University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, November 4
Sacramento, CA
7:00 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado
2-6 , 1-5
21
at
50
Sacramento State
5-4 , 4-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Northern Colorado
7
14
0
0
21
Sacramento State
14
6
9
21
50
Photo by: Rob Trubia
Recap: Second Half Mistakes Do In @UNCBearsFootball Against Sacramento State
11/4/2017 11:55:00 PM | Football
Northern Colorado football made too many second half mistakes, falling to Sacramento State 50-21 Saturday night.
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – Second half mistakes came back to haunt Northern Colorado Saturday night as they fell to Sacramento State 50-21 at Hornets Stadium. The loss is the fifth straight for UNC moving them to 2-6 on the season and 1-5 in the Big Sky. Sacramento State improves to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
The Bears took a 21-20 lead into the break, but a bad snap turned into a safety, and a pair of interceptions helped lead to 30 unanswered points in the second half for the Hornets to put away UNC.
Sacramento State started the game by taking advantage of short fields its first two times on offense driving the ball 50 and 51 yards for scoring drives. Both drives combined for 16 plays and the Hornets only threw a pass on one of those 16 plays.
The Bears found the end zone following the second Hornet scoring drive on a 93 yards drive. Trae Riek moved UNC into Sac St territory with a 48-yard run followed up by a Conor Regan to Hakeem Deggs 17-yard pass. Brandon Cartagena finished the drive with a 5-yard rush up the middle.
Both defenses settled in during the end of the first quarter and early second, until the scoring opened up again when Sacramento State kicker Devon Medeiros hit a 44-yard field goal to extend its lead to 17-7.
Northern Colorado wasted no time, cutting into the Hornets lead, as on the first play following the touchdown quarterback Conor Regan found a wide open Alex Wesley streaking down the right side of the field and used his speed to finish off the 83-yard touchdown. The pass is the longest play from scrimmage this season for UNC.
The Bears took the lead on their next possession thanks to the efforts of defensive end Kiefer Morris. Morris strip-sacked Sacramento State quarterback Roman Ale, and then recovered the ball at the Hornets' 30-yard line.
UNC capitalized on the forced turnover four plays later when Regan used his legs this time to score from 5-yards out making it 21-17 game. Sac St made it a 21-20 game going into the half with a 34-yard field goal as the clock hit zeros.
Northern Colorado mistakes allowed Sacramento State to reclaim the lead in the third quarter, and build upon it.
The first mistake came on a snap that went out of the back of the end zone as it went passed an unsuspecting Regan for a 22-21 Sacramento State lead early in the quarter. Sac St extended its lead to nine when Dre Terrell intercepted Regan at the UNC 41-yard line, and Elijah Dotson turned it into a touchdown one play later.
A second Regan interception sealed the deal for the Sacramento State victory as I Anderson jumped in front of the pass and turned it into six points the other way for a 43-21 lead with under six minutes remaining in the game.
They Said It
Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr.
What changed in the second half?
It wasn't necessarily that they did anything different against us in the second half, it was just too many mistakes all around. We made the wrong reads on offense, and too many arm tackles on defense.
What can you do to improve from the mistakes?
We will go look at the film and see the mistakes we made, and look to not make them again. When you lose a ballgame like we did tonight by making mistakes that mean they were doing something to you that you didn't see before and we will see that tonight on the film and adjust to it.
Game Notes
- Trae Riek's rush for 48 yards on the Bears first touchdown drive, was the longest rush of the season for Northern Colorado. He finished the game with 117 rushing yards, for his second 100 yards game of the season.
- Alex Wesley continues to have a strong year for UNC going over 100 yards receiving for the fourth time this season. He once again led the Bears with seven catches for 144 yards and a touchdown.
-With his 114 yards rushing day, Trae Riek became the eighth player in UNC history to rush for 2,000 yards in a career. He sits at 2,007 following tonight's performance
- Saturday night marked the first time since UNC's game against Idaho State that they passed the century marking rushing as a team.
- Defensive end Kiefer Morris made his presence known in the backfield on Saturday night. The Bears DE recorded the strip sack fumble and recovery while finishing with six tackles, including two for a loss and 1.0 sacks.
- Three bears finished the game with double-figure tackles in Henry Stelzner (13), Sherand Boyd Jr. (10) and Tank Terrell (10).
What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado closes out the road portion of its schedule next week when they head to Montana for a showdown with the Griz. Kickoff between UNC and UM is set for 1 pm MT. The game will be broadcast on Root Sports/ATT Sports Network. Fans can also listen the broadcast of the game on 1310 KFKA starting at 12 pm with Blue and Gold Gameday with Troy Coverdale and Aaron Rath.
The Bears close out the 2017 season on November 18 against Cal Poly at 11:30 am MT at home. 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.
The Bears took a 21-20 lead into the break, but a bad snap turned into a safety, and a pair of interceptions helped lead to 30 unanswered points in the second half for the Hornets to put away UNC.
Sacramento State started the game by taking advantage of short fields its first two times on offense driving the ball 50 and 51 yards for scoring drives. Both drives combined for 16 plays and the Hornets only threw a pass on one of those 16 plays.
The Bears found the end zone following the second Hornet scoring drive on a 93 yards drive. Trae Riek moved UNC into Sac St territory with a 48-yard run followed up by a Conor Regan to Hakeem Deggs 17-yard pass. Brandon Cartagena finished the drive with a 5-yard rush up the middle.
Both defenses settled in during the end of the first quarter and early second, until the scoring opened up again when Sacramento State kicker Devon Medeiros hit a 44-yard field goal to extend its lead to 17-7.
Northern Colorado wasted no time, cutting into the Hornets lead, as on the first play following the touchdown quarterback Conor Regan found a wide open Alex Wesley streaking down the right side of the field and used his speed to finish off the 83-yard touchdown. The pass is the longest play from scrimmage this season for UNC.
The Bears took the lead on their next possession thanks to the efforts of defensive end Kiefer Morris. Morris strip-sacked Sacramento State quarterback Roman Ale, and then recovered the ball at the Hornets' 30-yard line.
UNC capitalized on the forced turnover four plays later when Regan used his legs this time to score from 5-yards out making it 21-17 game. Sac St made it a 21-20 game going into the half with a 34-yard field goal as the clock hit zeros.
Northern Colorado mistakes allowed Sacramento State to reclaim the lead in the third quarter, and build upon it.
The first mistake came on a snap that went out of the back of the end zone as it went passed an unsuspecting Regan for a 22-21 Sacramento State lead early in the quarter. Sac St extended its lead to nine when Dre Terrell intercepted Regan at the UNC 41-yard line, and Elijah Dotson turned it into a touchdown one play later.
A second Regan interception sealed the deal for the Sacramento State victory as I Anderson jumped in front of the pass and turned it into six points the other way for a 43-21 lead with under six minutes remaining in the game.
They Said It
Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr.
What changed in the second half?
It wasn't necessarily that they did anything different against us in the second half, it was just too many mistakes all around. We made the wrong reads on offense, and too many arm tackles on defense.
What can you do to improve from the mistakes?
We will go look at the film and see the mistakes we made, and look to not make them again. When you lose a ballgame like we did tonight by making mistakes that mean they were doing something to you that you didn't see before and we will see that tonight on the film and adjust to it.
Game Notes
- Trae Riek's rush for 48 yards on the Bears first touchdown drive, was the longest rush of the season for Northern Colorado. He finished the game with 117 rushing yards, for his second 100 yards game of the season.
- Alex Wesley continues to have a strong year for UNC going over 100 yards receiving for the fourth time this season. He once again led the Bears with seven catches for 144 yards and a touchdown.
-With his 114 yards rushing day, Trae Riek became the eighth player in UNC history to rush for 2,000 yards in a career. He sits at 2,007 following tonight's performance
- Saturday night marked the first time since UNC's game against Idaho State that they passed the century marking rushing as a team.
- Defensive end Kiefer Morris made his presence known in the backfield on Saturday night. The Bears DE recorded the strip sack fumble and recovery while finishing with six tackles, including two for a loss and 1.0 sacks.
- Three bears finished the game with double-figure tackles in Henry Stelzner (13), Sherand Boyd Jr. (10) and Tank Terrell (10).
What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado closes out the road portion of its schedule next week when they head to Montana for a showdown with the Griz. Kickoff between UNC and UM is set for 1 pm MT. The game will be broadcast on Root Sports/ATT Sports Network. Fans can also listen the broadcast of the game on 1310 KFKA starting at 12 pm with Blue and Gold Gameday with Troy Coverdale and Aaron Rath.
The Bears close out the 2017 season on November 18 against Cal Poly at 11:30 am MT at home. 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.
Team Stats
NC
SAC
Total Yards
346
470
Pass Yards
220
137
Rushing Yards
126
333
Penalty Yards
44
40
1st Downs
12
23
3rd Downs
0
9
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
23:45
36:15
1st Quarter
NC 0, SAC 7
SAC - DOTSON, Elijah 25 yd run (MEDEIROS, Devon kick), 8 plays, 51 yards, TOP 3:24
NC 0, SAC 14
SAC - RUCKER, Johnnie 3 yd pass from ALE, Roman (MEDEIROS, Devon kick) 8 plays, 50 yards, TOP 3:52
NC 7, SAC 14
NC - CARTAGENA,Brand 5 yd run (ROOT,Collin kick), 6 plays, 93 yards, TOP 2:47
2nd Quarter
NC 7, SAC 17
SAC - MEDEIROS, Devon 44 yd field goal 9 plays, 47 yards, TOP 4:12
NC 14, SAC 17
NC - WESLEY,Alex 83 yd pass from REGAN,Conor (ROOT,Collin kick) 1 plays, 83 yards, TOP 0:12
NC 21, SAC 17
NC - REGAN,Conor 5 yd run (ROOT,Collin kick), 4 plays, 30 yards, TOP 1:07
NC 21, SAC 20
SAC - MEDEIROS, Devon 34 yd field goal 9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 1:23
3rd Quarter
NC 21, SAC 22
SAC - TEAM 11 yd safety
NC 21, SAC 29
SAC - DOTSON, Elijah 41 yd run (MEDEIROS, Devon kick), 1 plays, 41 yards, TOP 0:08
4th Quarter
NC 21, SAC 36
SAC - GABLE, Isaiah 4 yd run (MEDEIROS, Devon kick), 10 plays, 62 yards, TOP 4:05
NC 21, SAC 43
SAC - ANDERSON, I. 21 yd interception (MEDEIROS, Devon kick)
NC 21, SAC 50
SAC - ROBINSON, A. 17 yd pass from ALE, Roman (MEDEIROS, Devon kick) 6 plays, 33 yards, TOP 2:39
Game Leaders
CMP
16
TD
1
YDS
212
INT
2
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
8
INT
0
Players Mentioned
SS
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
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