NORTHERN COLORADO NOTES | WEBER STATE NOTES | BIG SKY CONFERENCE NOTES

Listen to This Week In Big Sky Football to hear what Weber State coach Ron McBride and Northern Colorado junior linebacker Matt King have to say.

Protection Up Front
For the second straight week, the Northern Colorado offensive line did not allow a quarterback sack. The Bears have not allowed a sack in the last 125 minutes of play, dating back to the fourth quarter at Northern Arizona. It is the first time since the first two games of the 2003 season, the NC offensive line has had back-to-back games without allowing a sack.

One vs One
Northern Colorado now leads the Big Sky Conference in total defense, allowing 350.6 yards per game as well as giving up just 197.7 through the air. On the flip side, Weber State leads the league in offense getting 435.0 yards per game and a conference-best 309.1 in passing.

Picking Them Off
Northern Colorado now has eight interceptions through the first seven games of the year after sophomore defensive back Chuks Nweke had one in the fourth quarter against Idaho State. The eight picks is tied for the most in the Big Sky this season and the Bears have a league-best 169 return yards.

It's Been A While
Against Idaho State on Saturday, the Bears held the Bengals to negative 11 rushing yards. It is the first time an opponent has had less than zero rushing yards since Nov. 30, 2002 at Northwest Missouri State in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

A Look Back
Through seven games last season, Northern Colorado's defense was allowing 415.7 yards per game and had giving up 206 points. This year's squad has allowed just 350.6 yards per game (65.3/game) and allowed 167 points (5.6/gm).

Seeing Red
The first 14 times the Bears were in the red zone this season, they scored just eight times (57.1%), however the team has scored each of the last six times they have been within 20 yards of the goal they have put points on the board, scoring three field goals and three touchdowns.

On The Plus Side
Senior quarterback Bryan Waggener has not tallied any negative rushing yards in the last two games, thanks in part to the offensive line holding strong. Waggener has rushed six times for 48 yards and one touchdown in the last two games (8.0 yds per carry).

After the Break
Northern Colorado went five games between scoring in the third quarter. In the season opener, the Bears outscored Kansas 3-0, but did not score again after the halftime break until putting 14 on the board at Idaho State. The Bears are outscoring the competition 25-23 in the first quarter but are being outscored 39-17 in the third.

Scouting Weber State
Weber State is 4-3 on the season and playing its third game of the year along the Front Range after starting the season at Wyoming and Colorado State. The Wildcats are ranked 15th in the national polls after having won four of their last five contests. Senior wide receiver Tim Toone was named the Sports Network Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a punt 95-yards for a touchdown against Sacramento State, setting a Big Sky Conference record. He also topped 3,000 career receiving yards in the game on Saturday.

Return Policy
Cornerback Korey Askew has made a habit this season of big returns. The junior has two interception returns for 112 yards and a touchdown and two fumble recovery returns for 41 yards. He is one of six players in the Big Sky Conference this season with a pick for a touchdown and his 88-yard return is the longest in the league.

October 24
Northern Colorado is 2-5 all-time in games played on Oct. 24, however the Bears have won both games played at home, including a 55-21 victory over Emporia State in 1970 on Homecoming.

Against The Wildcats
Senior safety Stephen Michon has tallied 28 tackles in three games against Weber State in his career, second in career history only to Cristian Sarmento's 40. In three previous games, the Bears have tallied three interceptions with Max Hewitt getting one. Hewitt also blocked a punt against the Wildcats a year ago.

Schools From Utah
Northern Colorado is 5-14-1 all-time against teams hailing from the state of Utah (3-8-1 BYU, 2-1 Southern Utah, 0-2 Utah, 0-3 Weber State).

That's Gotta Hurt
In the first seven games this season, Northern Colorado has lost 42 games due to injuries. A total of 38 of those 42 games lost have come on offense (16 o-line, 15 wide receivers, 5 tight ends, 2 running backs and 1 kicker).

A Win Would...

• give the Bears three wins on the season and their second-straight Big Sky victory.
• be the first-ever win against Weber State.
• be the first against a ranked team since defeating 19th-ranked Montana State, 16-13 on Oct. 27, 2007.
• put the Bears on a two-game winning streak.

More On Interceptions
Northern Colorado recorded three interceptions for 127 yards against Portland State. 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.

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, and added one at Idaho State bringing his career total to eight. Against the Lumberjacks, he also had 12 receptions, which ties for the second-most in a single game for a career-best 164 yards.

More Thompson
Receiver Alex Thompson has caught at least one pass in 11 straight games for the Bears and in 17 of his 18 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 nine straight.

Pinned
Sophomore punter Cameron Kaman has pinned the opposition inside the 20 yardline in eight of his last 15 punts and had two fair-caught. This season he has pinned the opponent inside the 20 on 12-of-41 punts and is averaging 40.1 yards per punt.

Going Backwards
The Bears now lead the league in conference games only in tackles for loss with 39. In three 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, 215.1) and passing completions per game (9th, 19.7). Sophomore punter Cameron Kaman also ranks 13th in average per punt among career active leaders (39.88).

Notes From ISU Game

• Senior defensive tackle Tony Kolone and freshman wide receiver Jace Davis both started the first game of their career as a Bear.
• The 23-point victory for Northern Colorado ties for the largest win against Idaho State in 26 meetings. In 1979, the Bears also had a 23-point win, shutting out the Bengals 23-0.
• Sophomore defensive end Nick Hernon recorded a six-yard sack in the second quarter, bringing his season total to four.
• Junior defensive end Ethan Davis recorded his first sack of the season, a loss of seven yards.
• Senior quarterback Bryan Waggener scored his first rushing touchdown of the season with a seven-yard gain with just 19 seconds remaining in the first half.
• Junior running back Andre Harris scored his third rushing touchdown of the year on the Bears' first drive of the second half.
• With his fourth reception of the game, senior wide receiver Alex Thompson topped 1,000 career reception yards. He now has 1,039 in his 18 games with the Bears after catching nine passes for 75 yards.
• Senior placekicker Michael York scored his 100th career point with the field goal in the first quarter. He scored 12 in the game, bringing his career tally to 109. It marked the third time in his career he made three field goals in a single game.
• Freshman running back Jhamele Robinson gained 29-yards on a rush in the third quarter, bettering his previous career-best gain of 15 from the season opener at Kansas.
• Sophomore wide receiver Patrick Walker tallied a career-high reception yards in the game, ending with nine catches for 89 yards. He betters his previous best of 65 yards from the home opener against San Diego.
• York made a 47-yard field goal with 9:25 remaining in the game for a new career-long. He bettered his previous long of 38 from last season at Weber State.
• Harris had the second game of his career with more than 100 rushing yards, carrying the ball 24 times for 113 yards.
• With his 212 passing yards, Waggener moved into ninth on the all-time career passing yards list with 3,872. He passes Nick Henkowski (1980-83), who threw for 3,858. Waggener also surpassed 4,000 yards of total offense and now stands at 4,026.

It's An Honor
Junior Andre Harris was named the Big Sky 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.

What To Look For

• The next rushing attempt for junior running back Andre Harris will be his 100th of the season.
• Junior linebacker Matt King is now just four tackles shy of 150 for his career.
• Senior safety Stephen Michon needs 13 tackles to reach 200 for his career.
• With just 128 more passing yards, senior quarterback Bryan Waggener will reach 4,000 yards.
• Senior linebacker Logan Zabel needs just two tackles to match last season's total of 38 tackles, which he did in 11 games.

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, senior running back DC Wilson and junior kicker Zak Bigelow are out for the remainder of the season with injuries. Dominic Gunn (WR) is also currently out with an injury.

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.