Spring Opponent Review: Northern Colorado
As an Eastern Washington alum, Florida head coach Jim McElwain is quite familiar with the Big Sky conference.
After playing four seasons at quarterback with the Eagles, McElwain joined Eastern Washington’s staff, serving as a graduate assistant from 1985-86 and then quarterbacks/wide receivers coach from 1987-94. Then, he’d go on to serve as Montana’s offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach/special teams coordinator for five seasons.
So, when the Gators return to Gainesville from their trip in Arlington, Texas, against Michigan and square off against Northern Colorado in the second game of the season on Sept. 9, Florida will square off against a school from the conference that McElwain long resided in. (Northern Colorado didn’t join the Big Sky until 2006.)
Florida will reportedly be paying Northern Colorado $625,000 to come to Gainesville.
As we continue our series previewing the opponents on Florida’s 2017 schedule, today we take a closer look at Northern Colorado.
2016 Recap: During his sixth season as head coach of the Bears, Earnest Collins Jr. led Northern Colorado to a 6-5 (4-4 Big Sky) record, tied for sixth best out of 13 teams in the conference. It was only the second time in Collins’ time on the job (and the second consecutive year) that the Bears accomplished a winning record. In his first four years on the job, Collins went 9-36.
Although the Bears failed to reach the FCS postseason, they accomplished a noteworthy feat last season – after a drought of losing to conference foe Montana for 40 years, Northern Colorado finally snapped the streak with a 28-25 victory.
While Northern Colorado ranked 24th in passing offense, behind the arm of quarterback Kyle Sloter, the rushing attack ranked 55th. Under first-year offensive coordinator James Jones, the Bears were 25th in the FCS in total offense.
However, defensively the Bears were near the bottom of the FCS, ranking 115th out of 122 teams in total defense under third-year coordinator Larry Kerr. Northern Colorado ranked just 89th in passing yards allowed and 112th in rushing yards allowed per game.
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* Getting to Know: Brad Stewart
* Getting to Know: Daquon Green
* Position Review: Florida building depth along defensive line
* Position Review: Young but talented linebacker corps has high ceiling
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Key losses: While the Bears added 39 players this offseason – six from junior colleges and 33 as signees out of high school - they lost 22 seniors from last year’s roster. Many were notable contributors a year ago.
On offense, the Bears lose their top passer and receiver from a year ago. Sloter, who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos, was responsible for 2,656 passing yards (23rd in the FCS) and 29 touchdowns against 10 interceptions on 62.3% passing in 11 appearances last season. Wide receiver Stephen Miller racked up 1,007 of those yards (17th in the FCS) to go along with five touchdown on 56 catches.
Looking at the defensive side of the ball, the Bears lost four of their top six tacklers from a year ago, including leading tacklers in linebacker Kyle Newsom (121 tackles, 8.0 TFL) and defensive back Thomas Singleton (89 tackles, 4.0 TFL)
Quarterback situation: Jacob Knipp started the first two games for the Bears last year before going down with a season-ending shoulder injury in week two and seeing Sloter take over leading the offense. This spring, Knipp was a full go during practices and looks to be the current favorite to win the job. Mid-year transfer Conor Regan did impress in the spring game, with 186 yards and three touchdowns on 11-of-19 passing.
Standouts on offense: One of the Bears’ most dynamic weapons is redshirt senior Hakeem Deggs, a 5-foot-7, 157-pound wideout who has also contributed as a kick returner. Last season, Deggs was second on the team with 449 receiving yards on 34 grabs but led the group with 10 touchdown catches. Tight end Theron Verna (194 receiving yards, four TD in 2016) and running back Trae Riek (team-best 736 rushing yards, three TD on 128 carries) are a couple more names to keep an eye on.
Standouts on defense: Although the defense has lost a number of notable contributors, the secondary returns key pieces in cornerback Marshaun Cameron (76 tackles), strong safety Stone Kane (63 tackles, one INT) and defensive back Michael Walker (team-high eight pass breakups). As he transitions from linebacker to the defensive line, Isaiah Williams is another name to look out for.
Outlook: This should be an easy win for the Gators, coming off of what figures to be a challenging matchup against Michigan at AT&T Stadium. (We italicize the word “should” here, with last season’s UMass contest in mind.) The Gators are superior talent-wise on both sides of the ball as compared to the Bears and should come out of their home opener with a considerable victory, if everything goes according to expectations.
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FLORIDA GATORS 2017 SCHEDULE (opponent previews linked):
-- Sept. 2 - Michigan, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
-- Sept. 9 - Northern Colorado
-- Sept. 16 - Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
-- Oct. 7 - LSU
-- Oct. 28 - Georgia, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
-- Nov. 4 - at Missouri
-- Nov. 11 - at South Carolina
-- Nov. 18 - UAB
-- Nov. 25 - Florida State
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