for just 78 yards on 22 attempts. Junior back Darius Graham finished his day with 26 yards and redshirt sophomore Brandon Cartagena ended with 32 yards on the ground.
Redshirt sophomore Hakeem Deggs started the game off with a bang, taking the opening kickoff 100 yards to put the first points on the board for the Bears. With the big touchdown return, Deggs tied the all-time single game record of longest kick return in program history.
The last time Northern Colorado had a 100-yard kickoff return for a TD was during the 2014 season when playing Sacramento State in Greeley. Redshirt sophomore Ellis Onic II achieved the same mark, taking it from end zone to end zone.
Ten minutes later in the half, SSU tied the game up going 14 yards in four plays for a two-yard touchdown pass after the Hornets recovered a muffed punt from Onic deep in UNC territory.
Both teams exchanged a field goal in the second quarter and headed into the locker room tied at 10-10.
After long drives from both teams in the third quarter, Northern Colorado put its second field goal of the night through the uprights on a 38 yarder from Falloon.
The Bears traveled 59 yards in 14 plays and took 6:24 off the clock during the scoring drive. Falloon's second make gave UNC a slight edge, 13-10 over the Hornets with 3:47 remaining in the third quarter.
On the very next drive, the defense contributed to the cause after junior defensive end Mikhail Dubose knocked the ball loose from the Hornets' back, Jeremiah Reddick.
With the ball loose, Battle scooped it up and traveled 26 yards the other way, making it a 20-10 UNC lead with a little over a minute remaining in the third.
Sac State methodically worked its way back into the ball game, going 47 yards in 10 plays to begin the fourth quarter. After moving into UNC territory behind a series of runs, the Bears' D held the Hornets for three straight plays, forcing them to take a 35-yard field goal attempt. The field goal was true and the Bears lead dwindled back to seven, 20-13 with 11:21 to play in the ball game.
After a quick three-and-out from the offense, Sac State tied the game up for the third time, going 77 yards in just five plays, capping the drive off with a 14-yard touchdown pass, making it all square at 20-20 with 7:18 left in the fourth.
The saving play of the game came after a facemask penalty from Battle, moving the ball 15 yards into UNC territory, setting up the Hornets with 1st and 10 on the UNC 40-yard line.
The very next play redshirt freshman defensive end, Keifer Morris stripped the ball from SSU running back Jordan Robinson.
Once again the Bears were quick to pounce on the ball. This time Douglass picked it up and sprinted 58 yards the other way, giving UNC the 27-20 lead, and the eventual game winning touchdown.
"We're going to enjoy this win tonight and get back home and go over the film on Sunday," Collins said. "We'll get a couple of days work in with the guys and give them a couple of days off to get everyone healthy, but now we're focused on homecoming and the game against UC Davis."
In terms production, the defense had one of its best performances of the season. Northern Colorado chalked up two fumble recoveries, two sacks, four pass breakups, five QB hurries, and 10 tackles for losses.
For the second straight game junior safety Taylor Risner recorded double-digits tackles with 10 (3 solo, 7 assisted). This is his third game of the season having at least 10 tackles.
Behind Risner was Douglass who ended his night with nine tackles (6 solo, 3 assisted) and the 58-yard fumble recovery TD.
After the bye week Northern Colorado hosts UC Davis (0-5, 0-2 Big Sky) on Oct. 17 during homecoming. Kickoff against the Aggies is set for 1:05 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast Entertainment Television (CET).
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