2005 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

The 2005 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire during the 2005 NCAA Division I-AA football season. It was the program's 111th season and they finished as Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) co-champions with Richmond after posting a 7–1 record in conference play.^[1][2] The Wildcats earned a berth as the #1 seed into the 16-team Division I-AA playoffs, but were upset in the quarterfinals by Northern Iowa, 21–24. New Hampshire was led by seventh-year head coach Sean McDonnell.

2005 New Hampshire Wildcats football
A-10 co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 21–24 vs. Northern Iowa
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Division	North Division
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 5
Record	11–2 (7–1 A-10)
Head coach	Sean McDonnell (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Chip Kelly (7th season)
Home stadium	Cowell Stadium (capacity: 6,500)
Seasons ← 2004 2006 →

2005 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 5 New Hampshire x+^		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 19 UMass		6	–	2					7	–	4
Hofstra		5	–	3					8	–	4
Maine		3	–	5					5	–	6
Northeastern		2	–	6					3	–	9
Rhode Island		2	–	6					4	–	7
South Division
No. 8 Richmond x+^		7	–	1					9	–	4
No. 25 James Madison		5	–	3					7	–	4
Towson		3	–	5					7	–	4
Delaware		3	–	5					6	–	5
William & Mary		3	–	5					5	–	6
Villanova		2	–	6					4	–	7
+ – Conference co-champions x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	9:00 p.m.	at UC Davis*	No. 7	Toomey Field Davis, CA		W 17–13	6,375
September 17	3:00 p.m.	at Towson	No. 3	Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD		W 62–21	3,014
September 24	12:00 p.m.	Dartmouth*	No. 2	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (rivalry)		W 49–20	7,145
October 1	12:30 p.m.	Villanova	No. 1	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	CN8	W 45–17	8,012
October 8	1:00 p.m.	at No. 17 William & Mary	No. 1	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA		L 10–42	4,149
October 15	12:00 p.m.	Rhode Island	No. 8	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH		W 53–9	5,596
October 22	12:00 p.m.	Northeastern	No. 5	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH		W 52–21	7,317
October 29	12:00 p.m.	at No. 7 UMass	No. 4	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA (rivalry)		W 34–28	12,359
November 5	1:00 p.m.	at Hofstra	No. 2	James M. Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY		W 29–26	4,215
November 12	12:00 p.m.	Iona*	No. 1	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH		W 56–0	5,345
November 19	12:00 p.m.	at Maine	No. 1	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)		W 59–47	8,606
November 26	12:00 p.m.	No. 24 Colgate*	No. 1	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	ESPN2	W 55–21	7,806
December 3	11:00 a.m.	No. 2 Northern Iowa*	No. 1	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	ESPNGP	L 21–24	8,448
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Awards and honors

• First Team All-America – David Ball (AFCA, Associated Press, Walter Camp); Ricky Santos (Walter Camp); Jonathan Williams (Associated Press, Walter Camp)
• First Team All-Atlantic 10 – David Ball, Ricky Santos, Jonathan Williams
• Walter Payton Award – Ricky Santos
• Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year – Ricky Santos
• Eddie Robinson Award – Sean McDonnell

References

1. "New Hampshire Wildcats Schedule 2005". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
2. "2017 New Hampshire Wildcats Football Media Guide". unh.edu. University of New Hampshire. Retrieved May 12, 2019.