2023 Northern Colorado Bears football team

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2023 Northern Colorado Bears football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record0–11 (0–8 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBlair Peterson (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorPreston Hadley (1st season)
Home stadiumNottingham Field
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

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.

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]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
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
Media poll
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]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 316:00 p.m.at Abilene Christian*
ESPN+L 11–316,164
September 92:00 p.m.No. 10 Incarnate Word*
ESPN+L 7–423,898
September 163:00 p.m.at No. 23 (FBS) Washington State*
P12NL 21–6423,595  
September 234:00 p.m.at Idaho State
ESPN+L 21–35N/A
September 301:00 p.m.No. 13 Weber State
  • Nottingham Field
  • Greeley, CO
ESPN+L 21–283,375
October 141:00 p.m.No. 4 Sacramento Statedagger
  • Nottingham Field
  • Greeley, CO
ESPN+L 13–214,783
October 217:05 p.m.at Cal Poly
ESPN+L 17–249,263
October 281:00 p.m.at No. 7 Montana
ESPN+L 0–4025,463
November 41:00 p.m.No. 3 Idaho
  • Nottingham Field
  • Greeley, CO
ESPN+L 13–273,608
November 111:00 p.m.at Northern Arizona
ESPN+L 7–286,003
November 1812:00 p.m.Portland State
  • Nottingham Field
  • Greeley, CO
ESPN+L 23–272,578

Conference opponents not scheduled this season: Eastern Washington, Montana State, UC Davis

Game summaries[edit]

at Abilene Christian[edit]

See also: 2023 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

vs No. 10 Incarnate Word[edit]

See also: 2023 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team
Game Two – Incarnate Word Cardinals (0–1) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 10 Cardinals 7 14 14742
Bears 0 0 077

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
First Quarter
  • UIW – 8:34 Marquez Perez 21 yard pass from Zach Calzada, Mason Lawler kick
    UIW 7–0 Drive: 3 plays, 40 yards, 0:41
Second Quarter
  • UIW – 14:24 Caleb Chapman 1 yard pass from Zach Calzada, Mason Lawler kick
    UIW 14–0 Drive: 16 plays, 97 yards, 6:50
  • UIW – 1:53 Timothy Carter 16 yard run, Mason Lawler kick
    UIW 21–0 Drive: 7 plays, 89 yards, 1:39
Third Quarter
  • UIW – 9:22 Zach Calzada 11 yard run, Mason Lawler kick
    UIW 28–0 Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards, 3:18
  • UIW – 5:10 Tre Siggers 11 yard run, Mason Lawler kick
    UIW 35–0 Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:05
Fourth Quarter
  • UIW – 10:04 Caleb Chapman 25 yard pass from Zach Calzada, Mason Lawler kick
    UIW 42–0 Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:37
  • UNC – 6:28 Blake Haggerty 43 yard pass from Hank Gibbs, Hunter Green kick
    UIW 42–7 Drive: 9 plays, 88 yards, 3:36
Statistics UIW UNC
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]

See also: 2023 Washington State Cougars football team
Northern Colorado Bears (0–2) at No. 23 (FBS) Washington State Cougars (2–0) – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 0 000
No. 23 (FBS) Cougars 0 0 000

at Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA

  • Date: September 16, 2023
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 23,595
  • TV: P12N
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Statistics NCU WSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushes/yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Northern Colorado Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Washington State Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Idaho State[edit]

See also: 2023 Idaho State Bengals football team
Idaho State Bengals (0–3) vs. Northern Colorado Bears (0–3) – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 7 0 14021
Bengals 7 14 7735

at Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho

  • Date: September 23
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. MDT
  • Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), Indoors
  • Game attendance: 8,012
  • Referee: Jim C.
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Dylan Carder (play-by-play), Kody Graves (analyst)
  • Spread: Idaho State –6.5 • Odds to win: Northern Colorado 51.7% • [1]
Game information
First quarter
  • 7:04 UNC – Darius Stewart 16-yard run (Hunter Green kick) – Northern Colorado 7–0, Drive: 9 plays, 83 yards, 4:37
  • 0:07 ISU – Alfred Jordan Jr. 32-yard pass from Jordan Cooke (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Tied 7–7, Drive: 7 plays, 74 yards, 2:37
Second quarter
  • 5:31 ISU – Jordan Cooke 1-yard run (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Idaho State 14–7, Drive: 10 plays, 72 yards, 4:25
  • 0:20 ISU – Chedon James 1-yard pass from Hunter Hays (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Idaho State 21–7, Drive: 7 plays, 62 yards, 1:14
Third quarter
  • 10:32 UNC – Jacob Sirmon 1–yard run (Hunter Green kick) – Idaho State 21–14, Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 4:22
  • 5:09 UNC – David Afari 18–yard run (Hunter Green kick) – Tied 21–21, Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards, 4:00
  • 2:45 ISU – Aiden Taylor 8–yard run (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Idaho State 28–21, Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:24
Fourth quarter
  • 5:05 ISU – Hunter Hays 2–yard run (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Idaho State 35–21, Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards, 5:56
Statistics Northern Colorado Idaho State
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]

See also: 2023 Weber State Wildcats football team

vs No. 4 Sacramento State[edit]

See also: 2023 Sacramento State Hornets football team
No. 4 Sacramento State Hornets (4–1) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–5) – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 4 Hornets 14 0 7021
Bears 3 7 0313

at Nottingham Field, Greeley, CO

  • Date: October 14, 2023
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 4,783
  • Referee: Jim Crowley
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Play-by-Play: Jason Alvine • Analysis: Mik Hager
  • Sources:[2][3]
Game information
Statistics SAC UNC
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]

See also: 2023 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

at No. 7 Montana[edit]

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 0 0 0
No. 7 Grizzles 0 14 12 14 40
See also: 2023 Montana Grizzlies football team

vs No. 3 Idaho[edit]

See also: 2023 Idaho Vandals football team
No. 3 Idaho Vandals (6–2) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–8) – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 3 Vandals 3 7 71027
Bears 0 7 0613

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]

See also: 2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

vs Portland State[edit]

See also: 2023 Portland State Vikings football team

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "Football vs Northern Colorado on 10/14/2023 - Box Score - Sacramento State". October 14, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "Football Wins Another Close Game In Victory At Northern Colorado". October 14, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
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