GREELEY — Northern Colorado vowed this year would be different. The Bears’ 2-21 record over the past two seasons, they promised, was just a relic from the dark ages of UNC football.
That’s what made Saturday’s 38-35 loss to Texas State at Nottingham Field so agonizing.
The Bears (0-2) came up inches shy of victory when junior quarterback Bryan Waggener fumbled at the goal line in the waning seconds as he attempted to score on a sneak.
On the play before that, facing fourth-and-10, Waggener threaded a 30-yard pass to tight end Ryan Chesla to the Bobcats’ 1-foot line.
“A year ago, our guys would have been disappointed,” UNC coach Scott Downing said. “Now, our kids are ticked off. They are ticked off at the result and at the way the game turned out. They felt like they had an opportunity in their hands slip away.”
Texas State (2-1) won by pounding out a gutsy, 13-play, 76-yard scoring drive late in the game, finishing with a 29-yard field goal by Andrew Ireland. The victory was the Bobcats’ first nonconference road win since 2001.
Waggener, the heartbeat of UNC’s rebirth, completed 31-of-51 passes for 392 yards and three touchdowns, illustrating why his teammates are so high on him. But Waggener not only fumbled on the game’s critical play, he threw three interceptions, though two bounced off his receivers’ hands.
“He’s turned this program around, I think, and I still have faith in him,” said sophomore wide receiver Brandon Smith, who electrified the crowd at Nottingham Field with two long touchdown plays. “I feel bad for him, but I know he’ll be ready next week.”
The Bears tied the game 35-35 late in the third quarter on Waggener’s 75-yard scoring pass to Smith.
Last season, the Bears didn’t score their first touchdown at home until Oct. 27, when they beat Montana State 16-13. Saturday, they scored on their first offensive play, Smith scooting around the right side on a reverse, then turning on his turbocharger for an 80-yard run.
This was the kind of game that left fans’ hearts pounding and defensive coordinators muttering. The teams combined for 975 yards of offense.
The Bobcats led 28-21 at halftime, and while they had UNC in trouble a number of times, the Bears managed to fire back. That was a quality missing for much of the 2007 season, which UNC finished 1-11.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
