If. And it’s a seemingly big if.
If Northern Colorado wins Saturday night and knocks off the FBS-level Colorado State Rams at Canvas Stadium, the sure-thing underdog Bears will have to do it with a backup quarterback. And they’ll also have to do it at the line of scrimmage with players physically winning their matchups, third-year UNC coach Ed Lamb said.
“We’ve got to move their front,” Lamb said. “Move them off the ball, physically win the battle on the field. We have to block and tackle.”
The Bears are not relying on CSU (0-1) overlooking UNC and counting the days to the Rams’ bye week.
UNC is 1-0 for the first time since 2017 after its season-opening win against Division II Chadron State last weekend. The victory was Lamb’s first home win and just the second since he was hired as the Bears’ head coach in December 2022.
The Bears lost their QB1 early in the season for the second time in two years. Starter Peter Costelli was injured on a first-down run late in the third quarter, just before a two-hour weather delay doused the celebratory spirit at Nottingham Field.
UNC led 14-3 when Costelli was hurt. Kicker Jacob Willig tacked on a 38-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Now, backup Eric Gibson Jr., a transfer from LSU and Monterey Peninsula College, takes over leading the Bears’ offense. A 22-year-old from Norfolk, Virginia, Gibson has the confidence of his teammates and the coaching staff, many of whom were in the program last year when Costelli was hurt.
That setback came in last year’s CSU game — a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the rest of the season and started a revolving-door situation at QB for the Bears.
Lamb said Gibson is similar but not the same at the position as Costelli. Gibson was in the running to be a team captain before the start of the season based on voting by the players.
“That’s pretty good for a backup quarterback,” Lamb said. “I think if something were to happen to Eric, you know, we could be in that situation again, where people feel like there’s something working against us out in the cosmos, but I don’t think we’re there right now.”
Lamb calls the game “a real challenge” because of the environment at CSU’s Canvas Stadium, which seats 36,500 fans and has standing room for 41,000. The game is the Rams’ home opener, and it’s also being played on CSU’s popular Ag Day.
Last year’s game was also celebrated as Ag Day, and CSU wore orange jerseys and went by the nickname “Aggies” in recognizing its past. CSU won 38-17.
“They’ve got a nice home atmosphere that they have created,” Lamb said. “They’ve been very successful at home (11-9 under Jay Norvell, now in his fourth season). I think they’re coming off of a tough loss in Seattle to the University of Washington. I know they probably have some confidence that they were in the game and had their chances to win the game against what looks like a very improved Washington team.”
Washington beat CSU 38-21 in the Rams’ season opener last weekend. But Lamb praised CSU quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, running back Jalen Dupree, tight end Jaxxon Warren and the Rams’ aggressive defense.
Norvell said earlier this week he thinks the Rams have “championship DNA in our locker room.” CSU is playing its final season in the Mountain West Conference before moving to the Pac-12 in 2026.
“I think the question now is, can we prepare at that level, can we respond at that level and do the things we need to do day to day, week to week over the course of this season, to have the kind of outputs that we want as a program,” Norvell said Monday.
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