2007 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

The 2007 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was coached by Mark Farley and played their home games in the UNI-Dome. The Panthers clinched a share of the Gateway Football Conference and a playoff berth with a win against Missouri State on November 3.

2007 Northern Iowa Panthers football
Gateway co-champion
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 4[1]
FCS CoachesNo. 5[2]
Record12–1 (6–0 Gateway)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorBill Salmon (7th season)
Co-offensive coordinatorMario Verduzco (2nd season)
Home stadiumUNI-Dome
Seasons
← 2006
2008 →
2007 Gateway Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^   6 0     12 1  
No. 3 Southern Illinois ^   5 1     12 2  
No. 16 Youngstown State   3 3     7 4  
Western Illinois   3 3     6 5  
Missouri State   2 4     6 5  
Illinois State   2 4     4 7  
Indiana State   0 6     0 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Facts

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  • The Panthers moved into the top spot in The Sports Network's FCS Top 25 poll on October 15. It marked the first time the Panthers had been perched in the No. 1 spot in the nation since the Sports Network's poll on November 5, 1992.[3]
  • On November 19, UNI became the consensus No. 1-ranked team in the nation after taking over the top spot in the FCS Coaches poll.
  • On November 8, Northern Iowa was ranked 30th in the nation in the Sagarin ratings. The Sagarin ratings take into account all members of Division I football.[4]
  • UNI became the first-ever Gateway Football Conference school to win all six of its regular season road contests in a single season.
  • University of Northern Iowa (11–0) topped the bracket as the top seed after capturing the automatic qualifying berth from the Gateway Football Conference. The Panthers are making their 13th tournament appearance.[5]
  • For the first time in school history the University of Northern Iowa football team drew a seed for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.[6]
  • In scoring its first win over Iowa State since 1994, UNI improved its record against teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) to 9–15 since 1985.[3]
  • On November 18, Northern Iowa received points in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. They received 1 point; that vote came from Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle.[7] The Panthers became the second FCS school to receive votes in the poll, following Appalachian State who had received up to 19 votes earlier in the season.
  • In 23 years of league play, UNI has now captured at least a share of the Gateway Football Conference title in 13 of those seasons with nine of those being outright championships.
  • UNI completed the first-ever perfect regular season in the 23-year history of the Gateway Football Conference with a record of 11–0. UNI's 6–0 mark in Gateway play marked the ninth time in league history a team went undefeated against conference competition. It was the fifth time UNI has completed Gateway play with an unblemished record.
  • OL Chad Rinehart was named to the Senior Bowl North team.

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 307:05 pmMinnesota State*No. 9W 41–1415,056
September 86:00 pmat Iowa State*No. 7W 24–1356,795
September 157:00 pmat South Dakota State*No. 5W 31–1710,844
September 224:00 pmat Drake*No. 4
MediacomW 45–710,216
September 291:30 pmat No. 16 Illinois StateNo. 3W 23–1310,473[8]
October 134:05 pmNo. 7 Southern Illinois No. 2
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
Mediacom/CFUW 30–2417,074[9]
October 206:35 pmat No. 17 Western IllinoisNo. 1FSNM/FCS/MS-KC/CFUW 42–315,330[10]
October 274:05 pmYoungstown StateNo. 1
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
KFXA/KDSM/WFMJ/FCS/MS-KCW 14–1316,528
November 31:00 pmat Missouri StateNo. 1MediacomW 38–1710,590[11]
November 105:05 pmIndiana StateNo. 1
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
CFUW 68–1416,624
November 175:05 pmSouthern Utah*No. 1
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
CFUW 48–1015,724
November 246:35 pmNo. 17 New Hampshire*No. 1
Mediacom/CFUW 38–3516,015
December 11:00 pmNo. 13 Delaware*No. 1
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)
ESPNGP/Mediacom/CFUL 27–3915,803

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
The Sports Network9[12]7[13]54[14]32[15]2[16]1[17]1[18]1[19]1[20]1[21]1[22]N/AN/AN/A4[1]
FCS Coaches9[23]7[24]5[25]5[26]4[27]4[28]3[29]2[30]2[31]2[32]2[33]2[34]1[35]N/AN/AN/A5[2]
AP38[36]

Coaching staff

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Name Position Year at
Northern Iowa
Alma Mater (Year)
Mark Farley Head coach 7th Northern Iowa (1987)
Rick Nelson Recruiting coordinator
Offensive Line
8th Northern Iowa (1984)
Bill Salmon Associate head coach
Offensive coordinator
Receivers
7th Northern Iowa (1980)
Mario Verduzco Co-offensive coordinator
Quarterbacks
7th San José State (1988)
Atif Austin Running backs 3rd Iowa State (2003)
Scott Frost Linebackers 1st Nebraska (1997)
Chris Klieman Secondary 2nd Northern Iowa (1990)
Jerry Montgomery Defensive line 2nd Iowa (2001)
Keith Harms Defensive assistant 4th Buena Vista (1979)
Erik Chinander Tight ends 4th Iowa (2003)

Team players drafted into the NFL

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Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Chad Rinehart Tackle 3 96 Washington Redskins
Brandon Keith Tackle 7 225 Arizona Cardinals

[37]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sports Network's Final 2007 FCS College Football Poll". Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "2007 FCS Coaches Poll". Archived from the original on August 26, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
  3. ^ a b "#1 UNI to Take on No. 17 New Hampshire in NCAA FCS Playoffs". University of Northern Iowa Department of Athletics. November 19, 2007. Archived from the original on November 22, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  4. ^ "UNI Ranked No. 30 in Sagarin Ratings". University of Northern Iowa Department of Athletics. November 8, 2007. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  5. ^ "2007 Championship Field Announced". National Collegiate Athletic Association. November 18, 2007. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  6. ^ "#1 UNI Draws New Hampshire in First Round of NCAA FCS Playoffs". University of Northern Iowa Department of Athletics. November 18, 2007. Archived from the original on November 21, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  7. ^ Associated Press (November 18, 2007). "2007 NCAA Football Rankings – Week 12 (Nov. 18)". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  8. ^ Newhoff, Doug (September 30, 2007). "Sweet September". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. p. B1. Retrieved October 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Newhoff, Doug (October 14, 2007). "Collared". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. p. C1. Retrieved December 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Newhoff, Doug (October 21, 2007). "Seventh heaven". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. p. C1. Retrieved January 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Talkin' trophy; UNI wraps up Gateway Conference title early". The Courier. November 4, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "UNI Ranked No. 9 in FCS Sports Network Preseason Poll". University of Northern Iowa Department of Athletics. August 16, 2007. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  13. ^ "UNI Begins Long September Road Trip at Iowa State". University of Northern Iowa Department of Athletics. October 4, 2007. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  14. ^ "Cowboys Move Up in National Rankings". McNeese State University Department of Athletics. October 17, 2007. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  15. ^ "North Dakota State Football Moves Up to No. 2 in FCS Coaches Top 25, No. 3 in The Sports Network Poll". University of North Dakota Department of Athletics. October 1, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  16. ^ "Montana Maintains No. 1 The Sports Network Ranking; Bison Remain No. 3". University of North Dakota Department of Athletics. October 8, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  17. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – October 15, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. October 15, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  18. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – October 22, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. October 22, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  19. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – October 29, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. October 29, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  20. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – November 3, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. November 3, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  21. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – November 10, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. November 10, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  22. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – November 17, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. November 17, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  23. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – August 20, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. August 20, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  24. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – September 3, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. September 3, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  25. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – September 10, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. September 10, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  26. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – September 17, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. September 17, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  27. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – September 24, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. September 24, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  28. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – October 1, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. October 1, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  29. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – October 8, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. October 8, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  30. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – October 15, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. October 15, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  31. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – October 22, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. October 22, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  32. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – October 29, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. October 29, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  33. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – November 3, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. November 3, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  34. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – November 10, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. November 10, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  35. ^ "SoCon Football Notebook – November 17, 2007" (PDF). Southern Conference. November 17, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  36. ^ "College Football FBS AP Top 25". ESPN. November 18, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  37. ^ "2008 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on May 1, 2008.