2021 Northern Colorado Bears football team

The 2021 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Ed McCaffrey and played their home games at Nottingham Field.

2021 Northern Colorado Bears football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record3–8 (2–6 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMax McCaffrey (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorScott Darnell (1st season)
Home stadiumNottingham Field
Seasons
← 2019
2022 →
2021 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Sacramento State $^   8 0     9 3  
No. 2 Montana State ^   7 1     11 3  
No. 7 Eastern Washington ^   6 2     10 3  
No. 6 Montana ^   6 2     10 3  
No. 17 UC Davis ^   5 3     8 4  
Weber State   5 3     6 5  
Northern Arizona   4 4     5 6  
Portland State   4 4     5 6  
Idaho   3 5     4 7  
Northern Colorado   2 6     3 8  
Cal Poly   1 7     2 9  
Idaho State   1 7     1 10  
Southern Utah   0 8     1 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason edit

Big Sky preseason poll edit

On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Mustangs were predicted to finish in the Big Sky last in the media and twelfth in the coaches.[1]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Weber State (7)
2 Montana (3)
3 Eastern Washington (2)
4 Montana State (1)
5 Sacramento State (1)
6 UC Davis
7 Northern Arizona
8 Idaho
9 Idaho State
10 Portland State
11 Southern Utah
12 Cal Poly
13 Northern Colorado
Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Weber State (14)
2 Montana (4)
3 Eastern Washington (3)
4 Montana State (3)
5 Sacramento State
6 UC Davis
7 Northern Arizona
8 Idaho
9 Idaho State
10 Portland State
11 Southern Utah
12 Northern Colorado
13 Cal Poly

Preseason All-Big Sky team edit

The Bears did not have any players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2]

Schedule edit

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 37:00 p.m.at Colorado*P12NL 7–3544,153
September 115:00 p.m.at Houston Baptist*ESPN+W 45–132,135
September 182:00 p.m.Lamar*ESPN+L 10–17 OT5,605
September 251:00 p.m.Northern Arizona
  • Nottingham Field
  • Greeley, CO
ESPN+W 17–10 OT5,769
October 21:00 p.m.at No. 11 Montana StateESPN+L 7–4020,127
October 91:00 p.m.No. 4 Eastern Washington 
  • Nottingham Field
  • Greeley, CO
ESPN+L 17–635,413
October 166:00 p.m.at No. 13 UC DavisESPN+L 3–3210,963
October 236:00 p.m.at Southern UtahESPN+W 17–93,208
October 301:00 p.m.No. 15 Sacramento State
  • Nottingham Field
  • Greeley, CO
ESPN+L 24–274,068
November 612:00 p.m.No. 11 Montana
  • Nottingham Field
  • Greeley, CO
ESPN+L 0–354,987
November 201:00 p.m.at Weber StateESPN+L 17-483,242

Conference opponents not played this season: Cal Poly, Idaho, Idaho State, Portland State

Game summaries edit

At Colorado edit

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 7 0 7
Buffaloes 0 14 7 14 35

At Houston Baptist edit

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 14 7 17 7 45
Huskies 0 6 7 0 13

Lamar edit

1 2 3 4OT Total
Cardinals 0 7 0 37 17
Bears 0 7 0 30 10

Northern Arizona edit

1 2 3 4OT Total
Lumberjacks 0 7 0 30 10
Bears 0 3 7 07 17

At No. 11 Montana State edit

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 7 0 0 7
No. 11 Bobcats 17 10 13 0 40

No. 4 Eastern Washington edit

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 4 Eagles 22 21 10 10 63
Bears 3 7 7 0 17

At No. 13 UC Davis edit

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 0 0 3 3
No. 13 Aggies 0 11 7 14 32

At Southern Utah edit

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 7 3 0 7 17
Thunderbirds 3 0 3 3 9

No. 15 Sacramento State edit

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 15 Hornets 10 7 3 7 27
Bears 0 7 10 7 24

No. 11 Montana edit

1 2 3 4 Total
No. 11 Grizzlies 14 7 14 0 35
Bears 0 0 0 0 0

At Weber State edit

1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 3 21 24 0 48
Bears 3 14 0 0 17

References edit

  1. ^ "Weber State Picked to Win Big Sky by Coaches and Media". July 26, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "2021 Preseason All-Big Sky Conference Teams Announced". July 26, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.