University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, August 29
San Jose, Calif.
8 pm
University of Northern Colorado
0-1
18
at
35
San Jose State
1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Northern Colorado
3
3
9
3
18
San Jose State
14
7
7
7
35
Photo by: Ryan Pfeifer
Bears battle in season-opener against San Jose State
8/29/2019 11:57:00 PM | Football
Northern Colorado football battled tough against San Jose State in the 2019 season opener
SAN JOSE – Northern Colorado gained momentum in the third quarter of its season opener against San Jose State, but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit as they fell 35-18.
The Bears outgained San Jose State 162 yards to 49 in the third and outscored them 9-7 to cut the lead to 13 at 28-15.
The scores were a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Knipp to Dontay Warren on the opening drive of the second half and a safety when San Jose was called for intentional grounding while in the end zone.
That momentum carried into the early fourth quarter when Collin Root added his third field goal of the game to make it 28-18 with 13:30 remaining.
Northern Colorado had a few chances to cut further into the Spartan lead but was unable to.
Both offenses came out in mid-season form to start the season as each scored on their first two possessions. The difference was San Jose State was converting their drives into touchdowns, while the Bears were held to a 52-yard and 36-yard field goal.
Northern Colorado's defense earned the first stop of the game at a key moment when Justice Littrell forced a fumble at the 1-yard line that was recovered by Brandon Biggs for a touchback.
The Bears were unable to turn that momentum shift into points and ended up trailing 21-6 at the half.
UNC took the second half kickoff and turned it into a touchdown on a 16 play, 75 yard drive capped off by Jacob Knipp finding Dontay Warren from seven yards out.
What they said
Head coach Earnest Collins, Jr.
Overall thoughts on the game
"We made too many mistakes tonight and hurt ourselves. We have to understand it's not about the home run, but taking what they give us. We could have kept running the ball because they couldn't stop it. It's one of those games you could have won and should have won but we can learn a lot from it."
What were the halftime adjustments to gain momentum in the third quarter?
We tightened down our coverage after playing too soft early on. We challenged our guys to run with their receivers and not let the quarterback have open looks to receivers in zones. We can continue to improve on that by getting pressure on the quarterback and tightening up our zones more."
Stat to know
Collin Root matched his career-high for field goals made in a game with three. He also made three in 2017 against Idaho State.
Game notes
- True freshman David Hoage earned his first career start on Thursday night, along with redshirt freshmen Joe Golden, Greg Laday, Jaren Mitchell and Max Bruner.
- Collin Root's 52-yard field goal ties for the third-longest kick in program history with Mike Schauer (1997) and Kevin Jelden (1981).
- The safety in the third quarter was the first UNC safety since last season when the Bears recorded on against Northern Arizona (Oct. 20, 2018).
What's ahead?
Northern Colorado continues its three-game road trip to start the season with another FBS opponent in Washington State on September 7. Kickoff for the game is set for 3 pm MT / 2 pm PT and will air on the Pac 12 Network. 1310 KFKA will broadcast the game over the radio airwaves with Blue & Gold Gameday starting at 2 pm MT.
Single Game Tickets on Sale Now!
Single game tickets are on sale now for all five of Northern Colorado football home games. Tickets start as low as $15 for GA tickets for the games against South Dakota, Idaho, Montana State and Cal Poly. Homecoming tickets start at $20 when the Bears host Portland State on October 19.
Season Tickets Still Available
It's not too late to grab season tickets for the 2019 UNC football season. The Bears host five home games in 2019 starting on September 21 against old North Central Conference foe South Dakota. Season tickets start at just $65 and are the most affordable Division I football in the state.
To purchase tickets to any UNC Athletics event, visit UNCBears.com/Tickets, call the UNC Box Office at 970-351-4849 or visit the box office inside the Campus Commons Monday-Friday from 10 am-5 pm.
To stay up to date on all things UNC football, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNC_BearsFB.
The Bears outgained San Jose State 162 yards to 49 in the third and outscored them 9-7 to cut the lead to 13 at 28-15.
The scores were a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Knipp to Dontay Warren on the opening drive of the second half and a safety when San Jose was called for intentional grounding while in the end zone.
That momentum carried into the early fourth quarter when Collin Root added his third field goal of the game to make it 28-18 with 13:30 remaining.
Northern Colorado had a few chances to cut further into the Spartan lead but was unable to.
Both offenses came out in mid-season form to start the season as each scored on their first two possessions. The difference was San Jose State was converting their drives into touchdowns, while the Bears were held to a 52-yard and 36-yard field goal.
Northern Colorado's defense earned the first stop of the game at a key moment when Justice Littrell forced a fumble at the 1-yard line that was recovered by Brandon Biggs for a touchback.
The Bears were unable to turn that momentum shift into points and ended up trailing 21-6 at the half.
UNC took the second half kickoff and turned it into a touchdown on a 16 play, 75 yard drive capped off by Jacob Knipp finding Dontay Warren from seven yards out.
What they said
Head coach Earnest Collins, Jr.
Overall thoughts on the game
"We made too many mistakes tonight and hurt ourselves. We have to understand it's not about the home run, but taking what they give us. We could have kept running the ball because they couldn't stop it. It's one of those games you could have won and should have won but we can learn a lot from it."
What were the halftime adjustments to gain momentum in the third quarter?
We tightened down our coverage after playing too soft early on. We challenged our guys to run with their receivers and not let the quarterback have open looks to receivers in zones. We can continue to improve on that by getting pressure on the quarterback and tightening up our zones more."
Stat to know
Collin Root matched his career-high for field goals made in a game with three. He also made three in 2017 against Idaho State.
Game notes
- True freshman David Hoage earned his first career start on Thursday night, along with redshirt freshmen Joe Golden, Greg Laday, Jaren Mitchell and Max Bruner.
- Collin Root's 52-yard field goal ties for the third-longest kick in program history with Mike Schauer (1997) and Kevin Jelden (1981).
- The safety in the third quarter was the first UNC safety since last season when the Bears recorded on against Northern Arizona (Oct. 20, 2018).
What's ahead?
Northern Colorado continues its three-game road trip to start the season with another FBS opponent in Washington State on September 7. Kickoff for the game is set for 3 pm MT / 2 pm PT and will air on the Pac 12 Network. 1310 KFKA will broadcast the game over the radio airwaves with Blue & Gold Gameday starting at 2 pm MT.
Single Game Tickets on Sale Now!
Single game tickets are on sale now for all five of Northern Colorado football home games. Tickets start as low as $15 for GA tickets for the games against South Dakota, Idaho, Montana State and Cal Poly. Homecoming tickets start at $20 when the Bears host Portland State on October 19.
Season Tickets Still Available
It's not too late to grab season tickets for the 2019 UNC football season. The Bears host five home games in 2019 starting on September 21 against old North Central Conference foe South Dakota. Season tickets start at just $65 and are the most affordable Division I football in the state.
To purchase tickets to any UNC Athletics event, visit UNCBears.com/Tickets, call the UNC Box Office at 970-351-4849 or visit the box office inside the Campus Commons Monday-Friday from 10 am-5 pm.
To stay up to date on all things UNC football, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNC_BearsFB.
Team Stats
NC
SJSU
Total Yards
287
382
Pass Yards
177
224
Rushing Yards
110
158
Penalty Yards
50
75
1st Downs
20
22
3rd Downs
7
5
4th Downs
3
1
TOP
36:39
23:21
1st Quarter
NC 0, SJSU 7
SJSU - PACKER, DeJon 1 yd run (MERCURIO, Matt kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:51
NC 3, SJSU 7
NC - Collin Root 52 yd field goal 7 plays, 30 yards, TOP 2:20
NC 3, SJSU 14
SJSU - BRADDOCK, Jerma 7 yd pass from LOVE, Josh (MERCURIO, Matt kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:50
2nd Quarter
NC 6, SJSU 14
NC - Collin Root 36 yd field goal 11 plays, 40 yards, TOP 4:00
NC 6, SJSU 21
SJSU - LOVE, Josh 3 yd run (MERCURIO, Matt kick), 6 plays, 40 yards, TOP 1:48
3rd Quarter
NC 13, SJSU 21
NC - Dontay Warren 7 yd pass from Jacob Knipp (Collin Root kick) 16 plays, 75 yards, TOP 7:04
NC 13, SJSU 28
SJSU - DEESE, Derrick 14 yd pass from LOVE, Josh (MERCURIO, Matt kick) 6 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:44
NC 15, SJSU 28
NC - Isaiah Iton 0 yd safety
4th Quarter
NC 18, SJSU 28
NC - Collin Root 36 yd field goal 9 plays, 51 yards, TOP 4:25
NC 18, SJSU 35
SJSU - NEVENS, Tyler 8 yd run (MERCURIO, Matt kick), 2 plays, 13 yards, TOP 0:45
Game Leaders
CMP
26
TD
1
YDS
177
INT
2
Players Mentioned
DE
/ Football
OL
/ Football
DE
/ FootballLB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
K
/ Football
WR
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