CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Akron

2–⁠9 (2–⁠7 Mid-American Conference), coached by Lee Owens.

Schedule and results

Akron in 1997, game by game: lost at No. 6 Nebraska 14–59; lost at Miami (OH) 20–49; lost vs. Bowling Green 28–31; lost at No. 13 LSU 0–56; won vs. Central Michigan 53–14; lost at Marshall 17–52; lost at Eastern Michigan 0–45; lost vs. Ohio 17–21; lost at Ball State 14–31; won vs. Kent State 45–35; lost at Toledo 10–42+39−56Lost 14–59 at No. 6 Nebraska-45No. 6 NebraskaLost 20–49 at Miami (OH)-29Miami (OH)Lost 28–31 vs. Bowling Green-3Bowling GreenLost 0–56 at No. 13 LSU-56No. 13 LSUWon 53–14 vs. Central Michigan+39Central MichiganLost 17–52 at Marshall-35MarshallLost 0–45 at Eastern Michigan-45Eastern MichiganLost 17–21 vs. Ohio-4OhioLost 14–31 at Ball State-17Ball StateWon 45–35 vs. Kent State+10Kent StateLost 10–42 at Toledo-32Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30at6NebraskaL 14–⁠5910%
Sep 13atMiami (OH)L 20–⁠4924%
Sep 20vsBowling GreenL 28–⁠3150%
Sep 27at13LSUL 0–⁠5614%
Oct 4vsCentral MichiganW 53–⁠1448%
Oct 11atMarshallL 17–⁠5235%
Oct 18atEastern MichiganL 0–⁠4539%
Oct 25vsOhioL 17–⁠2126%
Nov 1atBall StateL 14–⁠3132%
Nov 8vsKent StateW 45–⁠3560%
Nov 15atToledoL 10–⁠4215%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Toledo 42–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; 10th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 64 on file).

Record
2–⁠9
Conference
2–⁠7 10th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
218–⁠435
Coach
Lee Owens
Elo
1319 −75 this season
SP+ rating
-12.8 No. 90 of 112; offense No. 60, defense No. 102
SRS
−15.4 No. 100 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Paul Winters
Defensive coordinator
David Snowball

1997 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall7–⁠110–⁠3
Toledo7–⁠19–⁠3
Western Michigan6–⁠28–⁠3
Miami (OH)6–⁠28–⁠3
Ohio6–⁠28–⁠3
Ball State4–⁠45–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠54–⁠7
Bowling Green3–⁠53–⁠8
Kent State3–⁠53–⁠8
Akron2–⁠72–⁠9
Central Michigan1–⁠72–⁠9
Northern Illinois0–⁠80–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.