Todd Gottula

Playoff Preview II: #21 Lopers Vs. #26 Rams

11/26/2021 4:44:00 AM

Kearney, Neb. – The 21st-rankend Nebraska-Kearney football team will be just the second Loper gridiron squad to visit the Lone Star State when it travels to San Angelo for a second round NCAA Playoff game this Saturday (Nov. 27).

Seeded sixth in Super Region 4, the Lopers (10-2) will face the second-seeded Angelo State Rams (10-2) for the first time in school history. The game from LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field kicks off at 1 p.m. The winner takes on either fifth-seeded Bemidji (Minn.) State or top-seeded Colorado School of Mines next Saturday (Dec. 4).

Fans not in West Texas can watch via The Lone Star Network, listen to The River 93.1/106.9 FM or following along with live stats.

Runners up in the MIAA, UNK reached this point thanks to a 31-24 win at Western Colorado last Saturday. It marked the Lopers second all-time NCAA playoff win. ASU, which was in a three-way tie for second in the Lone Star Conference (LSC), hosted Minnesota-Duluth and whipped the Bulldogs, 48-14. That marked the Rams fifth all-time D2 playoff win. TJ Davis

UNK's only other trip to Texas came in 1989 when then-Kearney State College lost to West Texas A&M, 45-28. That was the program's final year in the NAIA. The next fall, newly named Nebraska-Kearney became an NCAA Division II independent and beat WTAMU, 17-14, at Foster Field.

The two other games with Texas schools have come in the postseason. Prairie View A&M downed the Lopers, 20-7, in a 1963 NAIA semifinal contest in Kearney with Texas A&M-Kingsville taking a D2 2002 first round game, 58-40. That also was at Cope Stadium.

Outside of bowl wins in 1955 and 2019, UNK has won two first round playoff games before but then fell in the next round. The '80 KSC team traveled to North Carolina and edged Mars Hill, 9-6, before falling at Northeastern State, 14-0, in the NAIA semis. Twenty-nine years later, the Lopers rallied to beat Saginaw Valley (Mich.) State, 35-20, at home and then lost at UMD, 42-7, in a D2 second round contest.

Flying to an away game for just the fourth time in the past 20 years, UNK faces an ASU squad that has won six a row, allowed 44 points the past four games and has the LSC's Defensive, Offensive Linemen and Offensive Back of the Year.

Quarterback Zach Bronkhorst has had a hand in 25 touchdowns (16 passing and nine rushing) and leads an offense averages 38 points and 442 yards a week. In the third game of the year, he was injured in the second half of a 35-17 loss to Midwestern State. MSU would go on to win the LSC title. Bronkhorst missed the next two weeks before starting in a 31-15 loss at WTAMU.

The 6-3 junior works behind a line with three All-LSC picks including right tackle Willis Patrick (6-4, 347 lbs.). He is the LSC O-Linemen of the Year. A balanced receiving corps features first-team All-LSC pick Kellen Pachot (5-11, 155 lbs.) with 240-pound junior Nathaniel Omayebu III the LSC Offensive Back of the Year. He averages 90 yards a week and has 10 rushing scores; ASU has several other backs to churn out 228 yards per game. They finished with 227 against Duluth.

A stout defense is allowing 16 points and 248 yads per game, as well as 2.2 yards per carry. The opposition coverts just 26% of its third downs with ASU having allowed only four rushing TD's. Inside linebacker Hunter Kyle (6-3, 220 lbs.) is the LSC Defensive Player of the Year thanks to 78 tackles (9.5 TFL's), seven pass breakups and a pick. Three others joined him on the LSC first-team including tackle G'Karri McCoy (6-0, 310 lbs.) and OLB Daron Allman (16.5 TFL's).

Montrez Jackson

On special teams, corner/return specialist Andrew Pitts (5-9, 165 lbs.) is a second-team all-league selection with back Alfred Grear having a 100-yard kick return for a TD last Saturday. Finally, brothers Asa Fuller (kick) and Cade Fuller (punt) handled the kicking and punting duties with each named All-LSC.

UNK has won 10 of its last 13 road trips, dating back to 2019, and comes in with a solid 4-1 mark in one score games. The "Last Minute Lopers" made some key offensive and defensive plays in the final minutes to edge Washburn (28-24), Central Missouri (31-28), Emporia State (42-35), WCU as well as Pittsburg State (28-17).

Harlon Hill Trophy candidate TJ Davis (Colorado Springs) became UNK's top rushing QB of all-time last Saturday when he rushed for an even 100 yards against the Mountaineers. That gives the redshirt junior 2,516 yards, just a tad more than Jake Spitzlberger (2,496) managed between 2008-11. A week earlier, Davis broke Spitlzberger's career rushing TD record (38); he's now up to 41.

The nation's most efficient passer, Davis was 14 of 18 for 183 yards facing a tough Gunnison wind. Completing five balls to redshirt senior back Montrez Jackson (Trenton Fla.), Davis saw an eight-game streak of two TD tosses come to an end. However, he ran for two scores as did senior back Dayton Sealey (Hastings).

The Loper "D" limited WCU to 10 points until the fourth quarter when the 'Neers went up tempo on one scoring drive and then used a long punt return to setup a short field. UNK continues to be among the MIAA leaders in opponent completion percentage (55.8) and has a solid 76% red zone rate.

First-team All-MIAA safety Darius Swanson (Aurora, Colo.) has a team-high 86 tackles with position mate Blake Bubak (Columbus) at 158 career stops. Since UNK began tracking tackles in 1990, that places him 42^nd on the career list. Finally, starter linemen Shane Henderson (Elkhorn) and Tell Spies (Mullen) have combined for 26.5 TFL's in their careers to date.

Colorado Mines (10-1) is hosting the other Super Region 4 game with that game starting at 1 p.m. Central.

UNK Weekly Release/Depth Chart & Roster

ASU Rams Information

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