The 2023 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Ed Lamb and played their home games at Nottingham Field.
2023 Northern Colorado Bears football | |
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Conference | Big Sky Conference |
Record | 0–11 (0–8 Big Sky) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Blair Peterson (1st season) |
Defensive coordinator | Preston Hadley (1st season) |
Home stadium | Nottingham Field |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 Montana $^ | 7 | – | 1 | 13 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 8 Idaho ^ | 6 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 9 Montana State ^ | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Arizona | 5 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 24 UC Davis | 5 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 13 Sacramento State ^ | 4 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Portland State | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weber State | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eastern Washington | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho State | 3 | – | 5 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cal Poly | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Colorado | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason edit
Polls edit
On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Bears were predicted to finish tenth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.[1]
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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1 | Montana State | 120 (10) |
2 | UC Davis | 96 (1) |
3 | Sacramento State | 94 (1) |
4 | Weber State | 91 |
5 | Idaho | 89 |
6 | Montana | 84 |
7 | Eastern Washington | 52 |
8 | Portland State | 45 |
9 | Northern Arizona | 44 |
10 | Northern Colorado | 37 |
11 | Cal Poly | 25 |
12 | Idaho State | 15 |
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
---|---|---|
1 | Montana State | 447 (26) |
2 | Idaho | 410 (8) |
3 | Montana | 359 (2) |
4 | Sacramento State | 334 (3) |
5 | UC Davis | 330 |
6 | Weber State | 320 |
7 | Eastern Washington | 216 |
8 | Northern Arizona | 178 |
9 | Portland State | 167 |
10 | Northern Colorado | 109 |
11 | Cal Poly | 103 |
12 | Idaho State | 69 |
Schedule edit
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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August 31 | 6:00 p.m. | at Abilene Christian* | ESPN+ | L 11–31 | 6,164 | |
September 9 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 10 Incarnate Word* | ESPN+ | L 7–42 | 3,898 | |
September 16 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 23 (FBS) Washington State* | P12N | L 21–64 | 23,595 | |
September 23 | 4:00 p.m. | at Idaho State | ESPN+ | L 21–35 | N/A | |
September 30 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 13 Weber State |
| ESPN+ | L 21–28 | 3,375 |
October 14 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 4 Sacramento State |
| ESPN+ | L 13–21 | 4,783 |
October 21 | 7:05 p.m. | at Cal Poly | ESPN+ | L 17–24 | 9,263 | |
October 28 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Montana | ESPN+ | L 0–40 | 25,463 | |
November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 3 Idaho |
| ESPN+ | L 13–27 | 3,608 |
November 11 | 1:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | ESPN+ | L 7–28 | 6,003 | |
November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | Portland State |
| ESPN+ | L 23–27 | 2,578 |
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- Source: Schedule
Conference opponents not scheduled this season: Eastern Washington, Montana State, UC Davis
Game summaries edit
at Abilene Christian edit
vs No. 10 Incarnate Word edit
Game Two – Incarnate Word Cardinals (0–1) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–1)
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 10 Cardinals | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Nottingham Field, Greeley, CO
- Date: September 9
- Game time: 2:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Wind: NE 9 mph • Weather: Sunny
- Game attendance: 3,898
- Referee: Gregg Wilson
- TV announcers (ESPN+): Jason Alveen (play-by-play) and Nick Hager (analyst)
- Box Score Pregame line: UIW −17.0
Game information |
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Statistics | UIW | UNC |
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First downs | 29 | 14 |
Plays–yards | 82–617 | 69–261 |
Rushes–yards | 42–235 | 37–93 |
Passing yards | 382 | 168 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 29–40–1 | 15–32–1 |
Time of possession | 31:03 | 28:57 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
---|---|---|---|
Incarnate Word | Passing | Zach Calzada | 23/32, 255 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT |
Rushing | Timothy Carter | 16 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD | |
Receiving | Caleb Chapman | 5 receptions, 116 yards, 2 TD | |
Northern Colorado | Passing | Jacob Sirmon | 13/27, 114 yards, 1 INT |
Rushing | David Afari | 14 carries, 43 yards | |
Receiving | Blake Haggerty | 4 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD |
at No. 23 (FBS) Washington State edit
Northern Colorado Bears (0–2) at No. 23 (FBS) Washington State Cougars (2–0) – Game summary
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
No. 23 (FBS) Cougars | 22 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 64 |
at Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA
- Date: September 16, 2023
- Game time: 3:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C) • Wind: SW 8 mph
- Game attendance: 23,595
- Referee: Gary Reed
- TV: P12N
Game information |
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Statistics | NCU | WSU |
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First downs | 17 | 33 |
Total yards | 366 | 718 |
Rushes/yards | 31–158 | 36–229 |
Passing yards | 208 | 489 |
Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 18–30–0 | 29–38–1 |
Time of possession | 29:11 | 30:49 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Northern Colorado | Passing | Jacob Sirmon | 16/24, 171 yards, 2 TD |
Rushing | David Afari | 17 carries, 116 yards | |
Receiving | Blake Haggerty | 6 receptions, 70 yards | |
Washington State | Passing | Cameron Ward | 20/26, 327 yards, 4 TD |
Rushing | Dylan Paine | 7 carries, 71 yards, TD | |
Receiving | Lincoln Victor | 6 receptions, 119 yards, 2 TD |
at Idaho State edit
Idaho State Bengals (0–3) vs. Northern Colorado Bears (0–3) – Game summary
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
Bengals | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
at Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho
Game information |
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Statistics | Northern Colorado | Idaho State |
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First downs | 25 | 26 |
Plays–yards | 72–365 | 72–429 |
Rushes–yards | 40–242 | 30–103 |
Passing yards | 123 | 326 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 22–32–2 | 26–42–1 |
Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
Time of possession | 31:13 | 28:47 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
---|---|---|---|
Northern Colorado | Passing | Jacob Sirmon | 22/32, 123 yards, 2 INT |
Rushing | Darius Stewart | 14 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD | |
Receiving | Ty Arrington | 5 receptions, 42 yards | |
Idaho State | Passing | Jordan Cooke | 14/23, 218 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
Rushing | Hunter Hays | 13 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD | |
Receiving | Christian Fredericksen | 7 receptions, 108 yards |
vs No. 13 Weber State edit
vs No. 4 Sacramento State edit
No. 4 Sacramento State Hornets (4–1) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–5) – Game summary
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 4 Hornets | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
Bears | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
Game information | ||
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Statistics | SAC | UNC |
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First downs | 23 | 17 |
Total yards | 334 | 332 |
Rushing yards | 151 | 75 |
Passing yards | 183 | 257 |
Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 25–31–0 | 20–39–0 |
Time of possession | 30:57 | 29:03 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
---|---|---|---|
Sacramento State | Passing | Kaiden Bennett | 25/31, 183 yards, 3 TD |
Rushing | Ezra Moleni | 16 carries, 93 yards | |
Receiving | Marshel Martin | 7 receptions, 52 yards | |
Northern Colorado | Passing | Jacob Sirmon | 20/39, 257 yards, TD |
Rushing | David Afari | 10 carries, 36 yards | |
Receiving | Brayden Munroe | 3 receptions, 66 yards, TD |
at Cal Poly edit
at No. 7 Montana edit
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
No. 7 Grizzles | 0 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 40 |
vs No. 3 Idaho edit
No. 3 Idaho Vandals (6–2) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–8) – Game summary
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 3 Vandals | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
at Nottingham Field • Greeley, CO
- Date: November 4, 2023
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. MDT
- Game attendance: 3,608
- TV: ESPN+
at Northern Arizona edit
vs Portland State edit
References edit
- ^ "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
- ^ "Football vs Northern Colorado on 10/14/2023 - Box Score - Sacramento State". October 14, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
- ^ "Football Wins Another Close Game In Victory At Northern Colorado". October 14, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.