University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
3-6 , 2-4
Sacramento State
6-2 , 5-0
Football Battles to the End Against No. 15 Sacramento State
10/30/2021 5:36:00 PM | Football
Big offensive plays were not enough for Northern Colorado on Saturday.
The Dylan to Dylan connection, McCaffrey to Thomas, was big for the Bears' offense connecting four times for 183 yards. Their first connection went for 83 yards to kick start UNC's offense. The big pass set up a Gene Sledge 1-yard touchdown to make it a 10-7 game in the second quarter.
Sledge had two 1-yard scores on the day, finishing with 50 yards on 17 carries.
McCaffrey to Thomas opened up the second half with a 43-yard pass leading to Sledge's second TD.
Both teams traded field goals in the third quarter as Northern Colorado entered the fourth down 20-17.
Northern Colorado and Sacramento State exchanged punts early in the fourth quarter before the Hornets extended their lead to 10 following a UNC fumble.
The Bears responded again with a seven-play, 69-yard drive with 3:11 on the clock to get back within a field goal. To no surprise, McCaffrey found Thomas for a big play, this one of 49 yards. It was McCaffrey who found the paydirt on a QB sneak.
Northern Colorado's defense stopped Sacramento State to give the offense one more shot for a game-tying or winning drive with 33 seconds.
What They Said
Game Notes
- Today's game captains were Dylan McCaffrey, Grant Stephens, Jace Bobo and Eddie Gonzalez III.
- Dylan Thomas more than doubled his receiving yards for the season with the 183 on Saturday.
- Jacob Stanton led the Bears with a career-high 10 tackles.
- Devin Bale set a UNC record with a booming 84-yard punt, besting the previous of 80 yards.
- Northern Colorado had its second-most passing yards of the season with 232.
- For the fifth straight game Northern Colorado topped 100 yards rushing with 113 on Saturday.
- Sacramento State came into the game averaging 471.0 yards of offense a game. The Bears held them to 388.
- UNC's defense was flying around the field with eight pass breakups. Nick Ciccio led the team with three.
What's Ahead
Northern Colorado hosts its final home game of the 2021 season when Montana visits Nottingham Field for a Noon kickoff.
Tickets for the game are available at UNCBears.com/Tickets.
Team Stats
SAC 3, UNC 0
SAC - Sentkowski,Kyle 37 yd field goal 11 plays, 56 yards, TOP 05:22
SAC 10, UNC 0
SAC - Martin,Marshel 2 yd pass from O'Hara,Asher (Sentkowski,Kyle kick) 11 plays, 77 yards, TOP 07:00
SAC 10, UNC 7
UNC - Sledge Jr,Gene 1 yd run (Raybon,Ben kick), 4 plays, 86 yards, TOP 01:10
SAC 17, UNC 7
SAC - Perkinson,Bj 1 yd run (Sentkowski,Kyle kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:59
SAC 17, UNC 14
UNC - Sledge Jr,Gene 1 yd run (Raybon,Ben kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:15
SAC 20, UNC 14
SAC - Sentkowski,Kyle 27 yd field goal 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 03:35
SAC 20, UNC 17
UNC - Raybon,Ben 38 yd field goal 13 plays, 54 yards, TOP 05:30
SAC 27, UNC 17
SAC - Skattebo,Cameron 11 yd run (Sentkowski,Kyle kick), 5 plays, 45 yards, TOP 02:03
SAC 27, UNC 24
UNC - McCaffrey,Dylan 1 yd run (Raybon,Ben kick), 7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 02:48
