Game Preview: UNC hosts No. 3/5 Idaho on Saturday

No. 3/5 Idaho at Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colo. / Nottingham Field
Saturday, Nov. 4 | 1 p.m. MDT
Radio – KFKA | Live Stream – ESPN +

GREELEY, Colo. – The Northern Colorado football team returns to the gridiron and plays host to No. 3/5 Idaho on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Bears and the Vandals

Since Idaho reclassified as an FCS program and rejoined the Big Sky Conference, the two teams have only met twice on the gridiron, with each team picking up a win. The two teams last met in 2022, in which Idaho prevailed 55-35 in Moscow.

The Bears picked up the first meeting in the series, which was a 27-24 win in 2019 at Nottingham Field. In that game, Jacob Knipp finished 14-for-23 for 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Milo Hall rushed for 135 yards and one touchdown and Chase Lanckriet recorded 80 receiving yards and one touchdown. Jerone Jackson had 11 tackles, including nine solo stops, and Michael Walker added two interceptions.

Strength of Schedule

According to the Massey Index Rankings, the Bears are playing the fourth-hardest schedule in the FCS this season. The Bears have played four ranked opponents this season: Incarnate Word (No. 8/9), Washington State (No. 23 FBS), Weber State (No. 13/14), Sacramento State (No. 4/5), Montana (No. 5/7), and Idaho (No.3/5). Idaho State and Abilene Christian have also earned significant wins and are in contention for their conference championships in the final month of the regular season.

The Bears

Last time out for the Bears

UNC is coming off a 40-0 setback at then-No. 5 Montana.
Jacob Stanton had a standout performance and finished with a career-high 14 tackles; added six solo stops and eight assisted tackles. Stanton also added a sack, a pass breakup, and a QB hurry.
Marcus Howard added a pair of sacks and finished with six tackles.
David Afari rushed for 46 yards, and Jordan Hornbeak saw significant action for the first time this season and rushed for 20 yards, including a long of 13.

More about the Bears

Afari ranks eighth in the Big Sky Conference with 510 rushing yards and averages 63.8 rushing yards per game and has tallied two interceptions.
Afari's backfield mate, Darius Stewart, ranks 20^th in the conference with 261 rushing yards and averages 4.8 yards per rushing attempt.
Jacob Sirmon has passed for 1355 yards and eight touchdowns, which ranks seventh and eighth in the conference.
Despite missing the previous game, Blake Haggerty still ranks in the top 15 in receiving yards within the conference. Haggerty has recorded 377 receiving yards on 33 receptions. Haggerty averages 53.9 receiving yards per game and 11.4 yards per reception.
Defensive back-turned-linebacker Jordan Knapke ranks ninth in the conference with 56 total tackles, including seven tackles per game.
Safety Dustin Johnson ranks 11^th in the conference in total tackles with 53 and an average of seven tackles per game.
Marcus Howard leads the team with four sacks, which also ranks 12^th in the conference.
Nathaniel Gillis leads the team with nine pass breakups, and Tizell Lewis is right behind with eight. The duo is ranked third and fourth in the conference.

The Vandals

Last time out for Idaho

The Vandals are coming off a hard-fought 24-21 win over then No.2-ranked Montana State.
Gevani McCoy completed 22-of-29 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
Anthony Woods rushed for 64 yards and one touchdown.
Hayden Hatten added four receptions for 63 yards and one touchdown.
Rylan Ortt and Nolan Askelson each finished with 14 tackles.
As a team, the Vandals added four sacks.

A look at the Vandals

Idaho sports the third-ranked scoring defense (21.9 points per game), and the fourth-ranked offense (32.4 points per game) in the conference.
The Vandals allow 304.9 yards per game, which ranks first in the conference, and the offense produces 423.8 yards per game, which ranks fourth in the conference.
Anthony Woods is the conference's leading rusher with 767 total yards and leads the league with 12 rushing touchdowns.
McCoy has thrown for 1871 yards, which ranks second in the conference.

Hoage and Knapke Named to Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team

University of Northern Colorado All-American linebacker David Hoage and defensive back (turned linebacker) Jordan Knapke were named to the Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team, the conference office announced Monday morning. Hoage, a 6-foot-3, 245-pounder out of Smoky Hill High School in Denver, returns after missing the 2022 season due to injury. The veteran had a stellar 2021 campaign.

Hoage was a Third-Team All-America selection by AP and Stats Performance and First-Team Sophomore All-America selection by Hero Sports He was a Second-Team All-Big Sky Conference selection and led the Big Sky and ranked third in the nation with 22 tackles for a loss. Hoage set the program's DI single-season record for sacks with 10.5 and was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week after recording eight tackles, four and a half tackles for a loss, three sacks, and recovering two fumbles against Houston Baptist. Also recorded 70 tackles on the year, 39 solo, and led the team with eight QB hurries.

Knapke, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound Aurora, Colorado native and Grandview High School product, is a leader of the Bear's defense. He appeared in 11 games and recorded 90 tackles, 36 solo, and dad three PBUs. Last season Knapke had four games with double-digit tackles (vs. Idaho, at Sacramento State, vs. Montana State, at Eastern Washington).

Tickets on Sale

UNC football tickets are on sale. The Bears play a challenging home schedule with five teams that qualified for the 2022 playoffs.

Tickets can be purchased at uncbears.com/tickets or call 970-351-4849.

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Players Mentioned

David Afari

Nathaniel Gillis

Blake Haggerty

David Hoage

Jordan Hornbeak

Marcus Howard

Dustin Johnson

Jordan Knapke

Tizell Lewis

Jacob Sirmon

Jacob Stanton

Darius Stewart

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