2023 Northern Colorado Bears football team

The 2023 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Ed Lamb and played their home games at Nottingham Field.

2023 Northern Colorado Bears football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	0–11 (0–8 Big Sky)
Head coach	Ed Lamb (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Blair Peterson (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Preston Hadley (1st season)
Home stadium	Nottingham Field
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Montana $^		7	–	1					13	–	2
No. 8 Idaho ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 9 Montana State ^		6	–	2					8	–	4
Northern Arizona		5	–	3					5	–	6
No. 24 UC Davis		5	–	3					7	–	4
No. 13 Sacramento State ^		4	–	4					8	–	5
Portland State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Weber State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Eastern Washington		3	–	5					4	–	7
Idaho State		3	–	5					3	–	8
Cal Poly		1	–	7					3	–	8
Northern Colorado		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

Polls

On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Bears were predicted to finish tenth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.^[1]

Coaches poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Montana State	120 (10)
2	UC Davis	96 (1)
3	Sacramento State	94 (1)
4	Weber State	91
5	Idaho	89
6	Montana	84
7	Eastern Washington	52
8	Portland State	45
9	Northern Arizona	44
10	Northern Colorado	37
11	Cal Poly	25
12	Idaho State	15

Media poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Montana State	447 (26)
2	Idaho	410 (8)
3	Montana	359 (2)
4	Sacramento State	334 (3)
5	UC Davis	330
6	Weber State	320
7	Eastern Washington	216
8	Northern Arizona	178
9	Portland State	167
10	Northern Colorado	109
11	Cal Poly	103
12	Idaho State	69

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 p.m.	at Abilene Christian*	Wildcat Stadium Abilene, TX	ESPN+	L 11–31	6,164
September 9	2:00 p.m.	No. 10 Incarnate Word*	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ESPN+	L 7–42	3,898
September 16	3:00 p.m.	at No. 23 (FBS) Washington State*	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	P12N	L 21–64	23,595
September 23	4:00 p.m.	at Idaho State	Holt Arena Pocatello, ID	ESPN+	L 21–35	N/A
September 30	1:00 p.m.	No. 13 Weber State	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ESPN+	L 21–28	3,375
October 14	1:00 p.m.	No. 4 Sacramento State	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ESPN+	L 13–21	4,783
October 21	7:05 p.m.	at Cal Poly	Mustang Memorial Field San Luis Obispo, CA	ESPN+	L 17–24	9,263
October 28	1:00 p.m.	at No. 7 Montana	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	ESPN+	L 0–40	25,463
November 4	1:00 p.m.	No. 3 Idaho	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ESPN+	L 13–27	3,608
November 11	1:00 p.m.	at Northern Arizona	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	ESPN+	L 7–28	6,003
November 18	12:00 p.m.	Portland State	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ESPN+	L 23–27	2,578
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

• Source: Schedule

Conference opponents not scheduled this season: Eastern Washington, Montana State, UC Davis

Game summaries

at Abilene Christian

See also: 2023 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team

vs No. 10 Incarnate Word

See also: 2023 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Cardinals	7	14	14	7	42
Bears	0	0	0	7	7

Game information

First Quarter UIW – 8:34 Marquez Perez 21 yard pass from Zach Calzada, Mason Lawler kick UIW 7–0 Drive: 3 plays, 40 yards, 0:41 Second Quarter UIW – 14:24 Caleb Chapman 1 yard pass from Zach Calzada, Mason Lawler kick UIW 14–0 Drive: 16 plays, 97 yards, 6:50 UIW – 1:53 Timothy Carter 16 yard run, Mason Lawler kick UIW 21–0 Drive: 7 plays, 89 yards, 1:39 Third Quarter UIW – 9:22 Zach Calzada 11 yard run, Mason Lawler kick UIW 28–0 Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards, 3:18 UIW – 5:10 Tre Siggers 11 yard run, Mason Lawler kick UIW 35–0 Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:05 Fourth Quarter UIW – 10:04 Caleb Chapman 25 yard pass from Zach Calzada, Mason Lawler kick UIW 42–0 Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 2:37 UNC – 6:28 Blake Haggerty 43 yard pass from Hank Gibbs, Hunter Green kick UIW 42–7 Drive: 9 plays, 88 yards, 3:36

Game Two – Incarnate Word Cardinals (0–1) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–1)

at Nottingham Field, Greeley, CO

• Date: September 9
• Game time: 2:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Wind: NE 9 mph • Weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 3,898
• Referee: Gregg Wilson
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Jason Alvine (play-by-play) and Nick Hager (analyst)
• Box Score Pregame line: UIW −17.0

Statistics	UIW	UNC
First downs	29	14
Plays–yards	82–617	69–261
Rushes–yards	42–235	37–93
Passing yards	382	168
Passing: comp–att–int	29–40–1	15–32–1
Time of possession	31:03	28:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Incarnate Word	Passing	Zach Calzada	23/32, 255 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Timothy Carter	16 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Caleb Chapman	5 receptions, 116 yards, 2 TD
Northern Colorado	Passing	Jacob Sirmon	13/27, 114 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	David Afari	14 carries, 43 yards
	Receiving	Blake Haggerty	4 receptions, 57 yards, 1 TD

at No. 23 (FBS) Washington State

See also: 2023 Washington State Cougars football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	7	7	7	21
No. 23 (FBS) Cougars	22	21	14	7	64

Game information

First quarter (10:28) WSU – Cameron Ward 8-yard run, Billy Riviere pass (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:32; Washington State 8–0) (6:08) WSU – Kyle Williams 37-yard pass from Cameron Ward, Dean Janikowski kick (Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 3:23; Washington State 15–0) (3:41) WSU – Lincoln Victor 28-yard pass from Cameron Ward, Dean Janikowski kick (Drive: 4 plays, 64 yards, 1:07; Washington State 22–0) Second quarter (12:27) WSU – Josh Kelly 18-yard pass from Cameron Ward, Dean Janikowski kick (Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:33; Washington State 29–0) (8:45) WSU – Nakia Watson 6-yard run, Dean Janikowski kick (Drive: 7 plays, 64 yards, 1:40; Washington State 36–0) (3:20) WSU – Lincoln Victor 31-yard pass from Cameron Ward, Dean Janikowski kick (Drive: 7 plays, 74 yards, 2:31; Washington State 43–0) (0:12) NCU – Jamarii Robinson 18-yard pass from Jacob Sirmon, Hunter Green kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:08; Washington State 43–7) Third quarter (9:43) WSU – Josh Meredith 15-yard pass from John Mateer, Dean Janikowski kick (Drive: 7 plays, 93 yards, 2:38; Washington State 50–7) (5:45) NCU – Hank Gibbs 1-yard run, Hunter Green kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:58; Washington State 50–14) (5:10) WSU – Tsion Nunnally 72-yard pass from John Mateer, Dean Janikowski kick (Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:30; Washington State 57–14) Fourth quarter (13:46) WSU – Dylan Paine 1-yard run, Dean Janikowski kick (Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:04; Washington State 64–14) (11:36) NCU – Darius Stewart 52-yard pass from Jacob Sirmon, Hunter Green kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:10; Washington State 64–21)

Northern Colorado Bears (0–2) at No. 23 (FBS) Washington State Cougars (2–0) – Game summary

at Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA

• Date: September 16, 2023
• Game time: 3:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C) • Wind: SW 8 mph
• Game attendance: 23,595
• Referee: Gary Reed
• TV announcers (P12N): Matt Chazanow, Michael Bumpus

Statistics	NCU	WSU
First downs	17	33
Total yards	366	718
Rushes/yards	31–158	36–229
Passing yards	208	489
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	18–30–0	29–38–1
Time of possession	29:11	30:49

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Colorado	Passing	Jacob Sirmon	16/24, 171 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	David Afari	17 carries, 116 yards
	Receiving	Blake Haggerty	6 receptions, 70 yards
Washington State	Passing	Cam Ward	20/26, 327 yards, 4 TD
	Rushing	Dylan Paine	7 carries, 71 yards, TD
	Receiving	Lincoln Victor	6 receptions, 119 yards, 2 TD

at Idaho State

See also: 2023 Idaho State Bengals football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	14	0	21
Bengals	7	14	7	7	35

Game information

First quarter 7:04 UNC – Darius Stewart 16-yard run (Hunter Green kick) – Northern Colorado 7–0, Drive: 9 plays, 83 yards, 4:37 0:07 ISU – Alfred Jordan Jr. 32-yard pass from Jordan Cooke (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Tied 7–7, Drive: 7 plays, 74 yards, 2:37 Second quarter 5:31 ISU – Jordan Cooke 1-yard run (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Idaho State 14–7, Drive: 10 plays, 72 yards, 4:25 0:20 ISU – Chedon James 1-yard pass from Hunter Hays (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Idaho State 21–7, Drive: 7 plays, 62 yards, 1:14 Third quarter 10:32 UNC – Jacob Sirmon 1–yard run (Hunter Green kick) – Idaho State 21–14, Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 4:22 5:09 UNC – David Afari 18–yard run (Hunter Green kick) – Tied 21–21, Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards, 4:00 2:45 ISU – Aiden Taylor 8–yard run (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Idaho State 28–21, Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:24 Fourth quarter 5:05 ISU – Hunter Hays 2–yard run (Thomas Kopcho kick) – Idaho State 35–21, Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards, 5:56

Idaho State Bengals (0–3) vs. Northern Colorado Bears (0–3) – Game summary

at Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho

• Date: September 23
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. MDT
• Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), Indoors
• Game attendance: 8,012
• Referee: Jim C.
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Dylan Carder (play-by-play), Kody Graves (analyst)
• Spread: Idaho State –6.5 • Odds to win: Northern Colorado 51.7% •

Statistics	Northern Colorado	Idaho State
First downs	25	26
Plays–yards	72–365	72–429
Rushes–yards	40–242	30–103
Passing yards	123	326
Passing: comp–att–int	22–32–2	26–42–1
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	31:13	28:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Colorado	Passing	Jacob Sirmon	22/32, 123 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Darius Stewart	14 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Ty Arrington	5 receptions, 42 yards
Idaho State	Passing	Jordan Cooke	14/23, 218 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Hunter Hays	13 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Christian Fredericksen	7 receptions, 108 yards

vs No. 13 Weber State

See also: 2023 Weber State Wildcats football team

vs No. 4 Sacramento State

See also: 2023 Sacramento State Hornets football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Hornets	14	0	7	0	21
Bears	3	7	0	3	13

Game information

First Quarter (12:19) UNC – Hunter Green 39-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 1 yard, 0:50; Northern Colorado 3–0) (8:44) SAC – Devin Gandy 15-yard pass from Kaiden Bennett (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:35; Sacramento State 7–3) (0:34) SAC – Ezra Moleni 8-yard pass from Kaiden Bennett (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 53 yards, 3:56; Sacramento State 14–3) Second Quarter (7:47) UNC – Brayden Munroe 41-yard pass from Jacob Sirmon (Hunter Green kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 92 yards, 2:29; Sacramento State 14–10) Third Quarter (0:00) SAC – Carlos Hill 20-yard pass from Kaiden Bennett (Zach Schreiner kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 4:41; Sacramento State 21–10) Fourth Quarter (8:31) UNC – Hunter Green 19-yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 73 yards, 3:50; Sacramento State 21–13) Line SAC –25.0 Over/Under 58.5

No. 4 Sacramento State Hornets (4–1) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–5) – Game summary

at Nottingham Field, Greeley, CO

• Date: October 14, 2023
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. MST
• Game weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 4,783
• Referee: Jim Crowley
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Play-by-Play: Jason Alvine • Analysis: Nick Hager
• Sources:^[2][3]

Statistics	SAC	UNC
First downs	23	17
Total yards	334	332
Rushing yards	151	75
Passing yards	183	257
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25–31–0	20–39–0
Time of possession	30:57	29:03

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Sacramento State	Passing	Kaiden Bennett	25/31, 183 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Ezra Moleni	16 carries, 93 yards
	Receiving	Marshel Martin	7 receptions, 52 yards
Northern Colorado	Passing	Jacob Sirmon	20/39, 257 yards, TD
	Rushing	David Afari	10 carries, 36 yards
	Receiving	Brayden Munroe	3 receptions, 66 yards, TD

at Cal Poly

See also: 2023 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

at No. 7 Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	0	0
No. 7 Grizzles	0	14	12	14	40

See also: 2023 Montana Grizzlies football team

vs No. 3 Idaho

See also: 2023 Idaho Vandals football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Vandals	3	7	7	10	27
Bears	0	7	0	6	13

No. 3 Idaho Vandals (6–2) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–8) – Game summary

at Nottingham Field • Greeley, CO

• Date: November 4, 2023
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. MDT
• Game attendance: 3,608
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Jason Alvine, Nick Hager

at Northern Arizona

See also: 2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

vs Portland State

See also: 2023 Portland State Vikings football team