American college football season
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 .
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]
Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance 7:00 p.m. at Colorado * P12N L 7–3544,153 September 11 5:00 p.m. at Houston Baptist * ESPN+ W 45–132,135 September 18 2:00 p.m. Lamar * ESPN+ L 10–17 OT 5,605 September 25 1:00 p.m. Northern Arizona Nottingham Field Greeley, CO ESPN+ W 17–10 OT 5,769 October 2 1:00 p.m. at No. 11 Montana State ESPN+ L 7–4020,127 October 9 1:00 p.m. No. 4 Eastern Washington Nottingham Field Greeley, CO ESPN+ L 17–635,413 October 16 6:00 p.m. at No. 13 UC Davis ESPN+ L 3–3210,963 October 23 6:00 p.m. at Southern Utah ESPN+ W 17–93,208 October 30 1:00 p.m. No. 15 Sacramento State Nottingham Field Greeley, CO ESPN+ L 24–274,068 November 6 12:00 p.m. No. 11 Montana Nottingham Field Greeley, CO ESPN+ L 0–354,987 November 20 1:00 p.m. at Weber State ESPN+ L 17-483,242
Conference opponents not played this season: Cal Poly , Idaho , Idaho State , Portland State
1 2 3 4 Total Bears 0 0 7 0 7 Buffaloes 0 14 7 14 35
1 2 3 4 Total Bears 14 7 17 7 45 Huskies 0 6 7 0 13
1 2 3 4 OT Total Cardinals 0 7 0 3 7 17 Bears 0 7 0 3 0 10
1 2 3 4 OT Total Lumberjacks 0 7 0 3 0 10 Bears 0 3 7 0 7 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
1 2 3 4 Total Bears 0 0 0 3 3 No. 13 Aggies 0 11 7 14 32
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
1 2 3 4 Total No. 11 Grizzlies 14 7 14 0 35 Bears 0 0 0 0 0
1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 3 21 24 0 48 Bears 3 14 0 0 17
Venues Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
