1981 Illinois State
3–7 (0–5 Missouri Valley Conference), coached by Bob Otolski. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Western Illinois 31–7Sep 5
By 24 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs Western Illinois | W 31–7 | 79% |
| Sep 19 | vs Eastern Michigan | W 28–7 | 69% |
| Sep 26 | at Northern Illinois | L 7–40 | 32% |
| Oct 3 | at Southern Illinois | L 3–14 | 39% |
| Oct 10 | vs Eastern Illinois | W 25–3 | 74% |
| Oct 17 | vs New Mexico State | L 10–20 | 62% |
| Oct 24 | at Indiana State | L 14–34 | 23% |
| Oct 31 | atWichita State | L 7–38 | 28% |
| Nov 14 | vs Drake | L 10–13 | 23% |
| Nov 21 | vs Ball State | L 10–14 | 42% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Ball State 14–10; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the Missouri Valley Conference.
In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 57 on file).
- Record
- 3–7
- Conference
- 0–5 8th in Missouri Valley Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 145–190
- Coach
- Bob Otolski
- Elo
- 1264 −75 this season
- SP+ rating
- -25.5 No. 127 of 132; offense No. 131, defense No. 116
- SRS
- −22.9 No. 130 of 137 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captains
- Willie Boyd, Anthony Office and Wade Mauland
- Most valuable player
- Anthony Office
1981 Missouri Valley Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 5–1 | 10–1 | |
 Tulsa | 5–1 | 6–5 | |
| Southern Illinois | 5–2 | 7–4 | |
| West Texas | 3–3 | 7–4 | |
| Wichita State | 3–3–1 | 4–6–1 | |
| Indiana State | 2–4–1 | 5–5–1 | |
| New Mexico State | 1–5 | 3–8 | |
 Illinois State | 0–5 | 3–7 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.