CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Ball State

5–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Bill Lynch.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 1997, game by game: lost at Miami (OH) 10–27; won vs. James Madison 24–6; lost at Indiana 6–33; lost at Purdue 14–28; lost vs. Marshall 16–42; lost at Western Michigan 13–21; lost at Eastern Michigan 32–38; won vs. Central Michigan 37–34; won at Northern Illinois 21–14; won vs. Akron 31–14; won vs. No. 18 Toledo 35–3+32−27Lost 10–27 at Miami (OH)-17Miami (OH)Won 24–6 vs. James Madison+18James MadisonLost 6–33 at Indiana-27IndianaLost 14–28 at Purdue-14PurdueLost 16–42 vs. Marshall-26MarshallLost 13–21 at Western Michigan-8Western MichiganLost 32–38 at Eastern Michigan-6Eastern MichiganWon 37–34 vs. Central Michigan+3Central MichiganWon 21–14 at Northern Illinois+7Northern Illino…Won 31–14 vs. Akron+17AkronWon 35–3 vs. No. 18 Toledo+32No. 18 Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atMiami (OH)L 10–⁠2743%
Sep 6vsJames MadisonW 24–⁠684%
Sep 13atIndianaL 6–⁠3355%
Sep 20atPurdueL 14–⁠2846%
Sep 27vsMarshallL 16–⁠4268%
Oct 4atWestern MichiganL 13–⁠2148%
Oct 11atEastern MichiganL 32–⁠3846%
Oct 18vsCentral MichiganW 37–⁠3461%
Oct 25atNorthern IllinoisW 21–⁠1468%
Nov 1vsAkronW 31–⁠1468%
Nov 8vs18ToledoW 35–⁠330%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Toledo 35–⁠3; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
5–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
239–⁠260
Coach
Bill Lynch
Elo
1476 −71 this season
SP+ rating
-6.8 No. 80 of 112; offense No. 89, defense No. 68
SRS
−8.2 No. 81 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

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.