2018 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

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2018 Northern Iowa Panthers football
UNI wordmark.png
FCS Playoffs Second Round, L 16–23 vs. UC Davis
ConferenceMissouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 23
2018 record7–6 (5–3 MVFC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJohn Bond
Defensive coordinatorJeremiah Johnson
Home stadiumUNI-Dome (c. 16,324, Field-Turf)
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 1 North Dakota State $^   8 – 0     15 – 0  
No. 3 South Dakota State ^   6 – 2     10 – 3  
No. 23 Northern Iowa ^   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Indiana State   5 – 3     7 – 4  
Western Illinois   4 – 4     5 – 6  
Illinois State   3 – 5     6 – 5  
Youngstown State   3 – 5     4 – 7  
South Dakota   3 – 5     4 – 7  
Missouri State   2 – 6     4 – 7  
Southern Illinois   1 – 7     2 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by Mark Farley in his 18th season and played their home games in the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for third place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they defeated Lamar in the first round before losing to UC Davis in the second round.

Previous season[]

The Panthers finished the 2017 season 8–5, 6–2 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for second place. The Panthers received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Monmouth[1][2] in the first round before losing in the second round to South Dakota State.[3][4]

Preseason[]

Preseason MVFC poll[]

The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Panthers predicted to finish in third place.[5]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 North Dakota State 390 (39)
2 South Dakota State 270
3 Northern Iowa 258
4 Youngstown State 248
5 Illinois State 248
6 South Dakota 206
7 Western Illinois 163
8 Southern Illinois 139
9 Missouri State 90
10 Indiana State 41

Preseason All-MVFC Teams[]

The Panthers placed six players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.[6]

Personnel[]

Roster[]

2018 Northern Iowa Panthers Football

Quarterback

  • 11 Colton Howell – Senior (6'0", 213)
  • 14 Eli Dunne – Senior (6'5", 238)
  • 15 Jacob Keller – Redshirt Freshman (6'1", 206)
  • 17 Christian Ellsworth – Redshirt Sophomore (6'2", 210)
  • 18 John Sullivan – Redshirt Freshman (6'1", 204)

Runningback

  • 8 Marcus Weymiller – Senior (5'10", 204)
  • 13 Jon Nzombo – Senior (5'7", 205)
  • 21 Christian Jegen – Junior (5'11", 205)
  • 25 Trevor Allen – Junior (5'10", 203)
  • 30 Alphonso Soko – Redshirt Freshman (5'7", 179)
  • 31 Tyler Hoosman – Redshirt Freshman (6'0", 201)
  • 32 Jack Wegher – Redshirt Sophomore (5'10", 205)

Wide Receiver

  • 6 Terrell Carey – Redshirt Freshman (5'10", 211)
  • 35 Nick Phillips – Redshirt Sophomore (5'7", 188)
  • 37 Aaron Graham – Junior (5'11", 201)
  • 80 Isaiah Weston – Redshirt Sophomore (6'4", 207)
  • 82 Nick Fossey – Redshirt Sophomore (6'1", 199)
  • 83 Jaylin James – Junior (6'3", 202)
  • 87 Jalen Rima – Junior (6'0", 192)

Placekicker

  • 58 Austin Errthum – Senior (5'10", 180)
  • 62 Sam Drysdale – Junior (6'4", 180)
  • 63 Nate Murphy – Redshirt Freshman (6'0", 166)

Tight End

  • 85 Elias Nissen – Senior (6'4", 243)
  • 86 Briley Moore – Junior (6'3", 242)
  • 89 Trey Recknor – Redshirt Sophomore (6'0", 230)
  • Taylor Otterstatter – Redshirt Sophomore (6'5", 251)
  

Offensive Lineman

  • 55 Colton Lueck – Junior (6'4", 286)
  • 59 Max Erpelding – Redshirt Sophomore (6'0", 260)
  • 61 Matthew Vanderslice – Sophomore (6'7", 257)
  • 65 John Yount – Redshirt Freshman (6'2", 295)
  • 66 Philip Arendt – Redshirt Sophomore (6'1", 303)
  • 67 Erik Sorensen – Redshirt Freshman (6'6", 320)
  • 68 William Blaser – Sophomore (6'1", 281)
  • 69 Tyus Phillips – Redshirt Freshman (6'7", 285)
  • 70 Trevor Penning – Redshirt Freshman (6'6", 289)
  • 71 Nick Ellis – Redshirt Sophomore (6'4", 308)
  • 72 Justin Peine – Redshirt Freshman (6'5", 293)
  • 73 Mason Beisen – Redshirt Freshman (6'4", 329)
  • 74 Jackson Scott-Brown – Junior (6'4", 312)
  • 75 Cal Twait – Senior (6'5", 305)
  • 76 Spencer Brown – Redshirt Sophomore (6'8", 290)
  • 78 Tyler Putney – Senior (6'6", 302)
  • 79 Ezrah Szczyrbak – Senior (6'4", 299)

Defensive Lineman

  • 44 Jared Brinkman – Sophomore (5'11", 290)
  • 47 Elerson G. Smith – Redshirt Sophomore (6'5", 230)
  • 49 Desmond Chapple – Redshirt Sophomore 6'3", 235)
  • 64 Hezekiah Applegate – Junior (6'2", 285)
  • 91 Brawntae Wells – Redshirt Sophomore (6'2", 261)
  • 94 Tim Butcher – Sophomore (6'2", 300)
  • 95 Seth Thomas – Junior (6'5", 262)
  • 97 Marcel Minniefield – Junior (6'2", 282)
  • 98 Bryce Douglas – Senior (6'0", 304)

Long Snappers

  • 57 Joe Friedrich – Junior (6'0", 206)
  • 96 Nick Simpson – Redshirt Freshman (5'8", 203)
  

Linebacker

  • 7 Rickey Neal Jr. – Senior (6'1', 241)
  • 33 Jake Hartford – Redshirt Sophomore (6'3", 226)
  • 39 Duncan Ferch – Senior (6'1", 234)
  • 40 Alfonzo Lambert – RedshirtSophomore (6'0", 209)
  • 41 Blake Thomas – Senior (6'1", 224)
  • 42 Kendrick Suntken – Senior (6'0", 240)
  • 43 Cristian Perez – Senior (6'1", 246)
  • 45 Brock Hadachek – Redshirt Freshman (6'2", 208)
  • 48 Chris Kolarevic – Redshirt Freshman (6'0", 223)
  • 50 Bryce Flater – Redshirt Freshman (6'1", 224)
  • 51 Riley Van Whye – Redshirt Freshman (6'2", 215)
  • 52 Zac Ebeling – Sophomore (6'0", 220)
  • 53 Weston Schultz – Sophomore (6'3", 215)
  • 56 Ricky Grimes – Junior (6'1", 228)
  • Jesse Cardenas – Redshirt Sophomore (6'2", 225)

Defensive Back

  • 9 Xavior Williams – Redshirt Sophomore (5'11", 175)
  • 19 Suni Lane – Sophomore (6'3", 203)
  • 22 Max Steffen – Sophomore (5'1", 185)
  • 23 A.J. Allen – Senior (6'0", 215)
  • 24 Nikholi Jaghai – Junior (5'7", 181)
  • 26 Isaiah Nimmers – Redshirt Sophomore ( 5'9", 185)
  • 27 Austin Evans – Redshirt Sophomore (6'0", 189)
  • 29 Roosevelt Lawrence – Sophomore (6'0", 170)
  • 36 Korby Sander – Redshirt Sophomore (6'0", 212)
  • 38 Zac Kibby – Redshirt Sophomore (5'11, 203)

Punter

  • 88 Michael Kuntz – Senior (5'11", 188)

[7]

Schedule[]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 18:00 p.m.at No. 24 Montana*No. 13
PSN[a]L 23–2625,018
September 156:30 p.m.at Iowa*No. 21
BTNL 14–3869,250
September 224:00 p.m.Hampton*No. 25
PSN/ESPN3W 44–09,116
September 276:00 p.m.at Indiana StateNo. 23
ESPN3W 33–05,487
October 61:00 p.m.No. 1 North Dakota StateNo. 22
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
PSN/ESPN+L 31–569,899
October 136:00 p.m.at No. 24 South Dakota
ESPN+W 42–289,513
October 204:00 p.m.No. 2 South Dakota StatedaggerNo. 25
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
ESPN3W 24–912,013
October 271:00 p.m.at Western IllinoisNo. 17
ESPN+L 17–372,832
November 31:00 p.m.No. 14 Illinois State
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
PSN/ESPN+W 26–1610,838
November 1011:00 a.m.at Youngstown StateNo. 22
ESPN+L 10–318,407
November 174:00 p.m.Missouri State
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
PSN/ESPN+W 37–010,072
November 244:00 p.m.Lamar*
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA (FCS Playoffs First Round)
ESPN3W 16–134,082
December 19:00 p.m.at No. 7 UC Davis*
  • Aggie Stadium
  • Davis, CA (FCS Playoffs Second Round)
ESPN3L 16–238,306
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time
  1. ^ Panther Sports Network involves these channels (CFU Ch. 15/HD415; KCRG-TV Ch. 9.2; WHO-DT Ch. 13.2; KGCW Ch. 26, (NBC Sports Chicago or NBC Sports Chicago Plus)

Game summaries[]

at Montana[]

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 13 Panthers 0 0 7 16 23
No. 24 Grizzlies 16 10 0 0 26
See also: 2018 Montana Grizzlies football team

at Iowa[]

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 21 Panthers 0 0 0 14 14
Hawkeyes 7 14 17 0 38
See also: 2018 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Hampton[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 0 0 0
No. 25 Panthers 10 10 21 3 44
See also: 2018 Hampton Pirates football team

at Indiana State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 23 Panthers 3 6 14 10 33
Sycamores 0 0 0 0 0
See also: 2018 Indiana State Sycamores football team

North Dakota State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 1 Bison 7 14 7 28 56
No. 22 Panthers 14 10 7 0 31
See also: 2018 North Dakota State Bison football team

at South Dakota[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 21 7 14 42
No. 24 Coyotes 3 10 8 7 28
See also: 2018 South Dakota Coyotes football team

South Dakota State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Jackrabbits 3 0 0 6 9
No. 25 Panthers 0 7 7 10 24
See also: 2018 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

at Western Illinois[]

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 17 Panthers 3 7 0 7 17
Leathernecks 0 16 7 14 37
See also: 2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

Illinois State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 14 Redbirds 3 0 0 13 16
Panthers 3 16 7 0 26
See also: 2018 Illinois State Redbirds football team

at Youngstown State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 22 Panthers 0 7 3 0 10
Penguins 7 7 14 3 31
See also: 2018 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Missouri State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 0 0 0
Panthers 10 10 7 10 37
See also: 2018 Missouri State Bears football team

FCS Playoffs[]

Lamar–First Round[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 13 0 0 0 13
Panthers 3 10 0 3 16
See also: 2018 Lamar Cardinals football team

at UC Davis–Second Round[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 6 0 7 3 16
No. 7 Aggies 10 6 7 0 23
See also: 2018 UC Davis Aggies football team

Ranking movements[]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final 
STATS FCS 13 21 21 25 23 22 RV 25 17 RV 22 RV RV 23 
Coaches 12 18 18–T 22 21 22 RV RV 23 RV 24 RV RV RV

References[]

  1. ^ "Monmouth vs. Northern Iowa – Game Recap – November 25, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  2. ^ Courier, JIM NELSON Waterloo. "UNI romps to playoff victory over Monmouth". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  3. ^ "FCS playoffs: South Dakota State Jackrabbits beat Northern Iowa 37–22". Argus Leader. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  4. ^ "Northern Iowa vs. South Dakota State – Game Recap – December 2, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  5. ^ "North Dakota State Picked to Win 2018 MVFC Title".
  6. ^ "Preseason All-Conf and Team (PDF) - Missouri Valley Football Conference" (PDF).
  7. ^ "2018 Football Roster". UNI Athletics. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
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