2023 Northern Colorado Bears football team explained

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.

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

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

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

• 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.

at No. 23 (FBS) Washington State

See also: 2023 Washington State Cougars football team.

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		20/26, 327 yards, 4 TD
Rushing	Dylan Paine	7 carries, 71 yards, TD
Receiving		6 receptions, 119 yards, 2 TD

at Idaho State

See also: 2023 Idaho State Bengals football team.

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.

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

See also: 2023 Montana Grizzlies football team.

vs No. 3 Idaho

See also: 2023 Idaho Vandals football team.

at Northern Arizona

See also: 2023 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team.

vs Portland State

See also: 2023 Portland State Vikings football team.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites. July 25, 2021. July 26, 2023.