THE University of Northern Colorado (UNC) football team hosts #10 University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) this weekend. UNC faced their first setback of the season with a 20-point loss to the Abilene Christian Wildcats. The Bears were not firing on all cylinders as the offense was stuffed and the defense was spread thin. Meanwhile, UIW made a solid attempt to upset FBS foe University of Texas El-Paso (UTEP) with a two score loss that seemed closer than that.

Overall, the Bears are in familiar territory, not just because the game is in Greeley, but due to the fact they are in a deficit and labeled big underdogs, once again. Coach Lamb would not be head coach if he cannot find a way to motivate his men how to believe in themselves. He chose his leaders for their resolve, playing ability, and will to overcome. The Bears are going to be in an ugly game, but UNC’s leaders will have them prepared and improved to hold on as long as they can against the top-ranked Cardinals.

UIW is no stranger to being a mediocre team as pre-Covid they were a middle of the pack or worse team with few wins before their recent dominance. The past two years the Cardinals have produced a 12-2 and 10-3 season with notable playoff performances. While the coach and star quarterback have moved on to new schools the Cardinals have the blueprints to keep themselves relevant in the Top 25 with a strong roster and favorable schedule to add a fourth conference title to their trophy case.

Northern Colorado

Coach: Ed Lamb

Record: 0-1 (UNC) 45-47 (SUU)

Championships: 2 Conference Titles (SUU in Big Sky 2015, Great West 2010)

History: Head Coach Lamb produced two eight-win seasons, two conference titles, and two playoff appearances in eight years with Southern Utah. Bears fans hope the vast experiences Lamb has from Southern Utah to San Diego with Jim Harbaugh to BYU can cultivate a winning culture here too.

Offensive Impact Players

Quarterback, Jacob Sirmon, Senior – 6’5″ 230 lbs.

Tight End, Alec Pell, Redshirt Junior – 6’4″ 260 lbs.

Running Back, David Afari, Junior – 5’10” 202 lbs.

UNC’s offense was hampered by a steady ACU defense that did not allow for anyone to have a breakout day. For now, the Bears will have to rely on the most productive running back and the QB/TE connection to keep paying off. These next two weeks will feature a top-tier FCS team and a ferocious FBS team. The offense desperately needs to find what will be productive for the sake of their confidence and ability to build chemistry before conference games quickly approach.

Defensive Impact Players

Cornerback, Tizell Lewis, Senior – 6’0″ 170 lbs.

Linebacker, Vincent King, Redshirt Junior – 6’0″ 237 lbs.

Linebacker, Jordan Knapke, Redshirt Junior – 6’2″ 225 lbs.

Consistency, effort and turnovers. The Bears were able to show effort, but consistency and turnovers were difficult to come by for UNC. To be a competitive team in the Big Sky a team needs at least one side of ball to be decent and the other above average. The offense looks to have a long improvement journey ahead of them so the defense will need to find a way to be special and quickly.

Incarnate Word

Coach: Clint Killough

Record: 0-1 (Incarnate Word)

History: Head Coach Killough is one of the younger coaches in college football at the spry age of just 30 years old. Killough is a UIW alum himself as he played for the university 2013-2015. Coach returned to his university in 2018 as a quality control coach and has been on staff for all three conference championships and playoff runs through his various roles.

Offensive Impact Players

Quarterback, Zach Calzada, Grad Student – 6’4” 200 lbs.

Receiver, Brandon Porter, Grad Student – 5’10” 165 lbs.

Receiver, Caleb Chapman, Grad Student – 6’5” 220 lbs.

The whole team has great size and the offense especially has a lot of football experience on the team. The speed and size of the receivers will be a problem for our secondary. If they utilize their bigger receivers our defense will find it an uphill battle contesting passes and forcing turnovers.

Defensive Impact Players

Linebacker, Ricky Rich, Redshirt Sophomore – 6’1” 212 lbs.

Linebacker, Tylan Foster, Junior – 5’11” 225 lbs.

Safety, Mason Chambers, Junior – 6’0” 210 lbs.

The Cardinal defense is scrappy and swarms to the ball. UNC will need to make their hay by beating coverage rather than beating defenders since the Cardinals get multiple guys to the ball. While the Bears need to be confident and take chances the risk for turnovers will be high this week.

Prediction

UNC will face a grizzly home opener as the 10th best team in the FCS comes to Greeley. A struggling Bears team was unable to kick start the offense and struggled with coming up with big stops on defense. UIW did not win their game against FBS UTEP, but put up a respectable performance, including having a 14-7 lead at one point in the second quarter. Last year, UIW never scored less than 32 points, beat the #2, #9, and #11 best teams in the FCS, and lost to the #3 team in the playoff semi-finals. UIW should take control in the first half and coast to an easy victory if the Cardinals have reloaded anywhere close to last year. Be sure to grab an extra beer, enjoy the band, and cheer on the Sugar Bears and cheerleaders since this might be a bruiser Bears fans.

Score: UIW 45, UNC 10