The 1989 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Panthers offense scored 302 points while the defense allowed 211 points.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Mankato State		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	L 14–22	6,827
September 16	6:10 p.m.	at Kansas State*		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 10–8	28,275
September 23	7:00 p.m.	Fort Hays State		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	W 43–15	13,167
September 30	1:30 p.m.	at No. T–5 Southwest Missouri State		Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	L 22–37	7,512	[1]
October 7	1:30 p.m.	at Western Illinois		Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 21–10	9,121
October 14	1:30 p.m.	at Indiana State		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 24–21	8,129
October 21	1:30 p.m.	Ferris State		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	W 39–3	10,614
October 28	7:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Eastern Illinois		O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	W 31–28	9,128
November 4	1:30 p.m.	at Illinois State	No. 17	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 13–32	7,295
November 11	7:00 p.m.	Southern Illinois		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	W 38–14	7,827	[2]
November 18	7:00 p.m.	Eastern Washington		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	W 47–21	8,426
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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• Redshirted quarterback Kurt Warner would go on to an NFL career in which he played for the St. Louis Rams, New York Giants, and Arizona Cardinals.^[6]