2018 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

2018 Northern Iowa Panthers football
ConferenceMissouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 23
Record7–6 (5–3 MVFC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJohn Bond (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorJeremiah Johnson (6th season)
Home stadiumUNI-Dome
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
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.

Preseason

[edit]

Preseason MVFC poll

[edit]

The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Panthers predicted to finish in third place.[1]

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

[edit]

The Panthers placed six players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.[2]

Schedule

[edit]
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*
ESPN3W 16–134,082
December 19:00 p.m.at No. 7 UC Davis*
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)

Ranking movements

[edit]
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS132121252322RV2517RV22RVRV23
Coaches121818–T222122RVRV23RV24RVRVRV

Game summaries

[edit]

At Montana

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]
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

Lamar—NCAA Division I First Round

[edit]
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—NCAA Division I Second Round

[edit]
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

Personnel

[edit]

Roster

[edit]
2018 Northern Iowa Panthers Football

Quarterback

  • 11 Colton Howell – Senior (6'0", 213)
  • 13 Will McElvain – Freshman (5'10", 195)
  • 14 Eli Dunne – Senior (6'5", 238)
  • 15 Jacob Keller – Redshirt Freshman (6'1", 206)
  • 16 Luke Gillett – Freshman (6'1", 190)
  • 17 Christian Ellsworth – Redshirt Sophomore (6'2", 210)
  • 18 John Sullivan – Redshirt Freshman (6'1", 204)

Running back

  • 5 Martavin Hall – Freshman (5'11", 220)
  • 8 Marcus Weymiller – Senior (5'10", 204)
  • 13 Jon Nzombo – Senior (5'7", 205)
  • 20 Sam Schnee – Freshman (5'8", 182)
  • 21 Christian Jegen – Junior (5'11", 205)
  • 25 Trevor Allen – Junior (5'10", 203)
  • 30 Alphonso Soko – Redshirt Freshman (5'7", 179)
  • 32 Tyler Hoosman – Redshirt Freshman (6'0", 201)
  • 32? Jack Wegher – Redshirt Sophomore (5'10", 205)
  • 36 Trevon Alexander – Freshman (6'1", 195)

Wide receiver

  • 2 Sam Ingoli – Freshman (6'5", 205)
  • 3 Suni Lane – Sophomore (6'3", 203)
  • 4 Deion McShane – Freshman (5'9", 155)
  • 10 Eric Mooney – Freshman (6'1", 190)
  • 12 Nick Phillips – Redshirt Sophomore (5'7", 188)
  • 28 Leslie Owusu – Senior (6'2", 200)
  • 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

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

Tight end

  • 81 Tristan Bohr – Junior (6'4", 246)
  • 84 Jayden Scott – Freshman (6'5", 230)
  • 85 Elias Nissen – Senior (6'4", 243)
  • 86 Briley Moore – Junior (6'3", 242)
  • 89 Alex Allen – Freshman (6'6", 220)
  • 89? Trey Recknor – Redshirt Sophomore (6'0", 230)
  • Taylor Otterstatter – Redshirt Sophomore (6'5", 251)
  

Offensive Lineman

  • 52 William Blaser – Sophomore (6'1", 281)
  • 55 Colton Lueck – Junior (6'4", 286)
  • 57 Kurt Countryman – Freshman (6'1", 285)
  • 59 Max Erpelding – Redshirt Sophomore (6'0", 260)
  • 61 Chase Arends – Freshman (6'1", 270)
  • 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 Brink Jolly – Graduate Student (6'5", 330)
  • 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)
  • 77 Matthew Vanderslice – Sophomore (6'7", 257)
  • 78 Tyler Putney – Senior (6'6", 302)
  • 79 Ezrah Szczyrbak – Senior (6'4", 299)

Defensive Lineman

  • 44 Jared Brinkman – Sophomore (5'11", 290)
  • 46 Devin Rice – Freshman (6'5", 220)
  • 47 Elerson G. Smith – Redshirt Sophomore (6'6", 245)
  • 49 Desmond Chapple – Redshirt Sophomore 6'3", 235)
  • 64 Hezekiah Applegate – Junior (6'2", 285)
  • 90 Khristian Boyd – Freshman (6'4", 305)
  • 91 Brawntae Wells – Redshirt Sophomore (6'2", 261)
  • 92 Sean Wendel – Freshman (6'5", 240)
  • 94 Tim Butcher – Sophomore (6'2", 300)
  • 94 Sonny Onken – Redshirt Sophomore (6'3", 256)
  • 95 Seth Thomas – Junior (6'5", 262)
  • 96 Caden Houghtelling – Freshman (6'5", 240)
  • 97 Marcel Minniefield – Junior (6'2", 282)
  • 98 Bryce Douglas – Senior (6'0", 304)

Long snappers

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

Linebacker

  • 7 Rickey Neal Jr. – Senior (6'1", 241)
  • 22 Bryce Flater – Redshirt Freshman (6'1", 224)
  • 31 Jevon Brekke – Freshman (6'3", 185)
  • 33 Jake Hartford – Redshirt Sophomore (6'3", 226)
  • 34 Sam Thompson – Freshman (6'2", 205)
  • 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 Jordan Gayer – Freshman (6'3", 195)
  • 51 Riley Van Wyhe – Redshirt Freshman (6'2", 215)
  • 53 Weston Schultz – Sophomore (6'3", 215)
  • 56 Ricky Grimes – Junior (6'1", 228)
  • 59 Zac Ebeling – Redshirt Freshman (6'1", 230)
  • Jesse Cardenas – Redshirt Sophomore (6'2", 225)

Defensive back

  • 1 Roosevelt Lawrence – Junior (6'0", 170)
  • 3 Suni Lane – Sophomore (6'3", 203)
  • 5 Korby Sander – Redshirt Sophomore (6'0", 212)
  • 9 Xavior Williams – Redshirt Sophomore (5'11", 175)
  • 19 Shakespeare Williams – Freshman (5'11", 187)
  • 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 Tayler Johnson – Freshman (6'2", 155)
  • 35 Max Steffen – Sophomore (5'11", 185)
  • 38 Zac Kibby – Redshirt Sophomore (5'11, 203)

Punter

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

[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "North Dakota State Picked to Win 2018 MVFC Title".
  2. ^ "Preseason All-Conf and Team (PDF) - Missouri Valley Football Conference" (PDF).
  3. ^ "2018 Football Roster". UNI Athletics. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
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