Mistakes Hurt @UNCBearsFB Against Portland State

Saturday, October 13

Portland, Ore.

3 pm MT

University of Northern Colorado

0-7 , 0-4

Portland State

3-4 , 2-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Northern Colorado

Portland State

10/13/2018 6:28:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Northern Colorado football was unable to overcome its mistakes at Portland State Saturday

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

PORTLAND – The first drive of the game showed plenty of promise for Northern Colorado as they efficiently moved the ball down the field to the Portland State 20-yard line, but a third-down interception changed the momentum of the game.

Starting from their 1-yard line following the interception, PSU went on a 13 play 99 yards drive to go up 7-0 and never look back in a 35-14 win over Northern Colorado. An interception inside the UNC red zone set up the second score of the day for PSU.

In a game where Northern Colorado outgained Portland State 367-282, it was mistakes that hurt theBears. The mistakes included battling the sun on kickoffs leading to the inability to catch the ball, penalties and a -3 turnover margin.

UNC found its momentum as the game went on leading to a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. The first a pass over the left side of the field that saw Alex Wesley turn on the jets and burn the PSU defenders for a 42-yard score. The Bears' second touchdown was a 1-yard Milo Hall run.

What They Said
Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr.
"This game was filled with mistakes. We just made too many mistakes in the first half of the game. In the second half we played better allowing just one touchdown and we scored two. We threw three interceptions and lost the turnover battle and just had way too many mistakes today."

Game Notes
- Alex Wesely recorded a career-high 11 receptions in the game for 163 yards and a touchdown. Of his 163 yards, 102 of them came in the second half. Wesely is now second all-time at UNC for receiving yards at 2,575. Only Vincent Jackson stands ahead of him Wesley with 3,548 yards.
- For the first time since the 2016 season finale, Northern Colorado had a pair of 100 yard receivers. Joining Wesley over the 100 yards mark was Willie Fairman. Fairman caught a career-best nine passes for 107 yards.
- Portland State had a game plan and it was run all the time. The Vikings ran the ball 47 times compared to nine pass attempts.
- Henry Stelzner and Keifer Glau tied for the team lead in tackles at eight. Stelzner had 1.5 tackles for a loss while Glau had 0.5.

What's Ahead
Northern Colorado returns home next weekend in the battle of the Northerns as Northern Arizona comes to town. UNC and NAU have split their past five meetings holding serve on their home fields. Kickoff between the Bears and Lumberjacks is set for noon. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

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