1987 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

American college football season

1987 Northern Iowa Panthers football
GCAC champion
NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal, L 41–44 vs. Northeast Louisiana
Conference	Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference
Record	10–4 (6–0 GCAC)
Head coach	Darrell Mudra (5th season)
Home stadium	UNI-Dome
Seasons← 1986 1988 →

1987 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	4	–	0
Western Illinois	5	–	1	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Eastern Illinois	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
SW Missouri State	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Indiana State	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Southern Illinois	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Illinois State	0	–	6	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1987 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	7:00 p.m.	at McNeese State*		Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA		W 34–31	18,500
September 12	7:00 p.m.	at Minnesota*		Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	KITN	L 7–24	50,120
September 19	7:00 p.m.	Montana State*	No. 12	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA		W 53–7	14,213
September 26	1:30 p.m.	at Indiana State	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN		W 38–14	8,457
October 3	1:30 p.m.	Montana*	No. 4	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA		W 16–33	12,027
October 10	1:00 p.m.	at Iowa State*	No. 11	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		L 38–39	46,515
October 24	1:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	No. 12	Hanson Field Macomb, IL		W 52–7	14,291
October 31	7:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois	No. 10	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA		W 19–17	13,203
November 7	1:30 p.m.	at Southwest Missouri State	No. 7	Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO		W 17–13	3,343
November 14	7:00 p.m.	Southern Illinois	No. 5	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA		W 20–3	11,813
November 21	7:00 p.m.	Illinois State	No. 4	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA		W 48–17	9,582
November 28		No. 15 Youngstown State*	No. 4	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)		W 31–28	3,887
December 5		No. 12 Arkansas State*	No. 4	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)		W 48–28	6,100
December 12		at No. 3 Northeast Louisiana*	No. 4	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)		L 41–44	14,443
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

References

"Panthers edge McNeese State on field goal". The Des Moines Register. September 6, 1987. Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Thompson, 'U' run over Northern Iowa". Star Tribune. September 13, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Willard passes Panthers to 53–7 pasting of Montana State". The Gazette. September 20, 1987. Retrieved December 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Smith's return lifts Panthers to easy victory". The Daily Nonpareil. September 27, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Nightmares for UNI, Iowa". The Courier. October 4, 1987. Retrieved December 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Cyclones earn first win". The Rock Island Argus. October 11, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Northern Iowa rocks Western Illinois, 52–7". The Des Moines Register. October 25, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Being lucky nets Panthers a good win, 19–17". The Gazette. November 1, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"UNI stays unbeaten in conference, 17–13". The Des Moines Register. November 8, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"UNI clinches title tie". The Sioux City Journal. November 15, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"UNI cruises by ISU, 48–17". The Daily Nonpareil. November 22, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"UNI wins opener of playoffs". The Des Moines Register. November 29, 1987. Retrieved March 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"UNI gains semifinals in 49–28 win". The Des Moines Register. December 6, 1987. Retrieved October 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
"UNI season ends in second overtime". The Courier. December 13, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"1987 Football Schedule". University of Northern Iowa Athletics.
"1987 Northern Iowa Football". Retrieved February 13, 2024.

v t e Northern Iowa Panthers football
Venues	O. R. Latham Stadium (1936–1975) UNI-Dome (1976–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Drake
Culture & lore	"UNI Fight"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906–1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Gateway Football Conference / Missouri Valley Football Conference champions
Northern Iowa (1985) Eastern Illinois (1986) Northern Iowa (1987) Western Illinois (1988) Southwest Missouri State (1989) Southwest Missouri State & Northern Iowa (1990) Northern Iowa (1991) Northern Iowa (1992) Northern Iowa (1993) Northern Iowa (1994) Eastern Illinois & Northern Iowa (1995) Northern Iowa (1996) Western Illinois (1997) Western Illinois (1998) Illinois State (1999) Western Illinois (2000) Northern Iowa (2001) Western Illinois & Western Kentucky (2002) Northern Iowa & Southern Illinois (2003) Southern Illinois (2004) Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois & Youngstown State (2005) Youngstown State (2006) Northern Iowa (2007) Northern Iowa & Southern Illinois (2008) Southern Illinois (2009) Northern Iowa (2010) North Dakota State & Northern Iowa (2011) North Dakota State (2012) North Dakota State (2013) Illinois State & North Dakota State (2014) Illinois State & North Dakota State (2015) North Dakota State & South Dakota State (2016) North Dakota State (2017) North Dakota State (2018) North Dakota State (2019) Missouri State & South Dakota State (2020) North Dakota State (2021) South Dakota State (2022) South Dakota State (2023) North Dakota State, South Dakota & South Dakota State (2024)
National championships in bold

Gateway Football Conference / Missouri Valley Football Conference champions

Northern Iowa (1985)
Eastern Illinois (1986)
Northern Iowa (1987)
Western Illinois (1988)
Southwest Missouri State (1989)
Southwest Missouri State & Northern Iowa (1990)
Northern Iowa (1991)
Northern Iowa (1992)
Northern Iowa (1993)
Northern Iowa (1994)
Eastern Illinois & Northern Iowa (1995)
Northern Iowa (1996)
Western Illinois (1997)
Western Illinois (1998)
Illinois State (1999)
Western Illinois (2000)
Northern Iowa (2001)
Western Illinois & Western Kentucky (2002)
Northern Iowa & Southern Illinois (2003)
Southern Illinois (2004)
Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois & Youngstown State (2005)
Youngstown State (2006)
Northern Iowa (2007)
Northern Iowa & Southern Illinois (2008)
Southern Illinois (2009)
Northern Iowa (2010)
North Dakota State & Northern Iowa (2011)
North Dakota State (2012)
North Dakota State (2013)
Illinois State & North Dakota State (2014)
Illinois State & North Dakota State (2015)
North Dakota State & South Dakota State (2016)
North Dakota State (2017)
North Dakota State (2018)
North Dakota State (2019)
Missouri State & South Dakota State (2020)
North Dakota State (2021)
South Dakota State (2022)
South Dakota State (2023)
North Dakota State, South Dakota & South Dakota State (2024)

National championships in bold

‹ The template below (1987 Division I-AA football playoff navbox) is being considered for deletion. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. ›

v t e 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Appalachian State Arkansas State Eastern Kentucky Georgia Southern Idaho Jackson State James Madison Maine Marshall North Texas State Northeast Louisiana Northern Iowa Richmond Weber State Western Kentucky Youngstown State
Champion – Northeast Louisiana Indians

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