GREELEY, Colo. — Northern Colorado’s rebuild under head coach Ed Lamb is beginning to take shape.
After finishing 0-11 and 1-11 in his first two seasons in charge, Lamb has guided the Bears to a 3-5 record in one of their most competitive seasons in recent memory.
This fall, UNC has beaten a ranked Idaho team, taken nationally ranked South Dakota to overtime, and pushed FBS-level Colorado State deep into the fourth quarter.
WATCH: The anatomy of a UNC turnaround under Ed Lamb
The Bears have also played close games against ranked Big Sky opponents Sacramento State and UC Davis.
This isn't the same UNC team that most Big Sky foes have counted on for an easy win in recent years. Lamb said the team’s progress starts with development and belief.
It's a formula Lamb knows well, having previously turned Southern Utah into a conference champion during his time there from 2008-2015.
“The major determinant to any improvement that we’ve made has just been the young, Colorado, mostly high school recruiting foundation getting older, getting better, developing themselves,” Lamb said. “We’ve taken a lot of lumps together, and this is a team that’s come so far. They’re not afraid to take one more step.”
He added that the growth is as much mental as it is physical.
“There’s a real mental toughness, a regional cohesiveness. … We signed so many high school kids that they’ve just had to grow up,” Lamb said.
This weekend, the Bears face one of the Big Sky’s model programs in Montana State (6-2). Lamb said the matchup offers a chance to measure progress against a championship standard.
“They’ve built a championship program,” he said. “We’re building this for the long term and to be a championship team. We want to build it in roughly the same philosophical way that Montana State has built their run.”
Northern Colorado hosts the Bobcats Saturday in Greeley. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.
