LARAMIE, Wyo. — The stars of the University of Northern Colorado football team swapped on Saturday. Instead of the offense, the defense had a good day against Wyoming.
UNC (0-2) fell to the Cowboys (2-1), 33-10, in the longstanding rivalry, but the Bears held their own for more than three quarters of the contest.
Here is how each position group did in the loss.
Offense: D
After logging more than 500 yards of total offense in Week 1, more than 400 came on the passing game, UNC’s performance was disappointing to say the least.
With the exception of the reversal touchdown from graduate wide receiver Trevis Graham to junior quarterback Jacob Sirmon, there wasn’t a ton to be excited about.
Northern Colorado finished with just 147 yards of offense. The longest pass was for 29 yards, and the longest rush was just 9. UNC averaged less than 1 yard on every rush attempt.
Eleven of the Bears’ drives were unsuccessful, too, resulting in a punt, interception, fumble or turnover on downs. The last three drives of the game did not result in any points.
UNC gave up the ball on downs at 6:48 in the fourth, which led to a Wyoming touchdown. The Cowboys scored another touchdown on the next drive after intercepting Sirmon’s pass on the Northern Colorado 9-yard line.
The Bears fumbled the ball on their final drive, but Wyoming opted to take a knee.
On third down, Northern Colorado converted just 5-of-17 attempts, compared to Wyoming’s 8-of-18, and went 1-of-3 on fourth down.
UNC’s offense left a lot to be desired, especially after such a high-powered season opener.
Defense: B
UNC’s defensive effort was much better on Saturday than it was a week ago. It held Wyoming to under 300 yards and did not give up a touchdown until the third quarter. In fact, the Cowboys got into UNC territory multiple times but were held to four field goals.
At halftime, Wyoming had scored just nine points — all on field goals — and did not score its first touchdown until midway through the third. Most of the Cowboys’ points came in the fourth quarter after UNC started showing signs of fatigue.
Additionally, the Wyoming offensive line had not allowed a quarterback sack in the first two games. The Bears sacked Andrew Peasley twice.
Sophomore defensive back Dustin Johnson added some strong plays. One deflection was in the end zone, too.
There are certainly more improvements to be made. The final Cowboys touchdown came by way of blown coverage.
Special teams: B-
It was an OK day for the special teams squad. Things weren’t great, but they weren’t the worst, either.
Freshman kicker Hunter Green scored his first field goal in a Bears uniform and scored the extra point. His field goal in the third quarter put UNC on the board and helped serve as a catalyst for the offense in the period.
Sophomore punter Devin Bale also had a good day. He punted for 245 yards, averaging nearly 41 yards per attempt. His longest was a 52-yard kick. His best work, however, came on a fake punt.
In the third quarter, the Bears turned the fake attempt into a first down. This led to Green’s field goal and the first points for the team.
On the return game, UNC finished with 107 total yards on eight attempts. There were some botched return attempts, though, including two that put the offense inside its own 10-yard line.
Overall: C+
UNC stayed competitive for the majority of the matchup and didn’t let Wyoming get into much of a rhythm until late, which was a focus coming in.
Another area of emphasis was reducing penalties. The Bears gave up 105 yards last week. They finished with seven penalties for a loss of 49 yards this time around.
The play calling deserves some credit, as well, for the creative fake punt and reversal that led to a touchdown.
Northern Colorado still needs to put the pieces together in all three areas, but it put up a decent fight on Saturday.
It will return to action at 6 p.m. Saturday against Lamar in Beaumont, Texas.
