University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
1-7 , 1-3
Portland State
5-3 , 3-1
Bears Pile Up the Yards, Fall to Portland State
10/19/2019 5:31:00 PM | Football
UNC football put up almost 500 yards of offense, but fell to Portland State Saturday
Northern Colorado's offense had its best game of the year gaining 497 yards and 23 first downs. Jacob Knipp accounted for 427 of the total offensive yards passing for 300 and rushing for another 127. He had two scores in the game, both through the air.
A trio of Bear receivers went over 50-yards receiving in the game in Noah Sol (97), Jaren Mitchell (96) and Chase Lanckriet (54). Sol had a 53-yard touchdown reception and Lanckriet an 18-yard. For Sol and Mitchell, it was a career-high.
Most of Portland State's yards came on the ground as they rushed for 344. Â
After going down 17-0, Jullen Ison gave the Bears offense the spark it needed starting with a 33-yard punt return to set the team up inside PSU territory. Knipp found Mitchel for 30-yards on the first play of the drive moving UNC into the red zone. Ison capped off the drive by scoring from four yards out.
Northern Colorado put up 240 yards of offense in the second quarter including a 72-yard run by Knipp. The run came after Nick Johnson recovered a fumble as Portland State was threatening to score inside the Bears' five. Unfortunately for UNC that drive ended in a turnover.
Trailing 24-7 as halftime approached, Northern Colorado put together an eight play, 85-yard drive over 1:43 to cut the deficit to 10 by the break. Knipp found Chase Lanckriet who ran down the left sideline for the 18-yard score.
The momentum of the second quarter carried over to the start of the third as UNC forced a Portland State punt and then scored just two plays later. Knipp found a wide-open Noah Sol for the 53-yard touchdown.
UNC had the opportunity to tie the game on their next possession but missed a 49-yard field goal attempt. Portland State responded with a touchdown drive to go back up two possessions.
Northern Colorado cut the lead back down to one possession on a 12 play drive that went 88 yards with the final two coming from Milo Hall with 7:07 left.
What They Said
Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr.
Overall Thoughts on the Game
"It's hard to win when you have the mistakes we had and give up over 300 yards rushing. We didn't help our offense with field position with mistakes on special teams. Then we turned the ball over on offense as well. When we have mistakes like that at all three levels it's hard to win a game as we saw today."
Game Notes
- Jacob Knipp showed he can be a duel-threat at QB for UNC with a career day on the ground. He ran for 127 yards to be the first Bear quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game. His 72-yard run is the seventh-longest run in the program's DI history.
- Collin Root's field goal in the game moved him to 11th place in the UNC record book for career field goals with 15.
- Portland State kicker Cody Williams tied the Nottingham Field record and set the Portland State record for longest field goal with a 56-yard kick. He tied Collin Root of UNC (9/2/17) and Brett Bergstorm of Eastern Washington (10/14/06).
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado is off next week, before returning on the road on November 2. The Bears will head to Pocatello, Idaho to face Idaho State at 2:30 pm.
The game will be broadcast on Pluto TV ch. 543 and you can listen to the game on 1310 KFKA.Â
UNC does not return to Nottingham Field until November 9 when Montana State comes to town. Tickets for that game and all UNC Athletic events can be purchased at UNCBears.com/Tickets, by calling 970-351-4849 or visiting the UNC Ticket Office located in the Campus Commons.
To stay up to date on all things UNC football, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @UNC_BearsFB.
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Team Stats
PSU 7, NC 0
PSU - WALKER, Malik 5 yd run (WILLIAMS,Cody kick), 7 plays, 42 yards, TOP 2:36
PSU 10, NC 0
PSU - WILLIAMS,Cody 56 yd field goal 7 plays, 13 yards, TOP 2:43
PSU 17, NC 0
PSU - HOFFMAN,Sirgeo 14 yd run (WILLIAMS,Cody kick), 8 plays, 69 yards, TOP 4:40
PSU 17, NC 7
NC - Jullen Ison 5 yd run (Collin Root kick), 5 plays, 44 yards, TOP 1:30
PSU 24, NC 7
PSU - DAIGBE,Emmanuel 76 yd pass from ALEXANDER,Davis (WILLIAMS,Cody kick) 2 plays, 90 yards, TOP 0:39
PSU 24, NC 14
NC - Chase Lanckriet 18 yd pass from Jacob Knipp (Collin Root kick) 8 plays, 85 yards, TOP 1:43
PSU 24, NC 21
NC - Noah Sol 53 yd pass from Jacob Knipp (Collin Root kick) 2 plays, 57 yards, TOP 0:39
PSU 31, NC 21
PSU - HOFFMAN,Sirgeo 31 yd run (WILLIAMS,Cody kick), 7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 3:12
PSU 31, NC 24
NC - Collin Root 42 yd field goal 8 plays, 39 yards, TOP 2:39
PSU 38, NC 24
PSU - ALEXANDER,Davis 4 yd run (WILLIAMS,Cody kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:52
PSU 38, NC 30
NC - Milo Hall 2 yd run (Collin Root kickblocked), 12 plays, 88 yards, TOP 4:01
