University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, November 5
Greeley, CO.
12:05 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado
5-4 , 3-3
13
vs
23
University of North Dakota
8-2 , 7-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
North Dakota
7
6
10
0
23
Northern Colorado
7
0
0
6
13
Team Stats
UND
UNCO
Total Yards
379
275
Pass Yards
89
269
Rushing Yards
290
6
Penalty Yards
35
56
1st Downs
18
15
3rd Downs
4
7
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
34:46
25:14
1st Quarter
UND 0, UNCO 7
UNCO - Theron Verna 4 yd pass from Kyle Sloter (Jamie Falloon kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:03
UND 7, UNCO 7
UND - Brady Oliveira 20 yd run (Reid Taubenheim kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:21
2nd Quarter
UND 10, UNCO 7
UND - Reid Taubenheim 24 yd field goal 7 plays, 36 yards, TOP 3:04
UND 13, UNCO 7
UND - Reid Taubenheim 40 yd field goal 6 plays, 45 yards, TOP 0:55
3rd Quarter
UND 20, UNCO 7
UND - Luke Mathewson 9 yd pass from Ryan Bartels (Reid Taubenheim kick) 5 plays, 53 yards, TOP 2:55
UND 23, UNCO 7
UND - Reid Taubenheim 34 yd field goal 8 plays, 49 yards, TOP 4:04
4th Quarter
UND 23, UNCO 13
UNCO - Stephen Miller 20 yd pass from Kyle Sloter (Kyle Sloter passfailed) 12 plays, 72 yards, TOP 2:25
Game Leaders
CMP
26
TD
2
YDS
269
INT
2
Players Mentioned
SS
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Missed Opportunities Lead to @UNCBEARSFB Loss Against UND
11/5/2016 4:40:00 PM | Football
GREELEY, Colo. – Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr. said all week that his Bears (5-4, 3-3 Big Sky) were in for a dogfight against No.11/16 North Dakota. (8-2, 7-0) On Saturday, his words rang true. UNC was never truly out of the contest, but missed opportunities and turnovers proved to be the Achilles' heal in the 23-13 loss.
How It Happened:
Northern Colorado got out to a hot start, taking their opening drive 75 yards down the field and capped it off with a four-yard TD pass to redshirt sophomore tight end, Theron Verna, his second touchdown reception of the season, to take the early 7-0 lead over the Fighting Hawks.
The lead lasted only five minutes as UND answered with an opening-drive touchdown of its own. Fighting Hawks' RB, Brady Oliveira broke free on a 20-yard run to tie the game up midway through the first.
Northern Colorado didn't find the end zone again until there was two minutes left to go in the game, but when one side of the ball struggles, the other answers the call as the defense did.
A commendable Bears' D held North Dakota in check as the Fighting Hawks converted just two field goals in the second quarter to make it 13-7 at the half.
In total, Northern Colorado's defense forced five UND punts, recorded its second interception of the season from junior safety, Stone Kane, and picked up its ninth fumble recovery of the season.
The Fighting Hawks extended their lead in the third quarter by 10, after nine-yard touchdown pass and another field goal to go up 23-7, but wouldn't score for the remainder of the game, as The Bears held the Fighting Hawks scoreless in the fourth quarter.
After the fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, UNC drove it all the way to the UND 3-yard line, but couldn't punch it in to the end zone, resulting in a turnover on downs.
The change of possession could have been the final dagger for the team, but they continued to battle and eventually found their way to pay dirt with 2:25 to play in the game.
Senior QB, Kyle Sloter connected with senior receiver, Stephen Miller from 20 yards out to seal a 72-yard drive, making it 23-13, after the failed two-point conversion.
The Bears had one final shot to keep the game alive, but could not recover the onside kick attempt.
Miller ended the day with his second straight 100-yard receiving game, and his fourth of the season, finishing with 108 yards on seven catches and one touchdown.
Sloter's final stat line read, 26-of-47 for 269 yards with two TD passes and two interceptions.
Game Changer:
UND's John Santiago was a thorn in the Bears' side all afternoon. The second year back rushed for 204 yards on 19 attempts and extended numerous drives for the Fighting Hawks.
Key Stat:
Northern Colorado finished the game with just six rushing yards on 21 attempts. The last time UNC was held to under 10 yards rushing came in the 2013 season, when they finished with just four rushing yards against Southern Utah.
Coach Collins' Thoughts:
"When you come into a game like this, playing a team like North Dakota who is top in the conference and is really, two plays away from being 9-0, you can't make the mistakes we made in this game. Our kids were fighting and they never game up, but there were too many mistakes that we made throughout this football game."
"You know [John] Santiago is a great running back and you have to understand he wants to run outside and too many times we let him run outside – offensively, you can't turn the ball over. You have to take advantage of the opportunities you get when you get them, so the bottom line is too many mistakes."
Notables:
- Finishing the day with 269 yards through the air, quarterback, Kyle Sloter now has 2,176 passing yards on the season. He's the first QB since the 2013 season to record 2,000 yards passing in a season.
- Sloter also set a new UNC Division I single season record for touchdown passes. Sloter now has 21 on the season with two games to play, besting the previous record of 19 set by Seth Lobato in 2012. He's also the first QB since 1995 to notch 20 TD passes in a year. The last to do it was former quarterback, Tom Beck.
- Senior linebacker, Kyle Newsom had an impressive game. Newsom tallied a career-high 17 tackles (5 solo, 12 assist). The 17 stops were a team and game-high.
- Junior safety, Stone Kane recorded his first career interception as a Bear in the loss. The INT was just the second on the season for UNC.
- UNC's defense held the UND passing game to just 89 yards passing. The last time the Bears kept a team under 100 yards passing came in 2012 when they held Colorado Mesa to just 69 yards passing.
Up Next:
Northern Colorado will finish out its home schedule next Saturday, Nov. 12 when the host No.19 Montana. Kickoff against the Griz is set for 12:05 p.m. UNC will be celebrating Military Appreciation Day, along with Senior Day. To purchase tickets to the game visit UNCBears.com.
How It Happened:
Northern Colorado got out to a hot start, taking their opening drive 75 yards down the field and capped it off with a four-yard TD pass to redshirt sophomore tight end, Theron Verna, his second touchdown reception of the season, to take the early 7-0 lead over the Fighting Hawks.
The lead lasted only five minutes as UND answered with an opening-drive touchdown of its own. Fighting Hawks' RB, Brady Oliveira broke free on a 20-yard run to tie the game up midway through the first.
Northern Colorado didn't find the end zone again until there was two minutes left to go in the game, but when one side of the ball struggles, the other answers the call as the defense did.
A commendable Bears' D held North Dakota in check as the Fighting Hawks converted just two field goals in the second quarter to make it 13-7 at the half.
In total, Northern Colorado's defense forced five UND punts, recorded its second interception of the season from junior safety, Stone Kane, and picked up its ninth fumble recovery of the season.
The Fighting Hawks extended their lead in the third quarter by 10, after nine-yard touchdown pass and another field goal to go up 23-7, but wouldn't score for the remainder of the game, as The Bears held the Fighting Hawks scoreless in the fourth quarter.
After the fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, UNC drove it all the way to the UND 3-yard line, but couldn't punch it in to the end zone, resulting in a turnover on downs.
The change of possession could have been the final dagger for the team, but they continued to battle and eventually found their way to pay dirt with 2:25 to play in the game.
Senior QB, Kyle Sloter connected with senior receiver, Stephen Miller from 20 yards out to seal a 72-yard drive, making it 23-13, after the failed two-point conversion.
The Bears had one final shot to keep the game alive, but could not recover the onside kick attempt.
Miller ended the day with his second straight 100-yard receiving game, and his fourth of the season, finishing with 108 yards on seven catches and one touchdown.
Sloter's final stat line read, 26-of-47 for 269 yards with two TD passes and two interceptions.
Game Changer:
UND's John Santiago was a thorn in the Bears' side all afternoon. The second year back rushed for 204 yards on 19 attempts and extended numerous drives for the Fighting Hawks.
Key Stat:
Northern Colorado finished the game with just six rushing yards on 21 attempts. The last time UNC was held to under 10 yards rushing came in the 2013 season, when they finished with just four rushing yards against Southern Utah.
Coach Collins' Thoughts:
"When you come into a game like this, playing a team like North Dakota who is top in the conference and is really, two plays away from being 9-0, you can't make the mistakes we made in this game. Our kids were fighting and they never game up, but there were too many mistakes that we made throughout this football game."
"You know [John] Santiago is a great running back and you have to understand he wants to run outside and too many times we let him run outside – offensively, you can't turn the ball over. You have to take advantage of the opportunities you get when you get them, so the bottom line is too many mistakes."
Notables:
- Finishing the day with 269 yards through the air, quarterback, Kyle Sloter now has 2,176 passing yards on the season. He's the first QB since the 2013 season to record 2,000 yards passing in a season.
- Sloter also set a new UNC Division I single season record for touchdown passes. Sloter now has 21 on the season with two games to play, besting the previous record of 19 set by Seth Lobato in 2012. He's also the first QB since 1995 to notch 20 TD passes in a year. The last to do it was former quarterback, Tom Beck.
- Senior linebacker, Kyle Newsom had an impressive game. Newsom tallied a career-high 17 tackles (5 solo, 12 assist). The 17 stops were a team and game-high.
- Junior safety, Stone Kane recorded his first career interception as a Bear in the loss. The INT was just the second on the season for UNC.
- UNC's defense held the UND passing game to just 89 yards passing. The last time the Bears kept a team under 100 yards passing came in 2012 when they held Colorado Mesa to just 69 yards passing.
Up Next:
Northern Colorado will finish out its home schedule next Saturday, Nov. 12 when the host No.19 Montana. Kickoff against the Griz is set for 12:05 p.m. UNC will be celebrating Military Appreciation Day, along with Senior Day. To purchase tickets to the game visit UNCBears.com.
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