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1983 Kansas

4–⁠6–⁠1 (2–⁠5 Big Eight), coached by Mike Gottfried.

Schedule and results

Kansas in 1983, game by game: lost vs. Northern Illinois 34–37; tied at TCU 16–16; won vs. Wichita State 57–6; won at No. 10 USC 26–20; lost at Iowa State 35–38; won vs. Kansas State 31–3; lost vs. Oklahoma State 10–27; lost at No. 14 Oklahoma 14–45; lost vs. Colorado 23–34; lost at No. 1 Nebraska 13–67; won vs. No. 19 Missouri 37–27+51−54Lost 34–37 vs. Northern Illinois-3Northern Illino…Tied 16–16 at TCU0TCUWon 57–6 vs. Wichita State+51Wichita StateWon 26–20 at No. 10 USC+6No. 10 USCLost 35–38 at Iowa State-3Iowa StateWon 31–3 vs. Kansas State+28Kansas StateLost 10–27 vs. Oklahoma State-17Oklahoma StateLost 14–45 at No. 14 Oklahoma-31No. 14 OklahomaLost 23–34 vs. Colorado-11ColoradoLost 13–67 at No. 1 Nebraska-54No. 1 NebraskaWon 37–27 vs. No. 19 Missouri+10No. 19 Missouri
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsNorthern IllinoisL 34–⁠3753%
Sep 10atTCUT 16–⁠1641%
Sep 17vsWichita StateW 57–⁠656%
Sep 24at10USCW 26–⁠2019%
Oct 8atIowa StateL 35–⁠3855%
Oct 15vsKansas StateW 31–⁠363%
Oct 22vsOklahoma StateL 10–⁠2747%
Oct 29at14OklahomaL 14–⁠4521%
Nov 5vsColoradoL 23–⁠3473%
Nov 12at1NebraskaL 13–⁠677%
Nov 19vs19MissouriW 37–⁠2729%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Missouri 37–⁠27; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 77th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1983.

Record
4–⁠6–⁠1
Conference
2–⁠5 tied for 6th in Big Eight
AP final
Unranked
Points
296–⁠320
Coach
Mike Gottfried
Elo
1451 +18 this season
SP+ rating
3.7 No. 51 of 108; offense No. 13, defense No. 86
SRS
0.1 No. 53 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Mike Arbanas, Paul Fairchild, Frank Seurer, E.J. Jones and Eddie Simmons

Drafted in 1984

The 1984 draft
Rd 5Paul Fairchild OGNew England Patriots
Rd 7Bruce Kallmeyer KNew England Patriots
Rd 7Renwick Atkins OTDetroit Lions

All-Big Eight

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Bobby JohnsonWRAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1983 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1983 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska7–⁠012–⁠12
Oklahoma5–⁠28–⁠4
Missouri5–⁠27–⁠5
Oklahoma State3–⁠48–⁠4
Iowa State3–⁠44–⁠7
Kansas2–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Colorado2–⁠54–⁠7
Kansas State1–⁠63–⁠8

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