Things finally started to click for the University of Northern Colorado (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky) football team on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears defeated Idaho State (0-4, 0-1 Big Sky), 35-14, to open the league schedule and secure a homecoming victory.
For the first three weeks of the season, UNC talked about the need for a complete game. The offense shined in the opener against Houston Baptist. Defense showed strength against Wyoming and Lamar, while special teams had sporadic success.
It all came together in the second half against the Bengals.
Here is how each position group did in the 2022 conference opener.
UNC’s offense moved the ball effectively for most of the game, recording 23 first downs. It started the day with a mistake, but it picked things up in the second quarter.
Graduate quarterback Dylan McCaffrey had his best game of the season, completing 23-of-28 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown. His longest pass was to sophomore wide receiver Ty Arrington for 33 yards.
There were some breakdowns with the offensive line, but McCaffrey was able to make quick decisions and it still only gave up one sack.
Graduate running back Elijah Dotson fumbled the ball at the 2-yard line on the first drive of the game. Dotson, however, made up for it by scoring one offensive touchdown and rushing for 102 yards. No UNC player had run for 100 yards or more since November 2019, also in the team’s game against Idaho State.
The defense recorded an interception in the third quarter, but the offense was unable to capitalize on the turnover. Still, the Bears were only forced to punt twice.
On third and fourth down, UNC went 7-of-14 and 2-of-2, respectively.
The team scored three out of five trips to the red zone, as well.
It’s not realistic to expect the Bears to be perfect, but they had an outing that is worth remembering.
The defense had a mixed bag against the Bengals, but it had more good plays than bad.
Its weakest quarter came in the second. On third down, UNC allowed a first down due to a 15-yard facemask penalty. On the same drive, it forced third down again. Unfortunately, blown coverage allowed Idaho State to score a 29-yard touchdown.
Idaho State scored a second time on its next drive after the Bears allowed a 51-yard touchdown. Bengals’ receiver Xavier Guillory broke multiple tackles on the scoring play.
UNC allowed the Bengals to reach the red zone once in the second half, but the defensive effort kept them from adding to their total.
While Northern Colorado didn’t force quite as many turnovers this week, it still had a couple. Freshman linebacker Tofa Wilson intercepted an ISU pass early in the third quarter.
In the fourth, freshman Keenan Guthrie forced an Idaho State fumble, which sophomore Elijah Anderson-Taylor recovered. With the direct help of sophomore defensive back Jordan Knapke, the linebacker was able to score on a 47-yard rush.
UNC also added 76 tackles, three pass breakups and three quarterback hurries in what ended up being a commanding performance.
With the exception of a missed field goal on UNC’s second drive, the Bears were excellent on special teams.
It was highlighted by Dotson’s 82-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter to blow the game open. His return for a score was the first since 2015 and the eighth longest in program history. This more than made up for his fumble just minutes into the contest.
Dotson’s run — and a few receptions — gave him 208 all-purpose yards.
Sophomore kicker/punter Devin Bale had a perfect game on kickoffs, finishing with a touchback on all six attempts. He recorded 390 yards. Bale also contributed 80 yards on his two punts, his longest was 48 yards.
Even though freshman kicker Hunter Green missed his first field goal of the game, he went 5-of-5 on extra point attempts.
The Bears allowed a 14-yard gain on a fake punt at the end of the first quarter — something they did successfully at Wyoming — but the defense responded by forcing a turnover on downs. On a punt, UNC forced the ISU runner back for a loss of seven.
Special teams has found some sporadic success this year, but Saturday was the first time it had an all-around good game.
Even with the miscues, Northern Colorado put together a performance that was enjoyable to watch in all areas.
The Bears communicated, played aggressively and made adjustments after mistakes. It also limited errors, finishing with four errors for a loss of 45 yards. One penalty, however, came in the final second of the game as it ran down the clock.
UNC coach Ed McCaffrey said after the game that there are still things to work on, but the team proved to itself that it can put together a strong outing. It set the standard to meet.
He’s right, too. Northern Colorado has shown it is capable of doing great things in all areas of the field. Now, it needs to execute from here on out.
The Bears will continue their season at 7 p.m. Saturday when they travel to face Idaho in Moscow.
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