Homecoming Night Belongs to the Bears in Rout of Utah Tech

Saturday, September 26

Greeley, Colo.

6 p.m. MDT

University of Northern Colorado

2-3 , 1-1

Utah Tech

0-5 , 0-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Utah Tech	0	13	0	0	13
Northern Colo.	14	6	10	7	37

Final Game Book Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes Press Conference

Photo by: Jesus Ayala, UNC Athletics

9/27/2026 12:14:00 AM | Football

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By: Aiden Tank, Director of Strategic Communications

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado gave its Homecoming crowd a night worth remembering, rolling past Utah Tech 37-13 at Nottingham Field for the program's first back-to-back wins under head coach Ed Lamb and its first Homecoming victory since 2022.

It was the Bears' most decisive result in years, a margin of victory they had not enjoyed since a 45-13 win at Houston Baptist on Sept. 11, 2021, and their largest in a conference game and at home since beating Cal Poly 42-0 on Nov. 18, 2017.

"This is the first win like this we've seen in the past couple years, right on the heels of a very emotional win," Lamb said. "Winning breeds winning. The confidence they had coming out of last game could either be a turning point for better or worse, and I think they used that momentum and found that zone."

That zone arrived quickly. Northern Colorado opened with a 75-yard scoring drive capped by Jordan Herron's 19-yard touchdown run, the Bears' first opening-drive touchdown at home since 2023. On the very next snap, safety Mikhail Benner jumped a Utah Tech route and returned an interception 11 yards for a touchdown, giving the Bears a 14-0 lead before the Trailblazers had run three offensive plays.

It was Northern Colorado's first pick six since Michael Walker returned one against Idaho State on Nov. 2, 2019, a milestone the defense had been chasing.

"That was kind of crazy, because I wasn't expecting it, especially on the first play of the game," Benner said. "We always make it such a huge thing on the defensive side of the ball to score, because it hasn't been done since Coach Lamb's been here. To execute it was really awesome, because that's been a huge goal for us."

Utah Tech steadied itself and worked back into the game, answering with a 2-yard touchdown run from Ace Chatman and a 45-yard field goal from Dax Iverson to trim the deficit to seven. Landon Richardson pushed it back to 17-10 with a 25-yard field goal, and after Iverson connected again from 34 yards out, Richardson closed the half with a 38-yarder as time expired, sending the Bears to the locker room ahead 20-13.

"The early pick six gave us so much momentum, driving the opening drive right down the field with some big chunk yardage," Lamb said. "Our guys were really ready to play."

The second half belonged entirely to Northern Colorado. The defense and special teams forced a short field on the opening possession of the third quarter, and Brayten Silbor needed just nine seconds to convert it into points, plunging in from a yard out. Richardson added a 24-yard field goal later in the quarter, and Justin Guin sealed it with a 9-yard touchdown run with 10:07 to play.

Silbor, making his first start for the Bears, finished with a rushing touchdown and was quick to deflect credit.

"Our O-line did awesome tonight with the run game and the pass game. Without them, nothing's happening," Silbor said. "I'm proud of a lot of guys. I'll take the blame, I think I came out a little slow, but the team didn't, and that's one thing I'm working on going into next week."

Lamb's halftime adjustment proved pivotal against a Utah Tech offense that had found some rhythm through the air.

"Bronson Barbin was really accurate with his passes and beat us in some man-to-man coverage, which is something we really like to play a lot of," Lamb said. "We had to adjust the game plan at halftime."

Benner finished with nine tackles alongside his touchdown, a breakout night for a player who moved from corner to free safety in January and spent much of the offseason finding his footing.

"Last season I played corner. As soon as January rolled around, I made the switch to free safety, and I kind of struggled with it through the offseason and even the first few games," Benner said. "I'm just getting comfortable back there, and now it's starting to click. It's nice to see hard work pay off."

The Bears also got a lift from an unlikely source. Gavin Lockett, who moved from quarterback to receiver with roughly a week left in fall camp, made his first meaningful offensive appearance and caught a first-down pass on the opening drive.

"It means the world to me. Ever since I can imagine, I've always wanted to play Division I football, and to get my first Division I start tonight was amazing," Lockett said. "I'll never forget this feeling."

Silbor called Lockett's transition "pretty impressive," and Lockett credited the locker room for making it possible.

"This team truly is super close. We're all best friends," he said. "We trust every single person on our roster to go in there and make a play. We pride ourselves on weight room culture, and we've been grinding since January. Once they get their shot, we know they're going to step up."

The win carried particular meaning on a Homecoming weekend that brought alumni back to campus and at Nottingham Field. Lamb has spoken often about bridging the Bears' Division II championship past with the current era, and Saturday offered a glimpse of what that connection can look like.

"We've worked hard to try to build bridges to the past," Lamb said. "I know those alumni are more likely to be there, more likely to be paying attention. I think we have a team on the cusp, and I know we have a team that's ready to turn the corner."

Northern Colorado improves to 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in Big Sky play. The Bears travel to Montana next week, where the challenge escalates sharply.

"It's a big week, but every week's a big week for us," Benner said. "We've got to show the whole Big Sky Conference what we bring. We'll meet together, make the corrections from tonight, come in Monday, and then on Tuesday we're rolling."

Silbor put it more plainly.

"We showed ourselves last week what we're actually capable of," he said. "They're a great program, but I think we have a lot more we can do. If we put a full game together, we're a damn good team. That's our mentality going into this week."

UP NEXT
The Bears hit the road for the second time this season and the first on a plane. UNC will face off against No. 5 Montana at 2 p.m. MT in Missoula.