Game grades: UNC football makes good progress in win at Houston Baptist – Loveland Reporter-Herald

The University of Northern Colorado (1-1) defeated Houston Baptist on the road, 45-13, in its first win under the guidance of head coach Ed McCaffrey on Saturday night.

It wasnt perfect although the team probably never will be but the team showed improvement from its week one performance.

UNC made major strides this week with its rushing game and saw multiple guys at the quarterback spot, so it deserves a high grade.

Last week at the University of Colorado, UNC only finished with 20 rushing yards on 18 attempts. This week, the Bears logged 182 yards and three touchdowns.

Freshman running back Gene Sledge Jr. led the team with a gain of 84 and accounted for two scores. Junior running back Jullen Ison added 65 yards on six attempts and one touchdown.

Graduate quarterback Dylan McCaffrey left the game at halftime with an upper body injury. He struggled in the pass game, completing only 9-of-16 for 63 yards and throwing a few near-interceptions.

Despite McCaffrey not having the ideal stat line, junior Conner Martin came in as relief and successfully kept UNC on top. Martin threw 9-of-14 for 128 yards and two scores.

The Bears also managed to go 8-of-16 on third down and 4-of-4 in the red zone, much improved from the 3-of-14 and 0-of-2 in Boulder.

The defense was very good, but the sneaky Houston Baptist offense was able to find some holes.

Northern Colorado missed several tackles, including against Huskies sophomore QB Blaise Bentsen who was able to spin himself out of defensive pressure.

HBU out-tackled UNC 71 to 56, but the Bears were able to utilize their tackles to push its opponents back. The Bears recorded 10 tackles for a loss of 45 yards, while the Huskies only forced a loss of 12 yards on two tackles.

UNC also added three fumble recoveries and two interceptions to help the offense and held the Huskies to 266 total yards.

Overall, the defensive effort was still impressive and much better than what the team used to put forth.

UNC special teams helped swing momentum back to the Bears early in the game, and provided steady performance in the game.

The Bears hustled to recover a Huskies fumble in the first quarter to get the offense back on the field, which turned into a touchdown, and helped build a lead that could last until the final horn.

Junior kicker Ben Raybon was perfect when called upon, recording all of the Bears extra points and a 33-yard field goal.

Northern Colorados special teams crew held Southland Conference Player of the Week Brady Buell to an average of 36 yards per punt, too. Buell kicked a massive 79-yard punt, but the rest were a step down from his 50.9-yard average from week one.

UNC looked disjointed in its game in Boulder. It had flashes of good, but there was also a lot of obvious work to be done.

This week, there were definitely mistakes and improvements to be made, but it looked more prepared and unified. Players stepped up when they needed to and there seemed to be fewer communication breakdowns.

Its a long season and Northern Colorado will face stiff competition when conference play begins at the end of the month. However, the team simply looked better and the game was more enjoyable to watch.

UNC will host its first home game under McCaffrey at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, when the Bears play Lamar. Tickets are still available or fans can watch on ESPN+.

Link:

Game grades: UNC football makes good progress in win at Houston Baptist - Loveland Reporter-Herald