# 2008 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

The 2008 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The previous year's team finished first (of nine) in the Gateway Football Conference. The Gateway Football Conference was renamed the Missouri Valley Football League in June 2008. The team was coached by Mark Farley and played their home games in the UNI-Dome. On November 14, Northern Iowa won its first back-to-back conference championships since the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Northern Iowa was awarded the third seed in the 2008 FCS playoffs.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 5:00 pm | at No. 16 BYU* | No. 3 | LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT | mtn | L 17–41 | 64,108 |
| September 6 | 4:05 pm | South Dakota* | No. 9 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | CFU | W 24–13 | 12,904 |
| September 20 | 4:05 pm | No. 12 South Dakota State | No. 8 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | CFU/Mediacom | W 34–20 | 15,136 |
| September 27 | 6:00 pm | at No. 15 Southern Illinois | No. 5 | McAndrew StadiumCarbondale, IL | Mediacom | L 24–27 | 14,427 |
| October 2 | 6:35 pm | Nicholls State* | No. 10 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | ESPNU | W 34–14 | 9,028 |
| October 11 | 4:05 pm | Illinois State | No. 10 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | CFU/Mediacom | W 31–17 | 16,100 |
| October 18 | 4:05 pm | No. 20 North Dakota State | No. 6 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | KFXA/Missouri Valley FB TV | W 23–13 | 13,416 |
| October 25 | 3:00 pm | at Youngstown State | No. 5 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | | W 21–20 | 15,937 |
| November 1 | 12:05 pm | at No. 12 Western Illinois | No. 5 | Hanson FieldMacomb, IL | | W 30–6 | 10,258 |
| November 8 | 4:05 pm | Missouri State | No. 4 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | CFU/Mediacom | W 42–0 | 13,426 |
| November 15 | 11:00 am | at Indiana State | No. 4 | Memorial StadiumTerre Haute, IN | | W 28–0 | 2,381 |
| November 22 | 2:00 pm | at Southern Utah* | No. 4 | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | | W 34–24 | 3,145 |
| November 29 | 4:05 pm | No. 21 Maine* | No. 4 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I First Round) | | W 40–15 | 8,477 |
| December 6 | 6:00 pm | No. 10 New Hampshire* | No. 4 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal) | ESPN360 | W 36–34 | 9,055 |
| December 13 | 3:00 pm | No. 7 Richmond* | No. 4 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I Semifinal) | ESPN | L 20–21 | 12,062 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||||

## 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) |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| The Sports Network | 3 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| FCS Coaches | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |