2017 Northern Colorado Bears football team

The 2017 Northern Colorado Bears football team represented the University of Northern Colorado in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by seventh-year head coach Earnest Collins Jr. and played their home games at Nottingham Field. They were a member of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 3–7, 2–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place.

2017 Northern Colorado Bears football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	3–7 (2–6 Big Sky)
Head coach	Earnest Collins Jr. (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	James Jones (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Larry Kerr (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Nottingham Field

2017 Big Sky Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 14 Southern Utah ^		7	–	1					9	–	3
No. 5 Weber State ^		7	–	1					11	–	3
Northern Arizona ^		6	–	2					7	–	5
No. 21 Eastern Washington		6	–	2					7	–	4
Sacramento State		6	–	2					7	–	4
Montana		5	–	3					7	–	4
Montana State		5	–	3					5	–	6
UC Davis		3	–	5					5	–	6
Idaho State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Northern Colorado		2	–	6					3	–	7
North Dakota		2	–	6					3	–	8
Cal Poly		1	–	7					1	–	10
Portland State		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	2:00 p.m.	College of Idaho*	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	CET	W 41–14	3,547
September 9	5:30 p.m.	at No. 16 (FBS) Florida*	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL		Cancelled[a]
September 16	12:00 p.m.	at Colorado*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	P12N	L 21–41	44,318
September 23	1:00 p.m.	Idaho State	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	Pluto TV	W 43–42	5,273
September 30	5:00 p.m.	at Northern Arizona	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	Pluto TV	L 20–48	5,107
October 7	1:30 p.m.	at North Dakota	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	Pluto TV	L 38–48	10,234
October 21	12:30 p.m.	Montana State	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	ATTRM	L 24–27	5,378
October 28	12:30 p.m.	No. 25 Southern Utah	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	CET	L 14–27	3,869
November 4	7:00 p.m.	at Sacramento State	Hornet Stadium Sacramento, CA	ELVN	L 21–50	4,612
November 11	1:00 p.m.	at Montana	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	ATTRM	L 14–44	22,048
November 18	11:30 a.m.	Cal Poly	Nottingham Field Greeley, CO	CET	W 42–0	3,650
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^{^[a]} The game between Florida and Northern Colorado, had been rescheduled in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Irma, but on September 7, both schools agreed to canceled the game completely.

Game summaries

College of Idaho

	1	2	3	4	Total
Coyotes	0	7	0	7	14
Bears	28	7	3	3	41

At Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	7	7	0	21
Buffaloes	14	14	3	10	41

See also: 2017 Colorado Buffaloes football team

Idaho State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	10	7	13	12	42
Bears	10	10	20	3	43

See also: 2017 Idaho State Bengals football team

At Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	7	13	0	20
Lumberjacks	7	13	14	14	48

See also: 2017 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

At North Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	17	14	0	38
Fighting Hawks	14	14	10	10	48

See also: 2017 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

Montana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	0	7	3	17	27
Bears	7	14	0	3	24

See also: 2017 Montana State Bobcats football team

Southern Utah

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 25 Thunderbirds	13	7	7	0	27
Bears	0	7	7	0	14

See also: 2017 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

At Sacramento State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	14	7	0	0	21
Hornets	14	6	9	21	50

See also: 2017 Sacramento State Hornets football team

At Montana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	0	7	14
Grizzlies	14	23	7	0	44

See also: 2017 Montana Grizzlies football team

Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	0	0	0	0
Bears	0	21	21	0	42

See also: 2017 Cal Poly Mustangs football team