Bears Host Cal Poly Saturday at Nottingham Field

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado plays its first home game in three weeks Saturday, hosting Cal Poly at 6 p.m. MT at Nottingham Field.

The Bears enter at 2-5 overall and 1-3 in Big Sky play after a 31-22 loss at Eastern Washington. Cal Poly sits at 4-3.

Head coach Ed Lamb said the Mustangs have every reason to expect a result.

"Cal Poly has every expectation of being successful," Lamb said. "We'll likely be the underdogs for whatever that's worth. It's not something we pay a lot of attention to, other than we understand that we've got to play better. We've got to turn our belief in ourselves into on-field victories."

A Spirited Week
The Bears practiced through light rain and wind early in the week, and Lamb said the change in conditions brought something out of his team.

"We had some weather today. Consistent light rain and wind, and great weather to play football in," Lamb said. "The boys really responded. The weather changes a little bit and it's kind of fun. It brings out some competitiveness in the guys, and so very spirited practice, which is good for a team in our situation. I thought it was a real step forward for us."

Cornerback Cadence Turner agreed the energy was higher than usual.

"If anything, the energy was higher. It's our first practice when it's been cold and rain, and that kind of pumped up the guys," Turner said. "Me personally, I'm from California, so there's not much rain in LA. Just being out there in the rain, it was just fun."

The Mindset
Lamb has been direct with his team about the pressure of a 2-5 season. He said the answer is not to deny it.

"Everybody's got their list of things that they play for. The reason for coaching as well, and trying to build this program for people other than ourselves in a lot of cases," Lamb said. "To acknowledge that pressure is an important part of reframing it as opportunity. There's only pressure because we care about it. As long as there remains some pressure, I think that's a good thing for all of us. We didn't get in this to have stressful Saturdays."

Turner described the same approach from the players' side.

"Every week for us is a new week. After Monday we watched the film from the previous week and we put it behind us," Turner said. "The season hasn't gone exactly how we've wanted it to, but there's nothing that we can change about the past. Just keeping a positive mindset and taking it day by day, play by play."

He said the team's goals have shifted without shrinking.

"Just going 1-0 each week, 1-0 every play. Not focusing too far in the future, not worrying about the past, staying in the present, and just winning the moment," Turner said. "Not too high with the highs, not too low with the lows, and just focusing on winning every little battle that we have."

Scouting Cal Poly
Turner said the Mustangs present a talented group of skill players, and that the staff has a plan for them.

"They have a talented group, a lot of explosive players, but our coaches have done a good job of breaking it down and giving us a good plan," Turner said. "Going into this week, we feel extremely confident with the game plan and our abilities going up against Cal Poly."

Cal Poly has three receivers who have been productive in the passing game, but Turner said that doesn't change the Bears' approach.

"We faced a lot of good receivers in the past, and we just feel extremely confident with the game plan and taking it the same approach as weeks prior, trusting in our coaches, trusting in our abilities, and going out and executing at a high level," Turner said.

Turner's Path
Turner has become a regular in the secondary after a route that started late. He played flag football until high school, then played primarily receiver before moving to cornerback in his one semester at junior college.

"I would say the mentality, because in flag football you don't have to run into people, and so I kind of struggled with that my first year of tackle football, just the mentality of going out and being relentless," Turner said. "Over the years I've built up the confidence and the courage to really just go and take a swing. That's a thing Coach Lamb likes to say a lot: just take a swing. Ever since I figured out, let me just leave it all out there, that really helped me a lot in being more physical and violent and just relentless."

He said playing receiver first helps him now.

"With all the releases and stems of the routes and all that stuff, it's definitely helped me out a lot," Turner said.

Up Next
Northern Colorado hosts Cal Poly on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT at Nottingham Field.

Tickets can be purchased through the UNC ticket office online at UNCBears.com/Tickets, by calling 970-351-4849, or in person at the UNC ticket office during normal business hours.

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