The University of Northern Colorado will open the Big Sky season on Saturday and add a second game to the win column.
UNC (1-2) hosts Idaho State (0-3) in Greeley for homecoming, a game it hasn’t won since 2016.
The Bears are coming off a 21-14 win at Lamar, coming up clutch on defense for multiple plays. Meanwhile, the Bengals had an embarrassing loss to Central Arkansas and would like to win for the first time since last season.
Northern Colorado 30 – Idaho State 17
For this homecoming game, UNC will likely have an edge against the incoming visitor if its play resembles the last couple of weeks.
Certainly, the team would like to perform better on Saturday than it has in the first three games, but it could still pull off a victory if it doesn’t.
Northern Colorado’s defense is large enough and has proven it can hold its own against FBS teams, at least for a while, and the offense can get hot.
It will be interesting to see if Jacob Sirmon will start at quarterback again. The junior has struggled at times, but he has also created some big plays. Aside from sophomore Alec Lewis entering the game for one snap, the Sirmon was in the backfield for the entire Lamar game.
Regardless of who is at QB, the Bears should have a chance to succeed against a defense that has given up an average of 500 opponent yards per game. Its first two opponents were FBS teams, but it still allowed more than 400 yards against Central Arkansas.
The Bengals should be able to score at least a couple times. There is enough youth on UNC’s team, and it’s possible that mistakes on the offense could lead to ISU touchdowns.
Still, UNC shouldn’t have a problem picking up a win if it limits silly mistakes and Idaho State looks similar to the first three games.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Nottingham Field. Tailgating and homecoming activities will begin three hours before game time.
Big Sky predictions
T4 Montana State 17 – No. 15 Eastern Washington 14
RV Idaho 17 – RV Northern Arizona 21
No. 6 Sacramento State 26 – Colorado State 17
Portland State 13 – No. 2 Montana 30
No. 12 Weber State 20 – RV UC Davis 21
All rankings are based on the FCS coaches poll.
