Recap: @UNCBearsFB dominates Coyotes to open season, 41-14

Saturday, September 2

Greeley, Colo.

2:00 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

1-0

College of Idaho

0-2 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

College of Idaho

Northern Colorado

Alex Wesley led the Bears Saturday with seven catches for 95 yards

Photo by: Rob Trubia

9/2/2017 7:03:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: By Zak Gilbert

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and true freshman Collin Root broke a school record as the Bears dominated College of Idaho, 41-14, Saturday at Nottingham Field.

(9/3/2017) Football vs College of Idaho

The win kicked off the program's 105th season and put UNC in the win column as the Bears turn their attention to a date with No. 17 Florida next week in Gainesville.

But at least for Saturday night, the Bears can celebrate a successful start.

"The goals for us were first to come out with a win," said head coach Earnest Collins, who won his sixth consecutive home-opener. "And then we wanted to dominate."

Quarterback Jacob Knipp helped the Bears do just that, right out of the gates. Making his first start in 51 weeks, the redshirt junior from Arvada, Colo., engineered those four TD drives to give UNC a 28-0 first-quarter advantage. Trae Riek ran in three of the scores, and Knipp did the honors on the fourth.

Collins said that first quarter was just what the Bears needed.

"It was a good opponent for us to give our young O-line some reps, go mix and match and figure out who can play what, and to get Knipp to knock the rust off. He hadn't played a game in a whole year, so it was good for him."

The Bears, who led 35-7 at halftime, scored on six of their first eight possessions. And they owed much of that success to the defense, which used interceptions to set up UNC inside Coyotes territory on two occasions. Collins said being assertive on defense was important for the overall mentality of the team.

"We knew we had to be a little more aggressive," he said. "Until our offense gets it going and our o-line gets a few more games under its belt, we have to be aggressive on defense. So we have to hold them on the back end and put a little more pressure on the quarterback up front."

That's exactly what UNC did on the first takeaway. Midway through the first quarter, Luke Nelson corralled a Darius Peterson pass at the Coyotes' 34-yard line, after the defensive line's pressure resulted in a deflected pass. The play was prophetic for the Bears' coaching staff, Collins said.

"We talk about tips and overthrows all the time. And our guys were right on point with it. Luke Nelson goes out and gets the interception on the tipped ball, and we talk about that; we stress that. It's good to see the guys honing in on what we're stressing."

Stress was also on Peterson most of the afternoon. In addition to the two interceptions, UNC also recorded three sacks. Cornerback Isaiah Swopes had the second interception, a diving grab to set up another first-quarter touchdown. The junior-college transfer also posted a sack on a corner blitz. He helped the Bears keep their foot on the gas throughout the game.

"I liked the intensity," Collins said. "We stayed in it the entire game. We didn't give up a whole lot of points in the second half, like we did last year (in the season-opener). And so all those things are things to build on."

Root can build on his performance, too. The freshman kicker, who like Knipp hails from Ralston Valley High School in the Denver area, made history in his first college game Saturday. He broke a 24-year-old school record with his 56-yard field goal late in the game. Ryan Anderson held the previous mark, 54 yards at Western State, Sept. 4, 1993. Root's kick also was the longest at Nottingham Field, breaking Mike Schauer's stadium record, 52, Oct. 4, 1997, vs. North Dakota State..

Before the kick, with UNC leading 38-7 with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Collins raised some eyebrows. But it was all by design, he said.

"I know a lot of people thought I was crazy when I put the field-goal team out there. But the kid has a powerful leg. I told myself that if we got in the situation for him to kick a long field goal, I was going to try it, just to see where his leg was at. I was kind of hoping that we didn't pick up that first down, so we could put him out there and see what he could do. And it turned into a school record for the kid."

And gauging Root's distance and giving him confidence were also part of the plan.

"They said it skinned the goal post," Collins said. "So we know he's a 55, 56-yard guy now, and if we have to put him out there to win a game, we're going to do it."

Collins also was impressed with Knipp, who knew Saturday was important considering the Bears' brutal next two weeks.

"He commanded the offense," Collins said. "He had some overthrows. He had some underthrows, but that's the rust. He'll get the film. He's a studier of the film, and he'll get in there and look at it and see what his footwork was like, why he was over on the overthrows, why he was under on the underthrows, and he'll get it fixed and we'll be good to go next week."

Next week is a trip to meet the No. 17 Gators (0-1), who lost their opener to No. 11 Michigan earlier Saturday in Arlington, Texas. The Bears will leave Thursday and return Sunday, following the 5:30 MDT kickoff Saturday evening at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, also known as the Swamp.

"We'll prepare like we normally would," Collins said, "except that we'll practice in Florida on Thursday instead of here at home.

"It'll be good for us. We'll practice at night so we can see what the humidity's all about out there. We'll get up that morning, get a little work in and get ready for the game that night. It's nothing that we haven't done before in the sense that we're going to stay overnight on Saturday. Thursday night's a little different for us, but our kids will handle it."