2018 Northern Colorado Bears football team
The 2018 Northern Colorado Bears football team, represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and played their home games at Nottingham Field. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in 11th place.
2018 Northern Colorado Bears football | |
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Conference | Big Sky Conference |
2018 record | 2–9 (2–6 Big Sky) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Jon Boyer (1st season) |
Offensive scheme | Spread |
Defensive coordinator | Marty English (1st season) |
Base defense | 4–3 |
Home stadium | Nottingham Field (Capacity: 8,533) |
2018 Big Sky Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 6 Weber State +^ | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 Eastern Washington +^ | 7 | – | 1 | 12 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 7 UC Davis +^ | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 17 Montana State ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho State | 5 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Montana | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cal Poly | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Arizona | 3 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Portland State | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Colorado | 2 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Southern Utah | 1 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sacramento State | 0 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous season
The Bears finished the 2017 season 3–7, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place.
Preseason
Polls
On July 16, 2018 during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Bears were predicted to finish in eleventh place in the coaches poll and twelfth place in the media poll.[1]
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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1 | Eastern Washington | 134 (6) |
2 | Weber State | 124 (3) |
3 | Northern Arizona | 121 (3) |
4 | Idaho | 101 (1) |
5 | Sacramento State | 94 |
6 | Southern Utah | 91 |
7 | Montana | 82 |
8 | Montana State | 76 |
9 | UC Davis | 64 |
10 | Cal Poly | 40 |
11 | Northern Colorado | 30 |
12 | Idaho State | 29 |
13 | Portland State | 21 |
Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
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1 | Eastern Washington | 651 (27) |
2 | Weber State | 636 (19) |
3 | Northern Arizona | 535 (1) |
4 | Montana | 496 (2) |
5 | Idaho | 483 (3) |
6 | Southern Utah | 449 (1) |
7 | Sacramento State | 415 |
8 | Montana State | 391 (1) |
9 | UC Davis | 331 (1) |
10 | Idaho State | 170 |
11 | Cal Poly | 169 |
12 | Northern Colorado | 166 |
13 | Portland State | 103 |
Preseason All-Conference Team
The Bears had one player selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.[2]
Alex Wesley – Sr. WR
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 1 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 17 McNeese State* | Pluto TV 241 | L 14–17 | 5,672 | |
September 8 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 23 South Dakota* | ESPN+ | L 28–43 | 9,143 | |
September 15 | 2:00 p.m. | Sacramento State* |
| ELVN | L 25–28 | 3,768 |
September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Weber State | Pluto TV 235 | L 28–45 | 8,668 | |
September 29 | 12:00 p.m. | North Dakota |
| Pluto TV 241 | L 13–38 | 4,902 |
October 6 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 16 UC Davis |
| Pluto TV 241 | L 36–49 | 4,155 |
October 13 | 3:00 p.m. | at Portland State | Pluto TV 232 | L 14–35 | 4,375 | |
October 20 | 12:00 p.m. | Northern Arizona |
| ELVN | W 42–14 | 3,522 |
October 27 | 6:00 p.m. | at Southern Utah | Pluto TV 236 | W 42–39 | 7,106 | |
November 3 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 5 Eastern Washington |
| ELVN | L 13–48 | 3,274 |
November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | at Montana State | ATTRM | L 7–35 | 14,147 | |
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- Source: Schedule
Despite also being a member of the Big Sky, the game vs. Sacramento State will be a non-conference game and will have no effect on the Big Sky standings.
Game summaries
McNeese State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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No. 17 Cowboys | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
at South Dakota
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Bears | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
No. 23 Coyotes | 14 | 20 | 0 | 9 | 43 |
Sacramento State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Hornets | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
Bears | 7 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 25 |
at Weber State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Bears | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
No. 7 Wildcats | 14 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 45 |
North Dakota
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Fighting Hawks | 3 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
UC Davis
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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No. 16 Aggies | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
Bears | 0 | 10 | 0 | 26 | 36 |
at Portland State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
Vikings | 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
Northern Arizona
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Lumberjacks | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Bears | 12 | 0 | 16 | 14 | 42 |
at Southern Utah
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Bears | 14 | 10 | 18 | 0 | 42 |
Thunderbirds | 8 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 39 |
Eastern Washington
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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No. 5 Eagles | 13 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 48 |
Bears | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
at Montana State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Bears | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Bobcats | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |