GREELEY — The Northern Colorado Bears vowed this year would be different. Their 2-21 record over the past two seasons, they promised, was just a relic from the dark ages of Bears football.
That’s what made today’s 38-35 loss to Texas State so agonizing.
The Bears came up inches shy of victory when junior quarterback Bryan Waggener fumbled the ball at the goal line in the waning seconds as he attempted to score on a quarterback sneak.
Time after time, the Bears (0-2) took the Bobcats’ best punch, but it simply wasn’t enough.
Waggener, the heartbeat of UNC’s rebirth, threw for 392 yards and three touchdowns, illustrating why his teammates are so high on him. But Waggener not only fumbled on the game’s biggest play, he also threw three interceptions.
Texas State (2-1) won the game by pounding out a gutsy drive late in the game, finishing it off with a 29-yard game-winning field goal by Andrew Ireland.
This was the kind of game that left fans’ hearts pounding and defensive coordinators muttering. The teams combined for 975 yards of offense.
The Bears tied the game at 35 late in the third quarter on a 75-yard pass from Waggener to Brandon Smith. It was Smith’s second memorable touchdown of the afternoon.
Last season, the Bears didn’t score their first touchdown, at home, until Oct. 27 when they beat Montana State 16-13. Today, they scored on their very first offensive play, Smith scooting around the right side on a misdirection play, then turning on his turbocharger for an 80-yard touchdown run.
The Bobcats led 28-21 at the half, the teams combining for 505 yards of offense.
Texas State had the Bears in trouble a number of times, but the Bears managed to fire back — a quality missing for much of the 2007 season when they finished 1-11. For instances, Texas State took a 21-7 lead when Joe Bell stepped in front of a Waggener pass intended for Cory Fauver. Bell returned the pick 44 yards for the score. But the Bears countered when linebacker Joe Kenney recovered a fumble at the Texas State 47.
Five plays later, Waggener lofted a perfect 22-yard touch pass to Fauver in the end zone, cutting the Bobcats lead to 21-14.
UNC tied the game 21-21 on a six-play, 85-yard drive aided by a facemask penalty and a questionable pass-interference call. Senior tailback David Woods scored on an 8-yard run up the middle, bouncing like a pinball of would-be Bobcat tacklers.
At the end of the first half, Texas State put together one of its best drives of the game and appeared to have the Bears reeling. But Toon tried to force the ball into the end zone where Max Hewitt intercepted, shifting the momentum to UNC.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
