CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 Ball State

6–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Paul Schudel.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 1986, game by game: won at Northern Illinois 20–10; lost at Miami (OH) 7–45; lost at Purdue 3–20; won vs. Toledo 27–10; won vs. Indiana State 16–3; won vs. Ohio 30–9; won vs. Kent State 26–17; won vs. Western Michigan 24–10; lost at Eastern Michigan 7–14; lost at Bowling Green 17–20; lost at Central Michigan 22–43+21−38Won 20–10 at Northern Illinois+10Northern Illino…Lost 7–45 at Miami (OH)-38Miami (OH)Lost 3–20 at Purdue-17PurdueWon 27–10 vs. Toledo+17ToledoWon 16–3 vs. Indiana State+13Indiana StateWon 30–9 vs. Ohio+21OhioWon 26–17 vs. Kent State+9Kent StateWon 24–10 vs. Western Michigan+14Western MichiganLost 7–14 at Eastern Michigan-7Eastern MichiganLost 17–20 at Bowling Green-3Bowling GreenLost 22–43 at Central Michigan-21Central Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atNorthern IllinoisW 20–⁠1036%
Sep 6atMiami (OH)L 7–⁠4526%
Sep 13atPurdueL 3–⁠2031%
Sep 27vsToledoW 27–⁠1051%
Oct 4vsIndiana StateW 16–⁠368%
Oct 11vsOhioW 30–⁠975%
Oct 18vsKent StateW 26–⁠1768%
Oct 25vsWestern MichiganW 24–⁠1067%
Nov 1atEastern MichiganL 7–⁠1451%
Nov 8atBowling GreenL 17–⁠2036%
Nov 15atCentral MichiganL 22–⁠4342%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Central Michigan 43–⁠22; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
199–⁠201
Coach
Paul Schudel
Elo
1426 +31 this season
SP+ rating
-11.8 No. 80 of 101; offense No. 94, defense No. 62
SRS
−17.6 No. 94 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

1986 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami (OH)6–⁠28–⁠4
Toledo5–⁠37–⁠4
Bowling Green5–⁠35–⁠6
Kent State5–⁠35–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠46–⁠5
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠5
Central Michigan4–⁠45–⁠5
Western Michigan3–⁠53–⁠8
Ohio0–⁠81–⁠10

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