Recap: @UNCBearsFB Unable to Overcome Turnovers and Missed Opportunities

Saturday, October 28

Greeley, Colo.

12:30 pm

University of Northern Colorado

2-5 , 1-4

Southern Utah University

6-2 , 4-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Southern Utah

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Rob Trubia

10/28/2017 6:05:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

Two early fumbles and missed chances late, doomed Northern Colorado football in a 27-14 loss to Southern Utah

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – A pair of early turnovers put Northern Colorado in a 13-0 hole against Southern Utah Saturday afternoon and was too much to overcome as the Bears fell to the Thunderbirds 27-14 at Nottingham Field. The loss moves UNC to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big Sky, while SUU improved to 6-2, 4-1 Big Sky.

Southern Utah's first two scores of the game were set up by fumbles by UNC. The first turnover came when Bishop Jones stripped Hakeem Deggs near midfield and the Thunderbirds were set up at the Northern Colorado 38-yard line following a seven-yard return.

(10/28/2017) Football vs Southern Utah

SUU converted the fumble into a touchdown four plays later when quarterback Patrick Tyler scrambled for 31 yards into the end zone. Southern Utah missed its extra point attempt, taking a 6-0 lead.

The second UNC fumble came on a snap that quarterback Conor Regan wasn't expecting as the Bears were looking to draw Southern Utah offside on fourth down. Regan put too much emphasis in his cadence leading to an unexpected snap and the Thunderbird's Taylor Pili ended up recovering it at the UNC 41-yard line.

Southern Utah used yet another fourth down conversion during its second scoring drive of the game, to keep it alive. Starting in UNC territory for the second time of the day, SUU put together an eight-play drive, finished by Jay Green's two-yard run to make it a 13-0 game.

Northern Colorado received some luck of its own on the next two Southern Utah drives, as SUU missed a 46 and 34-yard field goal.

Following the missed 34 yard attempt, UNC came out with a big play on first down, as Conor Regan found Alex Wesley for a 65-yard pass to the SUU 15-yard line. The Bears capitalized two plays later as Brandon Cartagena scampered to paydirt from 15 yards out, cutting the UNC deficit to 13-7 midway through the second quarter.

Southern Utah responded with a nine play, 75 yards drive to go back up 20-7 and took that 13 point lead into the break.

In its first possession of the second half, Northern Colorado put together a six play, 82 yards drive to make it a one-possession game again with yet another 15-yard touchdown. This one via the air, as Regan found tight end Theron Verna for the score. The drive was once again sparked by an Alex Wesley big catch. Wesley made an acrobatic one-handed catch for 47 yards to move UNC into Southern Utah territory. It was two plays later when the Bears scored.

Just like in the second quarter when SUU responded to a Northern Colorado touchdown drive, they did the same thing in the third. This drive, lasting 13 plays over 83 yards as Tyler found receiver Camer Chambers for a 13-yard touchdown.

Northern Colorado had a shot to cut the lead back down to one possession in the third quarter when Ellis Onic II set up the team inside Southern Utah territory with a 14-yard punt return on a short kick. The team was set up in field goal range, but a Chance Bearnson sack for a 12-yard loss pushed the Bears out of range.

It was another missed opportunity for Northern Colorado that sealed the win for Southern Utah, early in the fourth quarter. The Bears drove down to the Southern Utah 14-yard line, but could not pick up the four yards needed to continue the drive on third or fourth down. A wide-open Anthony Davis saw a pass drop out of his hands on the right side of the end zone on third down. While on fourth down, Conor Regan felt the heat from the SUU rush and led tight end Michael McCauley just too far over the middle to turn the ball over on downs.

Those early turnovers and missed opportunities late, were the difference in the ballgame, as Southern Utah defeated the Bears 27-14.

They Said It
Head coach Earnest Collins

Overall thoughts on the game
"We did not make enough plays. We didn't make enough plays in the first half and on defense we had those two turnovers early to give them short fields. In the second half, we were able to hold them to seven points but missed out on a chance to put a little pressure on them when we were wide open in the end zone."

How early deficit from turnovers affected the team
"Whenever you are down 13-0, turnovers or not you are going to be in a hole. My philosophy on defense is no matter where a team starts with the ball you have to keep them out of the end zone. We were unable to do that in the first half."

About Alex Wesley's day
"Alex is a talented kid with his speed and his hands and his toughness. As long as he keeps his head on straight and keeps on doing what he does he has a shot to play in the NFL. We need him and some others to keep on making plays for us."

What was the message to the team follow the loss and playoff hopes going away
"This is now where you find your character when you seem to have nothing to look forward to in your season, but these final three games. It all starts with our senior class, those guys have only three games left in their career, it comes down to how you want to be remembered. Do you want to be known for giving up and quitting or by knowing that you went out fighting and swinging? Then for the rest of the guys that have more time to play in the future, the question is what are you going to do. You have to start that building block right now and not give up and pout, but help the team win games this season and moving forward.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Alex Wesley

About the offensive success in the game
"It was all about getting the blocks up front and getting the protection. We thought we could exploit some of the weaknesses in their (Southern Utah's) secondary and the offensive line did a good job and we were able to move the ball."

On one-handed catch
"It just happened, I just stuck my hand out there and was able to grab the ball. That wasn't the plan when I went up, but I happened to miss-judge it and it ended up sticking to my hand."

Sophomore quarterback Conor Regan

About strong offensive day
"I did feel a little more confident today. We just focused in on Southern Utah and what they brought to the table. The coaches brought the right game plan to the table and we just looked to execute what they gave us."

Senior safety Stone Kane

His message to team going into final three games
"I told the guys we know what we have, three weeks left, and we know what we have to do. We work all year long to play football. We put in a lot of work to play this game and to not look ahead to next season, but finish this season strong."

Game Notes
- Wide receiver Alex Wesley had a career day, finishing with a career-high in receptions (10) and receiving yards (193). It is the third time this season he has led the team in receiving and the second time he eclipsed the 100 yard mark. The 10 receptions in the game are the first time a Bear reached the 10 or more reception mark since Jace Davis did so against CSU-Pueblo in 2013. Wesley had a pair of catches over 20 yards on Saturday, bringing his season total to 11 plays of 20 yards or more.
- Quarterback Conor Regan was a beneficiary of the big day by Wesley, he had a strong game on the field as well. Completing 28 of his 54 passes, Regan accumulated 392 yards and a touchdown. It is the first time in his career passing for over 300 yards and fourth time this season UNC eclipsed that mark.
- Tight end Theron Verna is a touchdown machine, for the third straight game he caught a touchdown pass for Northern Colorado. He finished the contest with just one reception, but that one was a 15-yard touchdown pass. He now leads the team with four touchdown catches this season, one ahead of teammates Alex Wesley and Frank Stephens.
- Defensive end Kiefer Morris continues to be a terror on opposing offenses, recording his sixth and seventh sack of the year on Saturday. Morris leads the team with 7.5 sacks overall.
- Stone Kane led the Northern Colorado defense with 15 tackles against Southern Utah, followed up by Henry Stelzner's 12. UNC had four players record double-figure tackles for the second straight game as Noel Reid recorded 11, and Sherand Boyd Jr. added 10.
-Follow his Root Sports Big Sky Player of the Week honors from last week, punter Kiefer Glau had another strong day at the office. For the second straight game, he booted a punt over 50 yards, with his longest being 52 yards. Glau averaged 40.4 yards per punt and pinned SUU inside its 20-yard line three times.

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado hits the road for the next two weeks, going to Sacramento State next Saturday, November 4 for a date with the Hornets. Kickoff between the teams is set for 7 pm mountain time. Fans can follow the game on Pluto TV, WatchBigSky.com or by listening to the radio broadcast on 1310 KFKA.

The Bears have one home game remaining in the 2017 season on November 18 against Cal Poly at 11:30 am mountain time. Tickets for the game are available now at UNCBears.com/tickets, by calling 970-351-4849 or visiting the Nottingham Field Box Office Monday-Friday from 10 am – 6 pm.

To stay up to date with all things UNC football, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter at @UNCBearsFB.