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1979 Illinois State

3–⁠8, coached by Charlie Cowdrey.

Schedule and results

Illinois State in 1979, game by game: lost at Youngstown State 27–33; won vs. Fort Hays 35–7; won vs. Eastern Michigan 24–15; lost at North Dakota 0–20; lost at Southern Illinois 0–7; lost at Ball State 14–42; lost vs. Northern Illinois 7–33; lost at Indiana State 21–23; won vs. Western Illinois 35–7; lost vs. Eastern Illinois 0–24; lost vs. Chattanooga 31–42+28−28Lost 27–33 at Youngstown State-6Youngstown StateWon 35–7 vs. Fort Hays+28Fort HaysWon 24–15 vs. Eastern Michigan+9Eastern MichiganLost 0–20 at North Dakota-20North DakotaLost 0–7 at Southern Illinois-7Southern Illino…Lost 14–42 at Ball State-28Ball StateLost 7–33 vs. Northern Illinois-26Northern Illino…Lost 21–23 at Indiana State-2Indiana StateWon 35–7 vs. Western Illinois+28Western IllinoisLost 0–24 vs. Eastern Illinois-24Eastern IllinoisLost 31–42 vs. Chattanooga-11Chattanooga
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8atYoungstown StateL 27–⁠3355%
Sep 15vsFort HaysW 35–⁠770%
Sep 22vsEastern MichiganW 24–⁠1549%
Sep 29atNorth DakotaL 0–⁠2067%
Oct 6atSouthern IllinoisL 0–⁠727%
Oct 13atBall StateL 14–⁠4213%
Oct 20vsNorthern IllinoisL 7–⁠3345%
Oct 27atIndiana StateL 21–⁠2321%
Nov 3vsWestern IllinoisW 35–⁠766%
Nov 10vsEastern IllinoisL 0–⁠2463%
Nov 17vsChattanoogaL 31–⁠4216%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Chattanooga 42–⁠31; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 49th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 57 on file).

Record
3–⁠8
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked
Points
194–⁠253
Coach
Charlie Cowdrey
Elo
1191 −102 this season
SP+ rating
-15.5 No. 120 of 135; offense No. 98, defense No. 119
SRS
−18.3 No. 129 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Most valuable player
Bill Fenn