Happy 4th of July everyone! Crazy to think we are now 2 months out from the start of Football season. This week we're looking at Northern Colorado and their new regime led by Ed Lamb. Ed Lamb is a phenomenal Football coach and UNC is lucky to have him. He may not turn them around this year but come 2024 and especially 2025 they will be competitive and not the pushover they have been since they first joined the league. UNC has done well in the portal. They've brought in 2 QB's (Peter Costelli, Troy) (Hank Gibbs, Wyoming) to go along with Jacob Sirmon who is still on the roster. The one thing that's not in their favor this year is their schedule. It is brutal. With that, let's dive in!
August 31 @ Abilene Christian - L. I'm gonna say UNC takes a close loss in this one. ACU was 7-4 last year, and while that may seem good we also know that the UAC is nowhere near the conference that the Big Sky is. I'm still not sure what we're gonna see from UNC this year. If this game were in Greely I would probably pick them to win but because it's on the road for now I'll take ACU.
September 9 vs. Incarnate Word - L. 10 days to prepare for FCS semifinalist UIW coming to town. Like UNC, UIW also has a new head coach in Clint Killough who's a former player and has been on staff basically since his playing days ended. UIW has had a lot of roster turnover and there will be a ton of new faces on this UIW team. the most notable of which is new QB Zach Calzada who you may remember from his time at Texas A&M when he was the starting QB for that A&M team that famously beat Alabama and Bryce Young in 2021. He is a very good QB and UIW is lucky to have him. I'm not sure how serious of a threat UIW could be to make a run at Frisco, but I would be shocked if they lost this game to UNC.
September 16 @ Washington State - L. Not sure what I think of the Cougs this year in terms of the PAC 12 race. I know Idaho gave them a scare last year but I don't expect UNC to scare them this year. Cougs roll in this one.
September 23 @ Idaho State - W. I don't think UNC will be anywhere near as pathetic as ISU will be this year. I would not be shocked if UNC wins this game by multiple scores.
September 30 vs. Weber State - L. This is a game that come 2024 I could see UNC winning. A first or second round playoff team that they get at home that could sneak up on you. In terms of this year, it could be a tricky game for Weber but they should be embarrassed if they lose this game.
October 7 BYE
October 14 vs. Sacramento State - L. A nice 3 week stretch where they won't have to leave Greely (even though they may want to LOL). Nice to get Sac State at home after a bye week but this would be a gut wrenching loss for Sac State. They cannot afford to lose this game.
October 21 @ Cal Poly - L. I think Sam Huard could be a little bit too much for the UNC Defense to handle. Close game but I like Cal Poly at home.
October 28 @ Montana - L. UNC's first trip to Missoula since 2017, so it's been a hot minute. Should be a pretty tough day at the office for UNC with the Griz coming off their bye week after 2 straight road games and our only home game in the month of October. Griz win big in this one!
November 4 vs. Idaho - L. Just a gauntlet of a schedule. They play so many good teams at home this year. I kind of feel bad for them cause come next year I think they'd really love to have a home schedule like this where they could actually win a couple of these games. Idaho is a much better Football team this year and they shouldn't have a problem with them this year.
November 11 @ Northern Arizona - L. Tough place to play. What kind of morale will this UNC team have this late in the year with only 1 win? Chris Ball could be coaching for his job at this point so he cannot lose this game at home.
November 18 vs. Portland State - L. This is their best chance to win a game at home. For now I'll go with PSU as I think the flex defense could prove to be tricky for UNC in this one.
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I have UNC going 1-10. I could see them getting as high as 3-8 or possibly even 4-7 but I'm just not ready to pull the trigger. There's good players on this team but they're not a good team yet. Give them a couple years under Ed Lamb and these guys will no longer be the doormat of the conference. That's my prediction. Thoughts????
August 31 @ Abilene Christian - L. I'm gonna say UNC takes a close loss in this one. ACU was 7-4 last year, and while that may seem good we also know that the UAC is nowhere near the conference that the Big Sky is. I'm still not sure what we're gonna see from UNC this year. If this game were in Greely I would probably pick them to win but because it's on the road for now I'll take ACU.
September 9 vs. Incarnate Word - L. 10 days to prepare for FCS semifinalist UIW coming to town. Like UNC, UIW also has a new head coach in Clint Killough who's a former player and has been on staff basically since his playing days ended. UIW has had a lot of roster turnover and there will be a ton of new faces on this UIW team. the most notable of which is new QB Zach Calzada who you may remember from his time at Texas A&M when he was the starting QB for that A&M team that famously beat Alabama and Bryce Young in 2021. He is a very good QB and UIW is lucky to have him. I'm not sure how serious of a threat UIW could be to make a run at Frisco, but I would be shocked if they lost this game to UNC.
September 16 @ Washington State - L. Not sure what I think of the Cougs this year in terms of the PAC 12 race. I know Idaho gave them a scare last year but I don't expect UNC to scare them this year. Cougs roll in this one.
September 23 @ Idaho State - W. I don't think UNC will be anywhere near as pathetic as ISU will be this year. I would not be shocked if UNC wins this game by multiple scores.
September 30 vs. Weber State - L. This is a game that come 2024 I could see UNC winning. A first or second round playoff team that they get at home that could sneak up on you. In terms of this year, it could be a tricky game for Weber but they should be embarrassed if they lose this game.
October 7 BYE
October 14 vs. Sacramento State - L. A nice 3 week stretch where they won't have to leave Greely (even though they may want to LOL). Nice to get Sac State at home after a bye week but this would be a gut wrenching loss for Sac State. They cannot afford to lose this game.
October 21 @ Cal Poly - L. I think Sam Huard could be a little bit too much for the UNC Defense to handle. Close game but I like Cal Poly at home.
October 28 @ Montana - L. UNC's first trip to Missoula since 2017, so it's been a hot minute. Should be a pretty tough day at the office for UNC with the Griz coming off their bye week after 2 straight road games and our only home game in the month of October. Griz win big in this one!
November 4 vs. Idaho - L. Just a gauntlet of a schedule. They play so many good teams at home this year. I kind of feel bad for them cause come next year I think they'd really love to have a home schedule like this where they could actually win a couple of these games. Idaho is a much better Football team this year and they shouldn't have a problem with them this year.
November 11 @ Northern Arizona - L. Tough place to play. What kind of morale will this UNC team have this late in the year with only 1 win? Chris Ball could be coaching for his job at this point so he cannot lose this game at home.
November 18 vs. Portland State - L. This is their best chance to win a game at home. For now I'll go with PSU as I think the flex defense could prove to be tricky for UNC in this one.
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I have UNC going 1-10. I could see them getting as high as 3-8 or possibly even 4-7 but I'm just not ready to pull the trigger. There's good players on this team but they're not a good team yet. Give them a couple years under Ed Lamb and these guys will no longer be the doormat of the conference. That's my prediction. Thoughts????
