Northern Colorado lost the season's home opener this past Saturday to Abilene Christian University 24-22 due to a last-minute ACU field goal to seal the game.
UNC entered this week's matchup coming off of a 38-17 loss to in-state rival Colorado State University. Despite the loss, it was a promising one as the Bears were able to hold their own and showed flashes of potential against a fellow D1 opponent. With how the Bears played, there was much optimism and anticipation to face their next challenge.
Last season, UNC started the 2022 season playing against Abilene Christian and lost that game 31-11 down in Abilene, Texas. This time around, it was a different story as through most of the game it was close with the defense stuffing runs, breaking up passes and the offensively moving the ball effectively at times.
The ground game was the Bears' best friend, as the offense finished with 241 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Redshirt Junior running back Darius Stewart led the team in rushing by finishing with 132 yards. Quarterback Hank Gibbs was second with 57 yards and running back Caden Meis with 44 yards.
Gibbs started the game as the backup to Hawaii transfer Jonah Chung and would only be used in certain situations like quarterback sneaks or short downs and distance situations to run the ball. In the fourth quarter, he became the player that the offense would lean on in hopes to get the victory.
In just the fourth quarter, Gibbs carried the ball ten times for 52 yards. His last carry was the most important being a three yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown. Bears head coach Ed Lamb talked about Gibbs and Stewart to the media and how they are examples of what the staff is looking for from players.
“After the game when I was talking to the team I pointed out those two guys in particular. They were playing with heart and grit…they work incredibly hard and I could just see the fire and desire to win and leave everything they have on the field,” said Lamb. He continued on by saying he doesn’t believe the effort was wasted and that the team as whole is finding out who they are.
What looked like a victory on the horizon, play clock management and substitution errors are what prevented the Bears from leading by three with a minute left in the game.
After Gibb’s touchdown, the Bears opted to go for the PAT instead of the two point conversion. UNC ended up calling a timeout and came back out with the offense on the field ready to go for two. Only problem was that there was an offensive guard and a running back missing from the formation.
Lamb was forced to call another timeout, and NCAA rules prohibit teams from calling back to back timeouts. Due to the Bears doing that, the team was called for a delay of game and pushed them back five yards and ended with an unsuccessful two-point conversion.
ACU got the ball back with one minute and ten second left and quarterback Maverick McIvor marched the Wildcats down the field by completing four passes for 56 yards. The Wildcats ended up in field goal position at the UNC 37 yard line, which was just the right distance for kicker Cirby Coheley to nail the game-winning kick.
Despite the loss, the Bears went toe-to-toe with a team that scored 51 points against Texas Tech two weeks ago. After the game, Gibbs spoke to the media and praised the physicality of the Bears in the game and how they plan on keeping that playing style for the rest of the season.
“There was belief we’re going to go do it. We’re going to go in and squat tomorrow and we’re going to be a physical group the rest of the season. We want to come out and punch people in the face,” said Gibbs.
The first win in the Ed Lamb era has still eluded the team as the Bears are now 0-3. UNC will be on the road next week when the team travels to Nacogdoches, Texas to face Stephen F. Austin State University. Kickoff for that game will be at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21.
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