2021 Northern Iowa
6–6 (4–4 Missouri Valley Football Conference). Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat St. Thomas (MN) 44–3Sep 18
By 41 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to No. 7 Iowa State 10–16Sep 4
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | at 7Iowa State | L 10–16 | 14% |
| Sep 11 | at Sacramento State | W 34–16 | 38% |
| Sep 18 | vs St. Thomas (MN) | W 44–3 | 93% |
| Oct 2 | vs Youngstown State | W 34–7 | 77% |
| Oct 9 | at North Dakota State | L 20–34 | 28% |
| Oct 16 | vs South Dakota | L 21–34 | 64% |
| Oct 23 | at South Dakota State | W 26–17 | 23% |
| Oct 30 | vs Southern Illinois | W 23–16 | 51% |
| Nov 6 | at Illinois State | L 10–17 | 63% |
| Nov 13 | at Missouri State | L 27–34 | 43% |
| Nov 20 | vs Western Illinois | W 41–3 | 83% |
| Nov 27 | at Eastern WashingtonFCS Championship – First Round | L 9–19 | 27% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Eastern Washington 19–9 in the FCS Championship – First Round; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 89 on file).
- Record
- 6–6
- Conference
- 4–4 6th in Missouri Valley Football Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 299–216
- Coach
- —
- Elo
- 1384 +16 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- −1.2 No. 4 of 128 in FCS
- Recruiting class
- No. 143
- Offensive coordinator
- Shawn Watson
- Defensive coordinator
- Jeremiah Johnson
Leaders
| Passing yards | Will McElvain QB | 230 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Will McElvain QB | 1 TD |
| Rushing yards | Dom Williams RB | 43 yds |
| Receiving yards | Quan Hampton WR | 99 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Quan Hampton WR | 1 TD |
| Tackles | Alfonzo Lambert II LB | 9 tkl |
| Sacks | Devin Rice DL | 1 sacks |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Jayden Williams ATH | ★★★ | No. 837 |
| Sergio Morancy WR | ★★★ | No. 1562 |
| Terrance Kamara RB | ★★ | No. 2641 |
| Ethan George DT | ||
| Drew Clausen LS |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 1 | 2.0 | 0.779 |
| Receivers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.837 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.863 |
| Whole class | 3 | 2.7 | 0.826 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Drafted in 2022
The 2022 draft| Rd 1 | Trevor Penning OT | New Orleans Saints |
Transfers in 6
The 2021 portal Antione Frazier OT | ★★★ | from  Kansas |
 Benjamin Sapp III S | ★★★ | from  Minnesota |
 Demarcus Governor CB | ★★★ | from  Central Michigan |
 Theo Day QB | ★★★ | from  Michigan State |
 Trennan Carlson LB | ★★★ | from  Utah |
 Dylan Boles DL | ★★ | from  Stanford |
Transfers out 2
 Xavior Williams S | ★★★ | to  Iowa |
| Chris Kolarevic ILB | ★★★ | to  Nebraska |
2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 7–1 | 14–1 | |
| Missouri State | 6–2 | 8–4 | |
| South Dakota State | 5–3 | 11–4 | |
| Southern Illinois | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
| South Dakota | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
| Northern Iowa | 4–4 | 6–6 | |
 Indiana State | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
 North Dakota | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| Illinois State | 2–6 | 4–7 | |
| Youngstown State | 2–6 | 3–7 | |
| Western Illinois | 2–6 | 2–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.