CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1976 Ball State

8–⁠3 (4–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Dave McClain.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 1976, game by game: won vs. Louisiana Tech 41–28; won at Miami (OH) 23–6; won at Toledo 27–14; won at Dayton 20–13; lost at Illinois State 7–10; lost vs. Akron 0–3; won vs. App State 20–7; won at Northern Illinois 33–7; won vs. Indiana State 24–9; lost vs. Western Michigan 10–24; won at Eastern Michigan 52–3+49−14Won 41–28 vs. Louisiana Tech+13Louisiana TechWon 23–6 at Miami (OH)+17Miami (OH)Won 27–14 at Toledo+13ToledoWon 20–13 at Dayton+7DaytonLost 7–10 at Illinois State-3Illinois StateLost 0–3 vs. Akron-3AkronWon 20–7 vs. App State+13App StateWon 33–7 at Northern Illinois+26Northern Illino…Won 24–9 vs. Indiana State+15Indiana StateLost 10–24 vs. Western Michigan-14Western MichiganWon 52–3 at Eastern Michigan+49Eastern Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11vsLouisiana TechW 41–⁠2853%
Sep 18atMiami (OH)W 23–⁠632%
Sep 25atToledoW 27–⁠1467%
Oct 2atDaytonW 20–⁠1372%
Oct 9atIllinois StateL 7–⁠1091%
Oct 16vsAkronL 0–⁠388%
Oct 23vsApp StateW 20–⁠763%
Oct 30atNorthern IllinoisW 33–⁠782%
Nov 6vsIndiana StateW 24–⁠993%
Nov 13vsWestern MichiganL 10–⁠2480%
Nov 20atEastern MichiganW 52–⁠388%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Eastern Michigan 52–⁠3; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Mid-American Conference champions4–⁠1 in the conference

Record
8–⁠3
Conference
4–⁠1 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
257–⁠124
Coach
Dave McClain
Elo
1524 +27 this season
SP+ rating
7.6 No. 47 of 132; offense No. 51, defense No. 46
SRS
−0.4 No. 70 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Art Yaroch and Mike Lecklider

1976 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ball State4–⁠18–⁠3
Kent State6–⁠28–⁠4
Ohio6–⁠27–⁠4
Western Michigan6–⁠37–⁠4
Central Michigan4–⁠37–⁠4
Bowling Green4–⁠36–⁠5
Miami (OH)2–⁠43–⁠8
Toledo2–⁠63–⁠8
Eastern Michigan1–⁠52–⁠9
Northern Illinois0–⁠61–⁠10

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