University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, November 23
Greeley, Colo.
Noon
University of Northern Colorado
2-10 , 2-6
21
vs
28
Cal Poly
3-8 , 2-6
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Cal Poly
0
7
7
14
28
Northern Colorado
7
7
7
0
21
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Heartbreak on Senior Day
11/23/2019 7:00:00 PM | Football
UNC football falls late to Cal Poly
Northern Colorado jumped out to a 14-0 and 21-7 lead against Cal Poly in the season final on Saturday, but the Mustangs scored 21-straight to defeat the Bears 28-21.
A pair of Bear seniors scored touchdowns in Milo Hall and Willie Fairman, while Jacob Knipp threw two touchdown passes in his final game in a Bear uniform.
Hall ran for 87 yards on 17 carries with a 20-yard score and added in 42 yards receiving on four receptions. Fairman's touchdown catch was a 46-yard pass as he led the team with 91 yards receiving. Knipp ended his UNC career with 255 yards passing.
On the defensive side of the ball, seniors Noel Reid and Luke Nelson led the team with 13 and 10 tackles, respectively.
Hall had his longest run of the season to help set up his 20-yard touchdown and put UNC up 7-0. He ran 32 yards down the UNC sideline to move the Bears into Cal Poly territory. A Knipp pass to Sam Flowers moved UNC to the Mustang's 20 and Hall found pay dirt on the next play.
Northern Colorado's second scoring drive of the day was a methodical 11-play, 91 yards drive capped off by a Sam Flowers 13-yard reception over the middle.
The Bears went to the locker room up 14-7 as Cal Poly scored in the final minute of the first half.
UNC returned its lead back to 14 with a quick two-play drive as Knipp found Jaren Mitchel for a 34-yard pass following a missed field goal and then Fairman down the left sideline for a 46-yard score.
Cal Poly's defense tightened up after that and allowed the Mustangs offense to put together the comeback. Duy Tran-Sampson ran like a wild old Mustang 65-yards for a score to give Cal Poly's offense a spark.
Northern Colorado had a chance to march down for a game-winning field goal or touchdown with 1:13 left and the ball on their 13-yard line tied at 21. Defensive back Kevin Howell ended up intercepting a pass with 36 seconds left and returned it for a pick-six to give Cal Poly the lead and eventual win.
What They Said
Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr
Overall Thoughts
"It's tough to have our kids go out like they did today. They were out there trying to make plays and get us down in field goal range and it didn't go our way. The kids battled all day long."
About the change in quarterback for Cal Poly
"He is a bigger kid than their starting quarterback. He was keeping the ball and they ran more QB run game with him. Their starter looked to be struggling to diagnose the defense and they made the switch. We were able to recognize the more QB run game and then they countered with the fullback dive up the middle for a big play on us."
Game Notes
- Milo Hall finished the 2019 season with the most carries by a running back in the program's DI history with 260. He also ended the season tied for the most rushing touchdowns in a single season since UNC joined the DI ranks with 10
- The 13 tackles today for Noel Reid are a career-high.
- Jacob Knipp finishes his UNC career with the second-most passing yards in program history at 6,997 and fourth-most touchdown passes with 44.
- Luke Nelson ended his career as a bear with 288 career tackles. That places him 14th in program history.
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.
A pair of Bear seniors scored touchdowns in Milo Hall and Willie Fairman, while Jacob Knipp threw two touchdown passes in his final game in a Bear uniform.
Hall ran for 87 yards on 17 carries with a 20-yard score and added in 42 yards receiving on four receptions. Fairman's touchdown catch was a 46-yard pass as he led the team with 91 yards receiving. Knipp ended his UNC career with 255 yards passing.
On the defensive side of the ball, seniors Noel Reid and Luke Nelson led the team with 13 and 10 tackles, respectively.
Hall had his longest run of the season to help set up his 20-yard touchdown and put UNC up 7-0. He ran 32 yards down the UNC sideline to move the Bears into Cal Poly territory. A Knipp pass to Sam Flowers moved UNC to the Mustang's 20 and Hall found pay dirt on the next play.
Northern Colorado's second scoring drive of the day was a methodical 11-play, 91 yards drive capped off by a Sam Flowers 13-yard reception over the middle.
The Bears went to the locker room up 14-7 as Cal Poly scored in the final minute of the first half.
UNC returned its lead back to 14 with a quick two-play drive as Knipp found Jaren Mitchel for a 34-yard pass following a missed field goal and then Fairman down the left sideline for a 46-yard score.
Cal Poly's defense tightened up after that and allowed the Mustangs offense to put together the comeback. Duy Tran-Sampson ran like a wild old Mustang 65-yards for a score to give Cal Poly's offense a spark.
Northern Colorado had a chance to march down for a game-winning field goal or touchdown with 1:13 left and the ball on their 13-yard line tied at 21. Defensive back Kevin Howell ended up intercepting a pass with 36 seconds left and returned it for a pick-six to give Cal Poly the lead and eventual win.
What They Said
Head Coach Earnest Collins Jr
Overall Thoughts
"It's tough to have our kids go out like they did today. They were out there trying to make plays and get us down in field goal range and it didn't go our way. The kids battled all day long."
About the change in quarterback for Cal Poly
"He is a bigger kid than their starting quarterback. He was keeping the ball and they ran more QB run game with him. Their starter looked to be struggling to diagnose the defense and they made the switch. We were able to recognize the more QB run game and then they countered with the fullback dive up the middle for a big play on us."
Game Notes
- Milo Hall finished the 2019 season with the most carries by a running back in the program's DI history with 260. He also ended the season tied for the most rushing touchdowns in a single season since UNC joined the DI ranks with 10
- The 13 tackles today for Noel Reid are a career-high.
- Jacob Knipp finishes his UNC career with the second-most passing yards in program history at 6,997 and fourth-most touchdown passes with 44.
- Luke Nelson ended his career as a bear with 288 career tackles. That places him 14th in program history.
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.
Team Stats
CP
NC
Total Yards
452
353
Pass Yards
50
255
Rushing Yards
402
98
Penalty Yards
85
45
1st Downs
24
16
3rd Downs
8
3
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
35:55
24:05
1st Quarter
CP 0, NC 7
NC - Milo Hall 20 yd run (Patrick Nassiat kick), 5 plays, 72 yards, TOP 1:41
2nd Quarter
CP 0, NC 14
NC - Sam Flowers 13 yd pass from Jacob Knipp (Patrick Nassiat kick) 11 plays, 91 yards, TOP 4:26
CP 7, NC 14
CP - REID, Kyle 2 yd run (THEAKER, Colton kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:44
3rd Quarter
CP 7, NC 21
NC - Willie Fairman 46 yd pass from Jacob Knipp (Patrick Nassiat kick) 2 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:42
CP 14, NC 21
CP - TRAN-SAMPSON,D. 65 yd run (THEAKER, Colton kick), 2 plays, 68 yards, TOP 0:42
4th Quarter
CP 21, NC 21
CP - TRAN-SAMPSON,D. 1 yd run (THEAKER, Colton kick), 5 plays, 37 yards, TOP 1:40
CP 28, NC 21
CP - HOWELL, Kevin 30 yd interception (THEAKER, Colton kick)
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
20
TD
2
YDS
255
INT
3
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
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