Game Preview: Northern Colorado Travels to Northern Arizona in Big Sky Conference Bout

Northern Colorado at Northern Arizona
Flagstaff, Ariz. / J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome
Saturday, Nov. 11 | 1 p.m. MST
Radio – KFKA | Live Stream – ESPN +
Press Conference

GREELEY, Colo. – The Northern Colorado football team returns to the gridiron on Saturday at Northern Arizona. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Bears and the Lumberjacks

This is the 16^th time the Bears and Lumberjacks will meet on the gridiron.

UNC has won two in a row in the series, which were both played in Greeley. The Bears won last season 21-20 and in 2021 17-10. The last time the game was played in Flagstaff, NAU came away 41-23 win. Over the past 10 games, the series is split right down the middle at 5-5.

The Bears are 0-7 all-time in Flagstaff. Dating back to 2012, the home team has won the game, which was a 12-10 NAU win in Greeley.

UNC's largest margin of victory came in 2018, which was a 42-14 win. The smallest margin of victory was last season's 21-20 win.

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 six 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 UNC

The Bears are coming off a 27-13 setback to No. 3-ranked Idaho.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Shea Kuykendall made his UNC debut and completed 14-of-22 passes for 55 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Idaho, which was averaging 423.8 yards per game, was held to 326 yards of total offense.
LaDavion Osborn added his first interception of the season.

A deep look at the Bears

A true indicator of the Bear's statistics is its Big Sky Conference stats.
The UNC defense allows an average of 29.2 points per game, which ranks eighth in the league and ahead of Portland State (31.7), Eastern Washington (32.2), Idaho State (33.0), and Cal Poly (42.7). UNC has thrown four pick-6's this season and that has inflated this statistic.
The Bear's defense has allowed 175 points in conference play, which ranks fifth overall. Cal Poly (256), Idaho State (198), Eastern Washington (193), and Portland State (190) have allowed more.
Defensive back-turned-linebacker Jordan Knapke continues to climb the tackles list. Knapke ranks fifth in the conference with 63 total stops, 31 solo tackles, and 32 assisted tackles. The Aurora native averages 7.0 tackles per game.
Dustin Johnson is a defensive back who isn't afraid to get his nose dirty. Johnson is in a three-way tie for seventh in total tackles in the conference with 61. Johnson has 28 solo tackles and 33 assisted stops.
The UNC secondary is deep and talented. Tizell Lewis and Nathaniel Gillis are in a three-way tie for third in the conference in pass breakups with 10. Lewis and Gillis both average 1.11 pass breakups per game. Lewis is also tied for third in the conference, along with linebacker Jacob Stanton, for total interceptions.
David Afari ranks seventh in the conference in rushing yards with 589. Afari averages 4.5 yards per carry and has totaled a pair of rushing touchdowns while averaging 65.4 rushing yards per game.
Jacob Sirmon ranks seventh in the conference with 1355 passing yards and is completing nearly 60 percent of his passes.
Blake Haggerty is the team's leading receiver with 385 yards and one touchdown. Teammate Jamarii Robinson is right behind with 322 yards and two touchdowns.

The Lumberjacks

Last time out for the Lumberjacks

Come off a bye week.
Last played November 4 vs. No.6/8 Montana State, which was a 45-21 NAU setback in Bozeman.
Angel Flores started at quarterback and completed 12-of-18 passes for 97 yards and threw one interception.
Daniel Britt played sparingly in the second half and completed 3-of-4 passes for 57 yards and two touchdowns.
Tommy Ellis added a team-high 10 tackles.

A deep look at the Lumberjacks

NAU ranks ninth in the conference in offense and eighth in defense.
The Lumberjacks have played several quarterbacks this season, and it's Adam Damante who leads the team statistically. Demante has thrown for 1146 yards, and six touchdowns while throwing nine interceptions.
Coleman Owen is the Lumberjacks' go-to receiver. He's fifth in the conference with 562 receiving yards on 48 receptions along with four interceptions.
Tommy Ellis is NAU's leading tackler with 54 stops, which ranks 16^th overall in the conference.
Eloi Kwete finds himself behind the opponent's line of scrimmage with 8.5 tackles for loss, which is good for fifth in the conference. Kwete also has forced three fumbles, which is tied for first in the league.
Alex McLaughlin is the Lumberjack's top defensive back and leads the team with nine pass breakups (six pass breakups and three interceptions). His three interceptions rank second in the conference.

Tickets on sale

Tickets are on sale for the final football game of the season versus Portland State on November 18, and the final two home regular season volleyball matches versus Idaho State on November 16 and Weber State on November 18.

To purchase tickets, visit uncbears.com/tickets or call 970-351-4849. Tickets can also be purchased at the Campus Commons Ticket Office, Monday-Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

David Afari

Nathaniel Gillis

Blake Haggerty

Dustin Johnson

Jordan Knapke

Shea Kuykendall

Tizell Lewis

LaDavion Osborn

Jamarii Robinson

Jacob Sirmon

Jacob Stanton

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