Northern Colorado football defeats Idaho State 52-14
Published: Saturday, October 20, 2012
Updated: Friday, October 26, 2012 01:10
 "Photo: Colleen Allison | The Mirror")
Colleen Allison | The Mirror
Northern Colorado running back Tromaine Dennis leaps over an Idaho State defender during Saturday's game at Nottingham Field. Dennis's 178 yards rushing is the most for a UNC back in a game since the school began competing in Division I.
 "Photo: Colleen Allison | The Mirror")
Colleen Allison | The Mirror
UNC quarterback Seth Lobato prepares to throw the ball downfield during Saturday's game at Nottingham Field. The UNC line did not allow ISU a single sack in the game, everytime this has occured this year UNC has won the game.
 "Photo: Colleen Allison | The Mirror")
Colleen Allison | The Mirror
Northern Colorado running back Tromaine Dennis stiff arms Idaho State safety Cameron Gupton during Saturday's game at Nottingham Field. Dennis has seven of UNC's 21 touchdowns this year.
It was a game in which seemingly nothing could go wrong, and that was reflected in the disparity of the final score.
The UNC football team won its first Big Sky Conference game since Nov. 13, 2010 by compiling 537 yards of total offense in a 52-14 thrashing of Idaho State Saturday at Nottingham Field.
The University of Northern Colorado (2-5, 1-3 Big Sky) took control of the game early on with 14 first-quarter points, a touchdown from junior wide receiver Jace Davis and another from junior running back Tromaine Dennis.
Scoring would be a common theme for the Bears.
After Idaho State got on the board with a 41-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Kevin Yost to junior wide receiver Cameron Richmond in the second quarter, UNC scored 38 consecutive points to put the game away. The Bengals (1-6, 0-4) scored its only other touchdown with 11:59 remaining, when the game had long been out of reach.
“Right from the get-go, offensive line did a great job,” junior quarterback Seth Lobato said. “Running backs did an awesome job, and we were able to execute and move the ball down the field all day.”
Lobato finished his afternoon 16-of-22 passing for 243 yards and five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Dennis also had a career day, carrying 27 times for a Division-I school record 178 yards. He also added two touchdowns for good measure.
“I executed pretty good today,” Dennis said. “Offensive line did a great job. I was
just ready today to show what I was capable of.”
Dennis now has 492 rushing yards this season to go along with seven touchdowns. Sophomore running back Robert Holland also made the most of his 12 carries, gaining 60 yards.
“With the running backs, we looked at it and we thought we could run the ball,” UNC head coach Earnest Collins Jr. said. “Our O-line was looking at the film and saying, ‘Coach, we can run the ball.’ And we came out and put up 246 yards rushing — it was awesome to see.”
In addition of the score to Davis in the first quarter, Lobato benefited from a 70-yard catch-and-run from senior tight end Doug Steele for a touchdown in the third, and Lobato also tossed two scores — both in the second quarter — to senior wide receiver Dominic Gunn.
Normally a dynamic kick and punt returner, Gunn did his damage Saturday as a receiver. Idaho State clearly wanted to no part of kicking to Gunn by intentionally sending the ball to a different returner. Gunn finished with seven receptions for 75 yards.
“I just stuck with the integrity of my reads and just took what they gave me,” Lobato said of Idaho State’s pass defense. “Some guys turned a five-yard gain into a 10- or 15-yard gain, and they’re capable of doing that because we have some pretty good playmakers on our team.”
On the defensive side of the field, the Bears were relentless in their pursuit of the ball, forcing four turnovers. UNC forced two ISU fumbles in the game, and junior safety Timi Niweigha and sophomore cornerback James Davis also had one interception each. For both of them, it was their first pick of their career.
Redshirt freshman defensive end Chris Urbaniak also had a big day, registering a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He sacked Yost and forced the fumble at the UNC 10-yard line to halt an ISU drive in the second quarter. The fumble was recovered by junior defensive end Gavin Miller, and though the Bears weren’t able to score on the ensuing possession, the momentum clearly stayed with UNC.
Urbaniak’s fumble recovery came off a forced fumble from sophomore cornerback Courtney Hall in the third quarter. This time, UNC did cash in on the Bengals’ mistake as Dennis scored six plays later.
The Bengals displayed a pass-heavy offense, which made it more enjoyable to play defense, Urbaniak said.
“It’s a lot of fun to get after that quarterback,” he said. “That’s what we like doing on the D-line, and we knew it was going to be a lot of passing, so we had plenty of opportunities to make plays, and I feel like we did that today.”
In a game that seemed so different from previous ones, Collins said afterward that the changes seen weren’t just a result of strategy but rather a different mindset that he said would eventually take over.
“Sometimes people think the change is always football, but the change that we’re trying to make is just dealing with them on the inside and understanding what they got to do to be the best football player they can be,” Collins said.
The Bears look to take the momentum earned from this game into its next contest against Northern Arizona (6-1, 4-0) at 1:35 p.m. Saturday at Nottingham Field. Northern Arizona is coming off a 21-7 win over UC Davis.
| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score |
| Idaho State | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Northern Colorado | 14 | 14 | 24 | 0 | 52 |
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