2008 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

2008 Northern Iowa Panthers football
MVFC co-champion
ConferenceMissouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 4[1]
FCS CoachesNo. 4[2]
Record12–3 (7–1 MVFC)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinators
Co-defensive coordinators
Home stadiumUNI-Dome
2008 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 +^   7 – 1     12 – 3  
No. 11 Southern Illinois +^   7 – 1     9 – 3  
South Dakota State   6 – 2     7 – 5  
Western Illinois   4 – 4     6 – 5  
North Dakota State   4 – 4     6 – 5  
Missouri State   3 – 5     4 – 7  
Youngstown State   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Illinois State   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Indiana State   0 – 8     0 – 12  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2008 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Mark Farley, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 12–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with South Dakota State. Northern Iowa was awarded the third seed in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Panthers defeated Maine in the first round and New Hampshire in the quarterfinals before losing to the eventual national champion, Richmond, in the semifinals. The team played home games at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 305:00 pmat No. 16 (FBS) BYU*No. 3
mtnL 17–4164,108
September 64:05 pmSouth Dakota*No. 9
CFUW 24–1312,904
September 204:05 pmNo. 12 South Dakota StateNo. 8
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
CFU, MediacomW 34–2015,136
September 276:00 pmat No. 15 Southern IllinoisNo. 5
MediacomL 24–2714,427[3]
October 26:35 pmNicholls State*No. 10
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
ESPNUW 34–149,028
October 114:05 pmIllinois StatedaggerNo. 10
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
CFU, MediacomW 31–1716,100[4]
October 184:05 pmNo. 20 North Dakota StateNo. 6
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
KFXA, Missouri Valley FB TVW 23–1313,416[5]
October 253:00 pmat Youngstown StateNo. 5
W 21–2015,937
November 112:05 pmat No. 12 Western IllinoisNo. 5
W 30–610,258[6]
November 84:05 pmMissouri StateNo. 4
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA
CFU, MediacomW 42–013,426[7]
November 1511:00 amat Indiana StateNo. 4
W 28–02,381
November 222:00 pmat Southern Utah*No. 4
W 34–243,145
November 294:05 pmNo. 21 Maine*No. 4
W 40–158,477
December 66:00 pmNo. 10 New Hampshire*No. 4
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)
ESPN360W 36–349,055
December 133:00 pmNo. 7 Richmond*No. 4
  • UNI-Dome
  • Cedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I Semifinal)
ESPNL 20–2112,062

[8][9]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
The Sports Network39985101065544444
FCS Coaches4587510844444444

Coaching staff

Name Position Year at
Northern Iowa		 Alma mater (year)
Mark Farley Head coach 8th Northern Iowa (1987)
Rick Nelson Recruiting coordinator
Offensive Line		 9th Northern Iowa (1984)
Bill Salmon Associate head coach
Offensive coordinator
Receivers		 8th Northern Iowa (1980)
Mario Verduzco Co-offensive coordinator
Quarterbacks		 8th San José State (1988)
Atif Austin Running backs 4th Iowa State (2003)
Scott Frost Co-defensive coordinator
Linebackers		 2nd Nebraska (1997)
Chris Klieman Co-defensive coordinator
Secondary		 3rd Northern Iowa (1990)
Jerry Montgomery Defensive line 3rd Iowa (2001)
Erik Chinander Tight ends 5th Iowa (2003)
Bill Wilt Defensive line 1st Eureka College (1977)

References

  1. ^ Sports Network's Final 2008 FCS College Football Poll Archived May 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "2008 FCS Coaches Poll". Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
  3. ^ Ecker, Jim (September 28, 2008). "Panthers fall short". The Gazette. p. 12C. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Gray, Rob (October 12, 2008). "Unlikely Reception Sparks Panthers". The Des Moines Register. p. 1C. Retrieved October 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Preseason snub lights fire as UNI stops Bison". The Courier. October 19, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Jim (November 2, 2008). "Top Cats". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. p. C1. Retrieved January 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Panthers put a hurt on Missouri State". The Des Moines Register. November 9, 2008. Retrieved June 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Northern Iowa Panthers Schedule 2008". ESPN. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  9. ^ "2008 Football Schedule". University of Northern Iowa. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
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