The 2019 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 19th-year head coach Mark Farley, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 10–5 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second in the MVFC. Northern Iowa received an at-large bid to NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Panthers defeated San Diego in the first round and South Dakota State in second round before losing to the national runner-up James Madison, in the quarterfinals. The team played home games at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. 
  Schedule
 | Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | 
|---|
| August 31 | 11:00 a.m. | at    No. 21 FBS Iowa State* | No. 18 |  | FS1 | L 26–29 3OT | 61,500 | 
| September 7 | 4:00 p.m. | Southern Utah* | No. 11 |  | PSN[a], ESPN3 | W 34–14 | 9,241 | 
| September 21 | 4:00 p.m. | Idaho State* | No. 9 |  | PSN, ESPN+ | W 13–6 | 8,339 | 
| September 28 | 7:00 p.m. | at    No. 5 Weber State* | No. 9 |  | Pluto TV | L 17–29 | 6,582 | 
| October 5 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 18 Youngstown State   | No. 13 |  | PSN, ESPN3 | W 21–14 | 10,137 | 
| October 12 | 1:00 p.m. | at    No. 1 North Dakota State | No. 10 |  | ESPN+ | L 14–46 | 18,178 | 
| October 19 | 4:00 p.m. | South Dakota | No. 14 |  | PSN, ESPN+ | W 42–27 | 10,201 | 
| October 26 | 2:00 p.m. | at   Missouri State | No. 11 |  | ESPN+ | W 29–6 | 6,583 | 
| November 2 | 12:00 p.m. | at    No. 7 Illinois State | No. 9 |  | NBCCH, ESPN+ | W 27–10 | 6,705 | 
| November 9 | 4:00 p.m. | Indiana State | No. 5 |  | PSN, ESPN+ | W 17–9 | 8,442 | 
| November 16 | 2:00 p.m. | at    No. 8 South Dakota State | No. 4 |  | ESPN3 | L 7–38 | 7,317 | 
| November 23 | 1:00 p.m. | Western Illinois | No. 9 |  | ESPN3 | W 38–7 | 8,920 | 
| November 30 | 1:00 p.m. | San Diego* | No. 6 |  | ESPN3 | W 17–3 | 3,743 
 | 
| December 7 | 1:00 p.m. | at    No. 10 South Dakota State* | No. 6 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (NCAA Division I Second Round)
 | ESPN3 | W 13–10 | 4,102 | 
|  | 6:00 p.m. | at    No. 2 James Madison* | No. 6 |  | ESPN2 | L 0–17 | 8,741 | 
| *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time
 | 
 [1][2] 
  Ranking movements
 Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking|  | Week | 
|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final | 
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| STATS FCS | 18 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 
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| Coaches | 20 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 
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 Preseason
 MVFC poll
 In the MVFC preseason poll released on July 29, 2019, the Panthers were predicted to finish in fifth place.[3] 
 Preseason All–MVFC team
 The Panthers had three players selected to the preseason all-MVFC team.[4] 
      | Offense  Briley Moore – TE  Jackson Scott-Brown – OL  | Defense  Xavior Williams – DB    | 
  Game summaries
 At Iowa State
    |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | No. 18 Panthers | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 26 | 
  | No. 21 (FBS) Cyclones | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 29 | 
   Southern Utah
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | Thunderbirds | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 
  | No. 11 Panthers | 7 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 34 | 
   Idaho State
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | Bengals | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 
  | No. 9 Panthers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 
   At Weber State
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | No. 9 Panthers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 
  | No. 5 Wildcats | 20 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 
   Youngstown State
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | No. 18 Penguins | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 
  | No. 13 Panthers | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 
   At North Dakota State
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | No. 10 Panthers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 
  | No. 1 Bison | 15 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 46 | 
   South Dakota
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | Coyotes | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 
  | No. 14 Panthers | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 | 
   At Missouri State
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | No. 11 Panthers | 0 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 29 | 
  | Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 
   At Illinois State
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | No. 9 Panthers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 27 | 
  | No. 7 Redbirds | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 
   Indiana State
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | Sycamores | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 
  | No. 5 Panthers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 
   At South Dakota State
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | No. 4 Panthers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 
  | No. 8 Jackrabbits | 0 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 38 | 
   Western Illinois
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | Leathernecks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 
  | No. 9 Panthers | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 | 
   San Diego—NCAA Division I First Round
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | Toreros | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 
  | No. 6 Panthers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 | 
  The Panthers were selected for the postseason tournament, with a first-round pairing against San Diego.[5] 
  At South Dakota State—NCAA Division I Second Round
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | No. 6 Panthers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 
  | No. 10 Jackrabbits | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 
   At James Madison—NCAA Division I Quarterfinal
    |  |  |  |  |  | Total | 
  | No. 6 Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 
  | No. 2 Dukes | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 
   References
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