Northern Iowa
1-2MVFC · UNI-Dome · 16,324 · 9,170 avg in 2026
LastL 0–55 at Iowa · Sat Sep 19 · Kolben Miller 1 sacks, 1 TFL, 3 tackles
Nextvs Illinois State · Sat Sep 26 · 5 pm ET · UNI-Dome · series 12-10, lost the last 2 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 22 · through week 3
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 5 | #176 | #186 | +7✗ | @Eastern Washington | L 24–34 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #183 | #194 | -11.5✓ | Drake | W 56–14 | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #169 | #17 | +37.5✗ | @Iowa | L 0–55 122 | 1-2 | 0-0 |
| 4 | Sep 26 | #161 | #92 | Illinois State | ||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | North Dakota | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 17 | @Youngstown State | ||||||
| 8 | Oct 24 | @Southern Illinois | ||||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | Indiana State | ||||||
| 10 | Nov 7 | South Dakota State | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 14 | @South Dakota | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | @Murray State |
Advanced box score (EPA, success rate, explosiveness)▼
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 | @Iowa | L 0–55 | 155 | 2 | 27:45 | -0.372 | 26.2% | 73.9% | Season-low EPA/play |
| Sep 12 | Drake | W 56–14 | — | — | — | +0.349 | 49.3% | 129.2% | Season-high EPA/play |
| Sep 5 | @Eastern Washington | L 24–34 | — | — | — | +0.148 | 50.0% | 113.5% | Best success rate |
| Season average (3 games) | 155 | 2.0 | +0.041 | 41.8% | 105.5% | ||||
Northern Iowa is the Panthers in transition — Todd Stepsis took over after Mark Farley's retirement, and a 3-9 season tests the fanbase's faith in the next era.
Northern Iowa has been a MVFC fixture for years. The fanbase is patient with Stepsis because they know what Farley built — but they also expect the program to get back to contention soon.
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 3-9 · last season
✓ measured from 12 games · ranks are among MVFC teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Northern Iowa has won one of its last five.
Cold. 2-8 over the last 10, and lost the last one.
Next Sep 26
vs Illinois State · at home
Outcome band · Northern Iowa · 2026
Outcome band · Northern Iowa · 2026Northern Iowa's most likely season is 1-11 — mid-table finish. The floor is 0-12; the ceiling is 4-8.
No season-path projection for this program yet, so this is last season's record with a two-win swing down and a three-win swing up, over a 12-game frame.
More in this tab
Game day
Northern Iowa is the Panthers in transition — Todd Stepsis took over after Mark Farley's retirement, and a 3-9 season tests the fanbase's faith in the next era.
Recruiting buzz
Community pulse
No high-engagement r/cfb discussions tracked for this program in the last year.