LARAMIE, Wyo. — The University of Northern Colorado (0-2) fell to the Wyoming Cowboys (2-1), 33-10, on Saturday afternoon.
Defense was the top-performing position group for the Bears. It picked up two sacks, the first two of Wyoming’s season, and held the home team to under 300 yards. There were some good plays on offense and special teams, as well.
Here is what head coach Ed McCaffrey, freshman kicker Hunter Green and sophomore defensive back Dustin Johnson had to say after the game.
What it will take for the team to have success in all three phases
DJ: I think time is going to help us. You know, offense balled out last week. Defense had a pretty good day. I think it’s coming together pretty good.
HG: I think to have success in all three phases, we just need to want it. We just have to keep on working hard day in and day out. I think it just has to come down to mentality. People need to want to win. They can’t they can’t accept what happened today. Next week, they’re going to want to bounce back and come home with a win.
Significance of defensive success
HG: I think it’s super important, because without the defense, the offense can’t get the ball. Obviously, they could go down to score but if they go down to score, then the offense just gets the ball too quick. If we have a good defense that’s getting stops, it gives the offense time to get off the field, time to relax and times to think of what they’ve got to do to help the team out.
I think it takes a lot of pressure off of us to know that we have people that we can rely on, that will play their part and do good for the team.
Swapping out Jacob Sirmon and Dylan McCaffrey at QB
EM: It was a health decision, but we also are always prepared to go with either one of them. I have a ton of confidence in both quarterbacks.
Helping to get the offense going
HG: It means a lot to know that I was a kickstarter, kind of something that put a fire underneath them and kind of told them, ‘Come on. You need to get going.’ I believe if we have that every week, that fire is going to keep on going and keep on growing.
The message going forward
EM: I told our guys we can be really good. We really can. It’s just we’ve got to keep preventing ourselves from those self-inflicted wounds that give a good team an opportunity to score.
DJ: We want to change the culture here at UNC. I think this is a season that we want to prove a lot of people wrong.
UNC will return to the field at 6 p.m. Saturday. It will travel to Beaumont, Texas, to face Lamar.
