# 2018 Northern Colorado Bears football team

The 2018 Northern Colorado Bears football team, represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and played their home games at Nottingham Field. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in 11th place.

## Preseason
### Polls

On July 16, 2018 during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Bears were predicted to finish in eleventh place in the coaches poll and twelfth place in the media poll.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Eastern Washington | 134 (6) |
| 2 | Weber State | 124 (3) |
| 3 | Northern Arizona | 121 (3) |
| 4 | Idaho | 101 (1) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | 94 |
| 6 | Southern Utah | 91 |
| 7 | Montana | 82 |
| 8 | Montana State | 76 |
| 9 | UC Davis | 64 |
| 10 | Cal Poly | 40 |
| 11 | Northern Colorado | 30 |
| 12 | Idaho State | 29 |
| 13 | Portland State | 21 |
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Eastern Washington | 651 (27) |
| 2 | Weber State | 636 (19) |
| 3 | Northern Arizona | 535 (1) |
| 4 | Montana | 496 (2) |
| 5 | Idaho | 483 (3) |
| 6 | Southern Utah | 449 (1) |
| 7 | Sacramento State | 415 |
| 8 | Montana State | 391 (1) |
| 9 | UC Davis | 331 (1) |
| 10 | Idaho State | 170 |
| 11 | Cal Poly | 169 |
| 12 | Northern Colorado | 166 |
| 13 | Portland State | 103 |

### Preseason All-Conference Team

The Bears had one player selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Alex Wesley – Sr. WR

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 17 McNeese State* | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Pluto TV 241 | L 14–17 | 5,672 |
| September 8 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 23 South Dakota* | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | ESPN+ | L 28–43 | 9,143 |
| September 15 | 2:00 p.m. | Sacramento State* | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | ELVN | L 25–28 | 3,768 |
| September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Weber State | Stewart StadiumOdgen, UT | Pluto TV 235 | L 28–45 | 8,668 |
| September 29 | 12:00 p.m. | North Dakota | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Pluto TV 241 | L 13–38 | 4,902 |
| October 6 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 16 UC Davis | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Pluto TV 241 | L 36–49 | 4,155 |
| October 13 | 3:00 p.m. | at Portland State | Providence ParkPortland, OR | Pluto TV 232 | L 14–35 | 4,375 |
| October 20 | 12:00 p.m. | Northern Arizona | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | ELVN | W 42–14 | 3,522 |
| October 27 | 6:00 p.m. | at Southern Utah | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | Pluto TV 236 | W 42–39 | 7,106 |
| November 3 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 5 Eastern Washington | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | ELVN | L 13–48 | 3,274 |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | at Montana State | Bobcat StadiumMissoula, MT | ATTRM | L 7–35 | 14,147 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||
* Source: Schedule
Despite also being a member of the Big Sky, the game vs. Sacramento State will be a non-conference game and will have no effect on the Big Sky standings.

## Game summaries
### McNeese State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Cowboys | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |

### At South Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| No. 23 Coyotes | 14 | 20 | 0 | 9 | 43 |

### Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hornets | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Bears | 7 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 25 |

### At Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| No. 7 Wildcats | 14 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 45 |

### North Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Hawks | 3 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |

### UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 16 Aggies | 14 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
| Bears | 0 | 10 | 0 | 26 | 36 |

### At Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Vikings | 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |

### Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Bears | 12 | 0 | 16 | 14 | 42 |

### At Southern Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 14 | 10 | 18 | 0 | 42 |
| Thunderbirds | 8 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 39 |

### Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 5 Eagles | 13 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 48 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |

### At Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Bobcats | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |