# 2019 Northern Colorado Bears football team

The 2019 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by ninth-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 2–10, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a five-way tie for ninth place. On November 24, 2019, Earnest Collins Jr. was let go after nine seasons, he finished at Northern Colorado with a record of 28–72.

## Preseason
### Big Sky preseason poll

The Big Sky released their preseason media and coaches' polls on July 15, 2019. The Bears were picked to finish in thirteenth place in both polls.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Eastern Washington | 536 (25) |
| 2 | UC Davis | 510 (13) |
| 3 | Weber State | 472 (4) |
| 4 | Montana State | 417 |
| 5 | Montana | 396 (1) |
| 6 | Northern Arizona | 302 |
| 7 | Idaho State | 285 |
| 8 | Idaho | 248 |
| 9 | Cal Poly | 196 |
| 10 | Portland State | 178 |
| 11 | Southern Utah | 160 |
| 12 | Sacramento State | 125 |
| 13 | Northern Colorado | 90 |
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Eastern Washington | 140 (10) |
| 2 | UC Davis | 127 (2) |
| 3 | Weber State | 124 |
| 4 | Montana | 104 (1) |
| 5 | Montana State | 100 |
| 6 | Northern Arizona | 88 |
| 7 | Idaho State | 72 |
| 8 | Idaho | 65 |
| 9 | Cal Poly | 56 |
| 10 | Portland State | 42 |
| 11 | Sacramento State | 40 |
| 12 | Southern Utah | 38 |
| 13 | Northern Colorado | 19 |

### Preseason All-Big Sky team

The Bears did not have any players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 29 | 8:00 p.m. | at San Jose State* | CEFCU StadiumSan Jose, CA | GSF | L 18–35 | 13,480 |
| September 7 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 22 (FBS) Washington State* | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | P12N | L 17–59 | 27,585 |
| September 14 | 7:00 p.m. | at Sacramento State* | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | Pluto TV | L 0–50 | 6,753 |
| September 21 | 2:00 p.m. | South Dakota* | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Pluto TV | L 6–14 | 5,745 |
| September 28 | 1:05 p.m. | Idaho | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Eleven/Pluto TV | W 27–24 | 5,373 |
| October 5 | 5:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | Pluto TV | L 23–41 | 10,026 |
| October 12 | 2:00 p.m. | at Eastern Washington | Roos FieldCheney, WA | ATTSNRM | L 21–54 | 9,091 |
| October 19 | 1:05 p.m. | Portland State | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Eleven/Pluto TV | L 30–38 | 4,357 |
| November 2 | 2:30 p.m. | at Idaho State | Holt ArenaPocatello, ID | Pluto TV | W 26–20 | 5,369 |
| November 9 | 1:05 p.m. | Montana State | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Eleven/Pluto TV | L 14–45 | 4,442 |
| November 16 | 12:00 p.m. | at North Dakota | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND | Pluto TV | L 38–45 | 7,732 |
| November 23 | 12:05 p.m. | Cal Poly | Nottingham FieldGreeley, CO | Pluto TV | L 21–28 | 2,854 |
| *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 at Sacramento State will be a non-conference game and will have no effect on the Big Sky standings.

## Game summaries
### At San Jose State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 3 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 18 |
| Spartans | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

### At Washington State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 22 (FBS) Cougars | 14 | 10 | 21 | 14 | 59 |

### At Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hornets | 7 | 15 | 21 | 7 | 50 |

### South Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Coyotes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |

### Idaho

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 27 |

### At Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 3 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 23 |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 10 | 24 | 7 | 41 |

### At Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
| Eagles | 10 | 30 | 14 | 0 | 54 |

### Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 10 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
| Bears | 0 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 30 |

### At Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 26 |
| Bengals | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |

### Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bobcats | 7 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 45 |
| Bears | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### At North Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| Fighting Hawks | 14 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 45 |

### Cal Poly

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Bears | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |