@UNCBearsFB Comeback Effort Falls Short at South Dakota

Saturday, September 8

Vermillion, S.D.

1 pm

University of Northern Colorado

0-2

South Dakota

1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Northern Colorado

South Dakota

9/8/2018 5:46:00 PM | Football

Box Score

UNC football's second half comeback attempt fell short at South Dakota

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

VERMILLION, S.D. – For the second straight week, a late comeback attempt fell short for Northern Colorado football as they fell at South Dakota 43-28 Saturday afternoon.

The game looked like a track meet during the first quart as both team's offenses scored on their first two possessions.

USD's fast pace offense came out and moved the ball right down the field with first downs on their first two plays and capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown to start the track meet.

A 4th down conversion was key for UNC as Alex Wesley caught a 33-yard pass on it. Wesley's catch set up Trae Riek's 11-yard touchdown run on the next play.

USD's offense was aided by a pair of Northern Colorado penalties in the second drive that led to a 3-yard touchdown pass.

Wesley and Riek again were the go-to players for the Bears in their second scoring drive of the game. Wesley converted a 3rd down with a 46-yard catch. Two plays later, Riek scored this time with a 15-yard catch to even the game at 14.

Following the early fireworks to start the game, both defenses strung together a pair of stops to end the first quarter.

The second quarter belonged to South Dakota as their offense outscored the Bears 20-0 and outgained them 267-55. With the advantage, the 'Yotes went into the half up 34-14.

In the third quarter, both teams lined up for a field goal, but missed. The Bears outgained USD 101-57 and entered the fourth quarter inside the South Dakota red zone.

UNC converted that chance with a two-yard touchdown pass to Theron Verna cutting the lead to 13 early in the fourth. The Bears defense continued to stop the USD offense giving the team a chance at a comeback.

Like the scoring drives in the first half, Alex Wesley played a key role in it. He ended up accounting for 54 of the 66 yards covered on the drive. It ended with a 25-yard touchdown reception to pull UNC within six at 34-28.

South Dakota quickly responded to make it a two-score game again at 40-28 and recovered a key fumble on the ensuing kickoff to put the game away, running down the clock and adding in a late field goal

Stat to Know
South Dakota's offense likes to move fast and push the pace, and that's just what they did on Saturday. The Coyotes offense ran 81 plays in the game leading to 635 total yards.

What They Said
Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr.

About the second quarter struggles
"Our pass defense was not very good at all. We knew the kid (Austin Simmons) could throw the ball. We did not play very well on defense today. Our offense scored enough points for us to win, but we can't be giving up 43 points and win."

On what changes helped the defense in the second half
"They wanted to throw the ball, that's what they do. He threw it over 40 times today. In the first half we gave up big play after big play after big play, then in the second half we got a beat on it, but someone does not do their assignment and we give up another big play. We just have to get there and look at the film."

How the team has responded in the first two weeks trying to make a comeback
"We have to stop putting ourselves in comeback situations. We have to come out in the first quarter and play like we did in the third and fourth quarter. Instead of getting punched in the mouth we need to come out and punch people in the mouth."

Game Notes
- Alex Wesley continues to show why he is an NFL prospect, leading the team with 10 receptions for 184 yards and a touchdown. He tied his career record for receptions in a game and was nine yards shy of tying his record for yards in a game.
- Jacob Knipp recorded his second career 300 yard passing game, going 26-35 for 331 yards and three touchdowns.
- The two offenses combined for over 1,000 yards in the game as USD racked up 635 yards, while UNC had 450.
- UNC ended up with seven tackles for a loss in the game, led by Henry Stelzner's four. He finished the game with seven total tackles.
- Keifer Glau led the team with 12 tackles, all of them solo, while Luke Nelson was the only other Bear with double-digit tackles at 10.

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado returns home next week when Sacramento State comes to town. Kickoff between the Bears and Hornets is set for 2 pm MT. While the Hornets are a Big Sky opponent, next week's game does not count in the Big Sky standings, but as a non-conference game. Tickets are available now at UNCBears.com/Tickets.

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