NORTHERN COLORADO GAME NOTES | IDAHO STATE GAME NOTES | BIG SKY CONFERENCE WEEKLY NOTES

Pick Six
Junior Korey Askew was one of four defensive players in the Big Sky Conference to return an interception for a touchdown last weekend. Askew's return of 88 yards is the longest this season in the league and the fourth longest in the FCS.

More On Interceptions
Northern Colorado recorded three interceptions for 127 yards against Portland State last week. It is the most return yardage since the Bears went Division I and just 45 shy of the school record of 172 against North Dakota back in 1989. It marked the second time this season the Bears had multiple interceptions in a game and the team is now second in the Big Sky with seven picks on the year.

On The Road Again
For the first time in a long time, it might be good to be the road team in the Big Sky. In the last three weeks, the road team has won 10 of 12 conference games. On the flip side, last year only 15 games were won by the road squad.

Something Has To Give
Both Northern Colorado and Idaho State are searching for the first wins in Big Sky Conference play this season. The Bears are 0-4, while the Bengals are 0-3. NC is on a four-game losing skid and have lost 11 of 12 since last defeating Idaho State, while the Bengals have lost six straight and 22 of their last 24 since their last win over the Bears.

Big Plays
Against Portland State, the Bears had eight plays go for 20 or more yards, including the season-long play of 88 yards by interception return from junior cornerback Korey Askew. The 74-yard touchdown reception by freshman Chris Morris from senior Bryan Waggener also ranks as the third longest play this year. Freshman John Burnley leads the team with nine 20-yard plus plays (seven kickoff returns, two rushing) and the team has 35.

That's Gotta Hurt
In the first six games this season, Northern Colorado has lost 37 games due to injuries. A total of 34 of those 37 games lost have come on offense (15 o-line, 13 wide receivers, 4 tight ends and 2 running backs).

Scouting Idaho State
The Bengals are 0-6 on the season and 0-3 in Big Sky action. The only opponent in common for the two squads this year is Eastern Washington. The Bears fell 16-0 at Eastern Washington while the Bengals lost 38-3 at Holt Arena. ISU junior JD Ponciano ranks second in the conference in all-purpose yards, averaging 171.2 per game, while senior Jon Vanderwielen is second in punting, averaging 43.6 per punt. Sophomore linebacker A.J. Storms also ranks second with 11.0 tackles per game. The Bengals are tied for the worst turnover margin in the Big Sky at -10 along with Portland State.

October 17
Northern Colorado is 7-2 all-time in games played on Oct. 17. The Bears have won their last two games on this date with the last game in 1998 being one of the most exciting games in school history, a 49-47 four-overtime win at Minnesota State. The game was tied at 17, 24, 34 and 41 before the Bears scored the final TD and two-point conversion.

No Bengals For Baseball
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Darin McDonald originally signed a national letter of intent to play football at Idaho State out of high school, but was lured away by Major League Baseball, getting drafted in the 12th round. McDonald spent three seasons playing in the Philadelphia Phillies organization before returning to Colorado and college football for the Bears. He has caught nine passes for 47 yards this season.

Hanging Tough
The Northern Colorado offensive line, for the first time this season, did not allow a quarterback sack. In the previous three games, senior quarterback Bryan Waggener had been sacked four times in each. It marked the second straight season against Portland State the line held strong, allowing no sacks.

Triple Double
For the second time this year, three Bears recorded double figures in tackles in the same game. Junior linebacker Matt King led the team with 15 tackles, while junior linebacker John Eddy added 13 and junior safety Max Hewitt chipped in 12. Against Montana State junior cornerback Korey Askew led the team with 11, while senior safety Stephen Michon and King each had 10.

Against The Bengals
Junior safety Max Hewitt has two of his eight career interceptions against Idaho State. Junior linebacker John Eddy has recorded 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks against the Bengals. In 2007 at Idaho State, senior safety Quincy Wofford blocked a PAT, the last PAT block for NC.

A Win Would...

• give the Bears two wins on the season and their first Big Sky victory of the year.
• be the first road victory for the Bears in Big Sky Conference play since joining the league in 2006.
• snap a 19-game road losing streak. The Bears last road win came on Sept. 16, 2006 at Texas State (14-13).
• extend the winning streak against Idaho State to two games.

Schools From Idaho
Northern Colorado is 8-18 all-time against teams from Idaho (1-0 Boise State, 7-18 Idaho State).

AT&T
For Northern Colorado its not a telephone company, its Alex Thompson and touchdowns. The senior wide receiver tallied the second-highest single-game total with three touchdowns against Northern Arizona, bringing his career total to seven. Against the Lumberjacks, he also had 12 receptions, which ties for the second-most in a single game for a career-best 164 yards.

Field Positioning
Redshirt freshman John Burnley can be counted on to aid the Bears in field positioning on special teams. In nine kickoff returns, he has advance the ball more than 20 yards in seven returns, including a high of 32 in the opener at Kansas. Burnley is averaging 23.3 yards per kickoff return, which ranks sixth in the Big Sky this season.

More Thompson
Receiver Alex Thompson has caught at least one pass in 10 straight games for the Bears and in 16 of his 17 in an NC uniform. The only game in which Thompson did not make a catch was last year against Montana. He has caught at least four passes in each game this season and in eight straight.

Pinned
Sophomore punter Cameron Kaman has pinned the opposition inside the 20 yardline in six of his last 10 punts and had two fair-caught. This season he has pinned the opponent inside the 20 on 10-of-36 punts and is averaging 39.9 yards per punt.

Going Backwards
The Bears still rank second in the league in conference games only in tackles for loss with 33, trailing Eastern Washington by one (34). In three of four league contests, the Bears have recorded eight or more tackles for loss, tallying 12.0 against Montana State and 10.0 at Eastern Washington.

He's Very Active
Senior quarterback Bryan Waggener currently ranks on the NCAA FCS active career leaders list in passing attempts per game (6th, 34.4/gm), passing yards per game (11th, 215.8) and passing completions per game (7th, 19.6). Sophomore punter Cameron Kaman also ranks 10th in average per punt among career active leaders (39.91).

Notes From PSU Game

• Korey Askew's 88-yard interception return is the fourth-longest in school history. His touchdown was the first by a defensive player this season and the first interception return for a touchdown since Aaron Henderson returned one against Idaho State on Sept. 18, 2004.
• Junior linebacker Matt King, junior linebacker John Eddy and senior linebacker Logan Zabel each tallied career-highs with 15, 13 and 8, respectively.
• Eddy's 2.5 sacks is a career-best mark and ties the season-high for the Bears, matching Nick Hernon's 2.5 from the game at Eastern Washington.
• Junior safety Max Hewitt tallied the eighth interception of his career and passed the 100 yard career return mark. He has 137 return yards in those eight picks.
• Senior quarterback Bryan Waggener moved into ninth on the Northern Colorado career charts for total offensive yards with 3,778 passing both Nick Henkowski (1980-83, 3,750) and Tony Christensen (2002-04, 3,777).

Defense To Offense
Northern Colorado has forced at least one turnover in 20 of the team's last 21 games against FCS competition. Over those 19 games, the Bears have forced 28 fumbles and picked off 29 passes.

It's An Honor
Junior running back Andre Harris was named the Big Sky Conference offensive player of the week after rushing for 152 yards in the Bears' 31-12 victory over San Diego. Harris averaged 7.6 yards per carry, scoring two touchdowns. Harris also caught four passes for 37 yards, giving him 189 all-purpose yards. His 152 rushing yards is the most at Northern Colorado since Andre Wilson rushed for 158 against Western Illinois on Sept. 23, 2006.

Hitting The Mark
Senior Matt King surpassed his single season tackle mark from each of his first two years, as he now has 51.

What To Look For

• Senior Alex Thompson is 36 yards shy of 1,000 receiving yards for his career.
• Senior Quincy Wofford is now just 38 yards shy of 500 all-purpose yards in his career.
• Junior Andre Harris needs just 25 yards for 500 all-purpose yards this season.
• Senior kicker Michael York is three points shy of scoring 100 in his career.

Preseason Honors
Several Bears received preseason attention from various publications. Senior quarterback Bryan Waggener was named a 2009 Consensus Draft Services Preseason All-American Honorable Mention while senior kicker Michael York was named to the Phil Steele Preseason All-Big Sky Conference First Team and junior linebacker John Eddy was named to the Second Team.

Bears Story Lines

• Redshirt freshman Darin McDonald joins the Bears team after a short stint at Wyoming. Prior to that, he spent three seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies minor league baseball system.
• The Bears return all eight on the depth chart among defensive linemen from a year ago.
• Three players, safety Ryan Lutz, defensive back C.J. Stemo and kicker Michael York have all received their bachelor's degrees and have begun work on their masters.
• Northern Colorado athletics ranks first in the Big Sky Conference in graduation success rate, with last year's rate at 93%.
• Two upperclassmen on the team, junior kicker Zak Bigelow and junior offensive lineman Tim McGraw both have perfect 4.00 grade point averages and are in the Monfort College of Business.
• A total of 13 student-athletes were named to the Monfort College of Business Dean's Citation List and five were from football. Junior Zak Bigelow, junior Matt McDonnell, junior Tim McGraw, sophomore Chuks Nweke and senior Michael York were all honored.
• Junior wide receiver Brandon Smith, senior offensive lineman Ryan Kemp, senior tight end Andrew Emmerling and senior running back DC Wilson are out for the remainder of the season with injuries. James Zapp (OL), Nick Candler (OL) and Dominic Gunn (WR) are also currently out with injuries.

Champions Council
This season, head coach Scott Downing decided to have a council of players who would lead the team and take more of a leadership role instead of the more traditional 2-3 captains. Those players, elected by their teammates are: junior Zak Bigelow, freshman John Burnley, freshman Cameron Friend, senior Chris Jones, senior Ryan Kemp, senior Ryan Lutz, junior Tim McGraw, sophomore Chuks Nweke, sophomore Dylan Orms, sophomore Colby Riggins, junior James Schrenk, senior C.J. Stemo, senior Thomas Stuemky, freshman Curtis Truett and junior Michael Van Portfliet.