2021 Northern Colorado Bears football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	3–8 (2–6 Big Sky)
Head coach	Ed McCaffrey (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Max McCaffrey (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Scott Darnell (1st season)
Home stadium	Nottingham Field
Seasons ← 2019 2022 →

2021 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	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.

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

The Bears did not have any players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.^[2]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:00 p.m.	at Colorado*	Folsom Stadium Boulder, CO	P12N	L 7–35	44,153
September 11	5:00 p.m.	at Houston Baptist*	Husky Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN+	W 45–13	2,135
September 18	2:00 p.m.	Lamar*	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	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	Bobcat Stadium Bozeman, MT	ESPN+	L 7–40	20,127
October 9	1:00 p.m.	No. 4 Eastern Washington	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ESPN+	L 17–63	5,413
October 16	6:00 p.m.	at No. 13 UC Davis	UC Davis Health Stadium Davis, CA	ESPN+	L 3–32	10,963
October 23	6:00 p.m.	at Southern Utah	Eccles Coliseum Cedar City, UT	ESPN+	W 17–9	3,208
October 30	1:00 p.m.	No. 15 Sacramento State	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ESPN+	L 24–27	4,068
November 6	12:00 p.m.	No. 11 Montana	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ESPN+	L 0–35	4,987
November 20	1:00 p.m.	at Weber State	Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	ESPN+	L 17-48	3,242
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

• Source: Schedule

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	7	0	0	7
No. 11 Bobcats	17	10	13	0	40

	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

	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