ORONO, Maine - The University of Northern Colorado football team suffered its worst defeat since the 1985 season on Saturday evening as the Maine Black Bears scored a 38-0 shutout.
Maine came into the contest ranked No. 17 in the nation, while UNC was ranked No. 23 in the latest Sports Network Top 25 poll.
The Black Bears (1-1) returned two interceptions for TDs, with Anthony Hicks scoring on a 30-yarder in the second quarter and Darren Stone on a 38-yarder in the fourth.
Maine also held Northern Colorado (1-1) to 65 yards in the first half as the Black Bears took a 21-0 lead.
Maine opened the scoring on Ron Whitcomb's 5-yard touchdown pass to Kevin McMahan, and made it 14-0 in the first quarter on Whitcomb's 16-yarder to Christian Pereira after Northern Colorado fumbled the snap on a punt.
Williams added a 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and Mike Mellow completed the scoring in the fourth with a 33-yard field goal.
UNC's offense was limited to 162 total yards, while the Black Bears notched 325 total yards. Sophomore running back Andre Wilson rushed for 57 yards and had a team-high 54 yards receiving on five catches.
UNC junior quarterback Tony Christensen had a game he would like to quickly forget as he passed for 117 yards on 14-of-36 passing which included three interceptions. Backup quarterback Nick Hager entered the game and passed for 17 yards on 3-of-5 passing, which also included two interceptions.
The Bears defense was led by senior linebacker Ryan Palmer's 12 tackles. Juniors Thomas Smith and Reed Doughty tallied 11 tackles each. Sophomore defensive lineman Jacob Carlson notched the Bears' first quarterback sack of the season.
Senior defensive lineman Jared Wallen recovered a fumble forced by senior Jason McMillan.
The Bears 38-point loss was the squad's worst since UNC lost a 49-6 decision at South Dakota on Nov. 9, 1985. UNC was also shutout for the first time since a 14-0 setback to Minnesota State on Sept. 19, 1992.
UNC will be back in action next weekend at home against Idaho State. Saturday's game will be televised by Altitude Sports and will kickoff at 12:06 pm.
