University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Team Stats

UNCO 0, CP 7
CP - Kori Garcia 6 yd run (Casey Sublette kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:31

UNCO 7, CP 7
UNCO - Hakeem Deggs 30 yd pass from Kyle Sloter (Jamie Falloon kick) 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:23

UNCO 7, CP 14
CP - Kori Garcia 2 yd run (Casey Sublette kick), 15 plays, 79 yards, TOP 6:26

UNCO 7, CP 21
CP - DJ Peluso 13 yd run (Casey Sublette kick), 5 plays, 59 yards, TOP 1:50

UNCO 14, CP 21
UNCO - Hakeem Deggs 1 yd pass from Kyle Sloter (Jamie Falloon kick) 9 plays, 68 yards, TOP 3:58

UNCO 14, CP 27
CP - J.J. Koski 30 yd pass from Dano Graves (Casey Sublette kickfailed) 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:34

UNCO 21, CP 27
UNCO - Stephen Miller 33 yd pass from Kyle Sloter (Jamie Falloon kick) 7 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:59

UNCO 21, CP 34
CP - Kyle Lewis 26 yd pass from Dano Graves (Casey Sublette kick) 10 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:37

UNCO 24, CP 34
UNCO - Jamie Falloon 38 yd field goal 7 plays, 37 yards, TOP 1:09

UNCO 31, CP 34
UNCO - Stephen Miller 6 yd pass from Kyle Sloter (Jamie Falloon kick) 5 plays, 62 yards, TOP 1:31

UNCO 31, CP 41
CP - DJ Peluso 45 yd run (Casey Sublette kick), 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 4:38

UNCO 38, CP 41
UNCO - Hakeem Deggs 24 yd pass from Kyle Sloter (Jamie Falloon kick) 8 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:52

UNCO 38, CP 48
CP - Joe Protheroe 6 yd run (Casey Sublette kick), 12 plays, 78 yards, TOP 5:27

UNCO 41, CP 48
UNCO - Jamie Falloon 36 yd field goal 7 plays, 46 yards, TOP 1:32

UNCO 41, CP 55
CP - Dano Graves 42 yd run (Casey Sublette kick), 3 plays, 48 yards, TOP 0:55

UNCO 48, CP 55
UNCO - Theron Verna 29 yd pass from Kyle Sloter (Jamie Falloon kick) 7 plays, 85 yards, TOP 1:36
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned

@UNCBEARSFB Fall in Heartbreaker at Cal Poly
11/19/2016 11:28:00 PM | Football
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How It Happened:
After both teams took their opening drives for six, it was foreshadowing that the contest was going to be a high scoring affair.
The Bears needed just two plays and 23 seconds to score its first touchdown of the game, a 30-yard pass from senior QB, Kyle Sloter to redshirt junior wide out, Hakeem Deggs to even the up the game at seven apiece.
The Mustangs and their lethal triple option kept pressing the Bears' D, which resulted in two methodical drives over 70 yards and 20 plays combined to take a 21-7 lead after the first quarter.
Northern Colorado answered with a barrage of touchdown passes in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 27-21, but a 26-yard pass and catch from CP's Dano Graves to Kyle Lewis gave the 'Stangs a 34-21 lead with 1:09 to play in the half.
UNC got touchdown receptions again from Deggs and senior receiver, Stephen Miller in the second quarter. Miller finished the night with a game-high 172 yards receiving and two touchdowns. His yardage on the night pushed him over 1,000 yards on the season, finishing with 1,007, the first time UNC has had a 1,000-yard receiver since the 2013 season.
Deggs, who caught three touchdown receptions of his own after it was all said and done, brought his season total to 10, tying the Division I single season touchdown reception record, set by Patrick Walker in 2011.
The Bears were able to make use of the minute remaining on the score clock, notching a 38-yard field goal from senior kicker, Jamie Falloon as time expired to make it 34-24 at the half. Falloon was good for one more field goal in the loss, a 36-yarder in the fourth quarter.
The third quarter was more of the same as the Bears' aerial onslaught continued. Sloter pushed his stat line close to 300 yards passing in the third act, while Miller snagged his second TD of the game.
It wasn't just the offense, but Northern Colorado's defense that made an impact in the quarter. UNC forced Cal Poly to punt two times, the first time they had done so in the game.
Still, the Bears couldn't get over the hump and CP went into the fourth with a 41-34 lead.
Cal Poly maintained a 10 to 14-point lead for the majority of the fourth quarter, but that didn't faze UNC.
The Bears kept their lunch pail mentality all through the last period of the season, and fought until the bitter end.
Northern Colorado put together scoring drives of 69, 48 and 85 yards, good for 17 points, making it a one possession game three different times throughout the last 15:00 minutes of the game.
The Bears had two onside kick opportunities that just missed, including the final attempt with 23 seconds remaining, falling short of its comeback bid, 55-48.
Sloter picked apart the Mustangs' secondary, once again tying the Bears' all-time single game touchdown pass record, tossing six TD passes. His final stat line was 26-of-42 for 438 yards, the second time on the year the senior threw for over 400 yards on the season. The 438 yards also set a new Division I single game program record, besting the previous record of 430 set by Seth Lobato in 2011.
Defensively, senior linebacker, Kyle Newsom was a monster on the field. Newsom racked up a career-high 18 tackles, the third straight game he's recorded 17 tackles or more. Newsom will end the season with 121 stops, the most in the Big Sky Conference.
Key Stat:
The Mustangs rushed for 443 yards on the night, producing six of their eight touchdowns on the ground.
Game Changer(s):
Redshirt junior receiver, Hakeem Deggs was a Jack-of-All Trades in the loss. Deggs hauled in seven passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns. He also added in 93 return yards for 221 all-purpose yards.
Senior quarterback, Kyle Sloter had another record-setting game, throwing for 438 yards (new Division I single-game record) and six touchdown passes (tied the all-time single game record).
Senior wide out, Stephen Miller caught a game-high nine receptions for 172 yards and brought in two touchdowns, pushing him over 1,000 yards receiving on the season.
In Their Words:
Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr.
"This team has battled all season long. The heart they showed tonight has been something they've done all year. It just came down to discipline. You have to play disciplined football against a team like Cal Poly and we just came up short in doing that. When you score 48 points that should be more than enough to win you games,"
"I can't say enough about this senior class. They brought a true culture change to this program and even though we let them down and didn't reach our goal of making it to the playoffs, they still have a lot to be proud of. Back-to-back winning seasons has never been done before at the Division I level and that happened because of them. I'm very proud of what they accomplished and what they gave to this program over their time, so we have to honor their achievements next season – they laid the groundwork for us to be even better next year, so we have to honor that and take this program to the next level next season."
Notables:
- Northern Colorado finished with back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the Division I era, and overall, the first time in 13 years the program has accomplished that feat.
- Redshirt sophomore tight end, Theron Verna caught his third touchdown pass in as many weeks, a 29-yard TD reception to make it 55-48 with 23 seconds to play.
- Senior QB, Kyle Sloter ends the year with 29 touchdown passes. The only quarterback to throw more touchdowns in a single season for UNC is former Harlon Hill Trophy winner, Corte McGuffey.
- The 2016 Bears finished with a 4-4 Big Sky record, tying for 2012 team for the best conference record in Division I history.
- The 2016 senior class won more games at the Division I level and more Big Sky games than any other class in the program's FCS history.
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