2021 Northern Colorado Bears football team

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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

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.

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 Washingtondagger
  • 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.