University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, September 19
Greeley, Colo.
6 p.m. MDT
University of Northern Colorado
1-3 , 0-1
23
vs
17
Northeastern State
3-1 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeastern St. | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Northern Colo. | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 23 |
Photo by: Jesus Ayala, UNC Athletics
Bears Win Overtime Thriller for First Victory of Season
9/20/2026 12:26:00 AM | Football
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado's first win of the season came down to the final play, and it came in the most unlikely way imaginable.
Justin Guin scored on a 13-yard touchdown run in overtime, capping a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback as the Bears defeated No. 13 Northeastern State 23-17 Saturday night at Nottingham Field in front of 3,500 fans.
Northern Colorado trailed 17-7 with under two minutes to play. The Bears had been held without a touchdown since a 71-yard scoring strike from Kenny Lueth to Marcus Mozer late in the second quarter, and the RiverHawks' defense had stymied the offense for much of the second half.
Then everything changed.
Brayten Silbor, who entered the game after Lueth was hobbled, found Marcus Mozer for a 10-yard touchdown with 1:00 remaining to cut the deficit to 17-14. The
Bears then executed a successful onside kick, recovered, and drove into field goal range. Landon Richardson, who had missed a 34-yard attempt earlier in the fourth quarter, drilled a 48-yard field goal with 14 seconds left to tie the game at 17-17.
"I mean, beginning of fourth quarter, I think the guys started rallying," Silbor said. "We're a lot better than we're playing right now, and I think we started getting that spark back."
In overtime, Northern Colorado's defense held. Cadence Turner intercepted Northeastern State quarterback Donnie Smith to end the RiverHawks' possession without points.
"Coach Preston Hadley was just calling our most basic vanilla call, not our most aggressive call," head coach Ed Lamb said. "He sent that message by just sending in the same call for three straight plays in a critical point in the game. Never would we go into that game and say we're going to call that defense three times in overtime. You wouldn't ever think that because it's the most basic vanilla call we could possibly call."
The Bears then needed just three plays. After a loss of yardage on the first snap, Silbor scrambled for a gritty 18-yard run to move Northern Colorado into scoring position. Guin finished it from 13 yards out.
Lamb said the win belonged to the players and assistant coaches — and admitted he questioned himself throughout a game that tested his composure.
"It was just so frustrating on a game where our players never doubted," Lamb said. "I began to doubt just myself and my instincts. My instincts are to show composure and show poise, and the boys didn't seem to be responding to that for 59 minutes. I feel gratitude for the players for picking me up."
Northeastern State struck first in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Marco Smith, capping a six-play, 80-yard drive. The Bears answered with 25 seconds left in the half on the 71-yard connection from Lueth to Mozer.
The RiverHawks controlled the third quarter. Troy Nguyen hit a 34-yard field goal, and Smith scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard run with 1:51 remaining in the third to give Northeastern State a 17-7 lead.
Silbor finished 18-of-33 for 206 yards and one touchdown in relief, while Lueth went 9-of-14 for 100 yards and a touchdown. Mozer had a career night with eight receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns, including the 71-yarder.
"It's my first win at UNC, and it just felt amazing," Mozer said. "There's nothing better than winning. That's why we play the game."
Guin rushed for 26 yards and the game-winning score, and Kieryus Boone added 22 yards on five carries.
Defensively, Hudson Voggesser and KJ Smedley each recorded 11 tackles to lead the Bears. Dominic Butts had a breakout performance with six tackles, one sack and a career high four tackles for loss, while Ezra Ekuban added a sack and a tackle for loss.
"I just wanted to have a breakout game," Butts said. "I've just been hungry to become the player that I think I can be, and my coaches have told me that I can be. It was just an entire team effort of going out fast and executing our job from the start."
The Bears held Northeastern State to 320 total yards while racking up 410 of their own, and sacked Smith four times.
"I think it was a really good job by all the coaches and all the leaders on defense, just to keep everybody in the game mentally," Butts said. "The big theme was belief. It just kept being repeated over and over."
The win moves Northern Colorado to 1-3 on the season. Northeastern State falls to 3-1.
Up Next
The Bears return to action next Saturday at Utah Tech at home for homecoming. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. at Nottingham Field.
Justin Guin scored on a 13-yard touchdown run in overtime, capping a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback as the Bears defeated No. 13 Northeastern State 23-17 Saturday night at Nottingham Field in front of 3,500 fans.
Northern Colorado trailed 17-7 with under two minutes to play. The Bears had been held without a touchdown since a 71-yard scoring strike from Kenny Lueth to Marcus Mozer late in the second quarter, and the RiverHawks' defense had stymied the offense for much of the second half.
Then everything changed.
Brayten Silbor, who entered the game after Lueth was hobbled, found Marcus Mozer for a 10-yard touchdown with 1:00 remaining to cut the deficit to 17-14. The
Bears then executed a successful onside kick, recovered, and drove into field goal range. Landon Richardson, who had missed a 34-yard attempt earlier in the fourth quarter, drilled a 48-yard field goal with 14 seconds left to tie the game at 17-17.
LANDON RICHARDSON SAYS KEEP THAT CLOCK RUNNIN' - WE'RE HEADED TO OT! ⏰#BearCountry | #STBC pic.twitter.com/wtOcLxYEHi
— Northern Colorado Football (@UNC_BearsFB) September 20, 2026
"I mean, beginning of fourth quarter, I think the guys started rallying," Silbor said. "We're a lot better than we're playing right now, and I think we started getting that spark back."
In overtime, Northern Colorado's defense held. Cadence Turner intercepted Northeastern State quarterback Donnie Smith to end the RiverHawks' possession without points.
"Coach Preston Hadley was just calling our most basic vanilla call, not our most aggressive call," head coach Ed Lamb said. "He sent that message by just sending in the same call for three straight plays in a critical point in the game. Never would we go into that game and say we're going to call that defense three times in overtime. You wouldn't ever think that because it's the most basic vanilla call we could possibly call."
The Bears then needed just three plays. After a loss of yardage on the first snap, Silbor scrambled for a gritty 18-yard run to move Northern Colorado into scoring position. Guin finished it from 13 yards out.
Lamb said the win belonged to the players and assistant coaches — and admitted he questioned himself throughout a game that tested his composure.
"It was just so frustrating on a game where our players never doubted," Lamb said. "I began to doubt just myself and my instincts. My instincts are to show composure and show poise, and the boys didn't seem to be responding to that for 59 minutes. I feel gratitude for the players for picking me up."
Northeastern State struck first in the second quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Marco Smith, capping a six-play, 80-yard drive. The Bears answered with 25 seconds left in the half on the 71-yard connection from Lueth to Mozer.
Marcus Mozer TO THE HOUSE 🏠
— Northern Colorado Football (@UNC_BearsFB) September 20, 2026
Q2 - 00:25 | UNC 7, Northeastern State 7#BearCountry | #STBC pic.twitter.com/xykYNWxNZb
The RiverHawks controlled the third quarter. Troy Nguyen hit a 34-yard field goal, and Smith scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard run with 1:51 remaining in the third to give Northeastern State a 17-7 lead.
Silbor finished 18-of-33 for 206 yards and one touchdown in relief, while Lueth went 9-of-14 for 100 yards and a touchdown. Mozer had a career night with eight receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns, including the 71-yarder.
"It's my first win at UNC, and it just felt amazing," Mozer said. "There's nothing better than winning. That's why we play the game."
Guin rushed for 26 yards and the game-winning score, and Kieryus Boone added 22 yards on five carries.
Defensively, Hudson Voggesser and KJ Smedley each recorded 11 tackles to lead the Bears. Dominic Butts had a breakout performance with six tackles, one sack and a career high four tackles for loss, while Ezra Ekuban added a sack and a tackle for loss.
"I just wanted to have a breakout game," Butts said. "I've just been hungry to become the player that I think I can be, and my coaches have told me that I can be. It was just an entire team effort of going out fast and executing our job from the start."
The Bears held Northeastern State to 320 total yards while racking up 410 of their own, and sacked Smith four times.
"I think it was a really good job by all the coaches and all the leaders on defense, just to keep everybody in the game mentally," Butts said. "The big theme was belief. It just kept being repeated over and over."
The win moves Northern Colorado to 1-3 on the season. Northeastern State falls to 3-1.
Up Next
The Bears return to action next Saturday at Utah Tech at home for homecoming. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. at Nottingham Field.
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
DL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballTeam Stats
NSU
UNC
Total Yards
320
410
Pass Yards
155
306
Rushing Yards
165
104
Penalty Yards
111
71
1st Downs
22
23
3rd Downs
5
6
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
31:05
28:55
2nd Quarter
NSU 7, UNC 0
NSU - Smith,Marco 1 yd run (Nguyen,Troy kick), 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 02:35
NSU 7, UNC 7
UNC - Mozer,Marcus 71 yd pass from Lueth,Kenny (Richardson,Landon kick) 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:23
3rd Quarter
NSU 10, UNC 7
NSU - Nguyen,Troy 34 yd field goal 13 plays, 58 yards, TOP 05:04
NSU 17, UNC 7
NSU - Smith,Marco 2 yd run (Nguyen,Troy kick), 13 plays, 69 yards, TOP 06:27
4th Quarter
NSU 17, UNC 14
UNC - Mozer,Marcus 10 yd pass from Silbor,Brayten (Richardson,Landon kick) 4 plays, 89 yards, TOP 00:30
NSU 17, UNC 17
UNC - Richardson,Landon 48 yd field goal 6 plays, 27 yards, TOP 00:43
OT Quarter
NSU 17, UNC 23
UNC - Guin,Justin 13 yd run (), 3 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
Game Leaders
CMP
18
TD
1
YDS
206
INT
0
CMP
9
TD
1
YDS
100
INT
1
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