2007 Northern Iowa Panthers football team explained

Year:	2007
Team:	Northern Iowa Panthers
Sport:	football
Conference:	Gateway Football Conference
Short Conf:	Gateway
Record:	12–1
Conf Record:	6–0
Tsnrank:	4^[1]
Fcscoachrank:	5^[2]
Head Coach:	Mark Farley
Hc Year:	7th
Cooff Coach1:	Bill Salmon
Cooc1 Year:	7th
Cooff Coach2:	Mario Verduzco
Cooc2 Year:	2nd
Champion:	Gateway co-champion
Bowl:	NCAA Division I Quarterfinal
Bowl Result:	L 27–39 vs. Delaware

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.

Facts

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.
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.

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Year at Northern Iowa	Alma Mater (Year)
	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)
	Co-offensive coordinator Quarterbacks	7th	San José State (1988)
Atif Austin	Running backs	3rd	Iowa State (2003)
	Linebackers	1st	Nebraska (1997)
	Secondary	2nd	Northern Iowa (1990)
	Defensive line	2nd	Iowa (2001)
Keith Harms	Defensive assistant	4th	Buena Vista (1979)
	Tight ends	4th	Iowa (2003)

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
	Tackle	3	96	Washington Redskins
	Tackle	7	225	Arizona Cardinals

^[8]

Notes and References

Web site: Sports Network's Final 2007 FCS College Football Poll . September 5, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110525224350/http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2%2Fmisc%2F2007_poll.htm . May 25, 2011 . dead .
Web site: 2007 FCS Coaches Poll . October 30, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080826150218/http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/FCS/polls/FCSPollReleaseweek13.htm . August 26, 2008 . dead .
Web site:
1. 1 UNI to Take on No. 17 New Hampshire in NCAA FCS Playoffs
. University of Northern Iowa Department of Athletics. November 19, 2007. November 22, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071122214459/http://unipanthers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/111907aaa.html. November 22, 2007. dead.
Web site: UNI Ranked No. 30 in Sagarin Ratings. University of Northern Iowa Department of Athletics. November 8, 2007. November 22, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071228071034/http://www.fansonly.com/schools/niwa/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/110807aab.html. December 28, 2007. dead.
Web site: 2007 Championship Field Announced. National Collegiate Athletic Association. November 18, 2007. November 22, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071120121804/http://www.ncaasports.com/football/mens/story/10481751. November 20, 2007. live.
Web site:
1. 1 UNI Draws New Hampshire in First Round of NCAA FCS Playoffs
. University of Northern Iowa Department of Athletics. November 18, 2007. November 22, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071121013303/http://unipanthers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/111807aab.html. November 21, 2007. dead.
Web site: 2007 NCAA Football Rankings – Week 12 (Nov. 18). Associated Press. ESPN. November 18, 2007. November 22, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071120212506/http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankings?pollId=1&seasonYear=2007&weekNumber=13. November 20, 2007. live.
Web site: 2008 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080501161755/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/2008.htm. 2008-05-01.