CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1980 Ball State

6–⁠5 (5–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Dwight Wallace.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 1980, game by game: lost at Central Michigan 17–21; won at Northern Illinois 18–17; won vs. Toledo 27–7; lost vs. Miami (OH) 9–42; lost at McNeese 7–24; won at Eastern Michigan 26–0; lost vs. Western Michigan 15–17; lost at Bowling Green 21–24; won vs. Kent State 34–7; won vs. Ohio 37–18; won vs. Indiana State 28–21+27−33Lost 17–21 at Central Michigan-4Central MichiganWon 18–17 at Northern Illinois+1Northern Illino…Won 27–7 vs. Toledo+20ToledoLost 9–42 vs. Miami (OH)-33Miami (OH)Lost 7–24 at McNeese-17McNeeseWon 26–0 at Eastern Michigan+26Eastern MichiganLost 15–17 vs. Western Michigan-2Western MichiganLost 21–24 at Bowling Green-3Bowling GreenWon 34–7 vs. Kent State+27Kent StateWon 37–18 vs. Ohio+19OhioWon 28–21 vs. Indiana State+7Indiana State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6atCentral MichiganL 17–⁠2131%
Sep 13atNorthern IllinoisW 18–⁠1752%
Sep 20vsToledoW 27–⁠767%
Sep 27vsMiami (OH)L 9–⁠4263%
Oct 4atMcNeeseL 7–⁠2437%
Oct 18atEastern MichiganW 26–⁠072%
Oct 25vsWestern MichiganL 15–⁠1754%
Nov 1atBowling GreenL 21–⁠2449%
Nov 8vsKent StateW 34–⁠781%
Nov 15vsOhioW 37–⁠1855%
Nov 22vsIndiana StateW 28–⁠2170%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Indiana State 28–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 5th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
239–⁠198
Coach
Dwight Wallace
Elo
1528 −8 this season
SP+ rating
6.2 No. 54 of 133; offense No. 64, defense No. 52
SRS
−6.9 No. 95 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

1980 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan7–⁠29–⁠2
Western Michigan6–⁠37–⁠4
Northern Illinois4–⁠37–⁠4
Miami (OH)4–⁠35–⁠6
Ohio5–⁠46–⁠5
Ball State5–⁠46–⁠5
Bowling Green4–⁠44–⁠7
Toledo3–⁠64–⁠7
Kent State3–⁠63–⁠8
Eastern Michigan1–⁠71–⁠9

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