CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1980 Kent State

3–⁠8 (3–⁠6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Ron Blackledge.

Schedule and results

Kent State in 1980, game by game: lost at Marshall 7–17; lost at Navy 3–31; lost at Central Michigan 6–21; won vs. Ohio 15–14; lost vs. Western Michigan 21–28; lost at Bowling Green 3–24; won vs. Eastern Michigan 35–12; lost vs. Northern Illinois 14–35; lost at Ball State 7–34; lost at Miami (OH) 14–49; won vs. Toledo 34–14+23−35Lost 7–17 at Marshall-10MarshallLost 3–31 at Navy-28NavyLost 6–21 at Central Michigan-15Central MichiganWon 15–14 vs. Ohio+1OhioLost 21–28 vs. Western Michigan-7Western MichiganLost 3–24 at Bowling Green-21Bowling GreenWon 35–12 vs. Eastern Michigan+23Eastern MichiganLost 14–35 vs. Northern Illinois-21Northern Illino…Lost 7–34 at Ball State-27Ball StateLost 14–49 at Miami (OH)-35Miami (OH)Won 34–14 vs. Toledo+20Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 13atMarshallL 7–⁠1745%
Sep 20atNavyL 3–⁠3120%
Sep 27atCentral MichiganL 6–⁠219%
Oct 4vsOhioW 15–⁠1438%
Oct 11vsWestern MichiganL 21–⁠2831%
Oct 18atBowling GreenL 3–⁠2424%
Oct 25vsEastern MichiganW 35–⁠1262%
Nov 1vsNorthern IllinoisL 14–⁠3536%
Nov 8atBall StateL 7–⁠3419%
Nov 15atMiami (OH)L 14–⁠4914%
Nov 22vsToledoW 34–⁠1431%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Toledo 34–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 44th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

Record
3–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠6 tied for 8th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
159–⁠279
Coach
Ron Blackledge
Elo
1310 −27 this season
SP+ rating
-15.9 No. 121 of 133; offense No. 114, defense No. 113
SRS
−20.5 No. 132 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

1980 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan7–⁠29–⁠2
Western Michigan6–⁠37–⁠4
Northern Illinois4–⁠37–⁠4
Miami (OH)4–⁠35–⁠6
Ohio5–⁠46–⁠5
Ball State5–⁠46–⁠5
Bowling Green4–⁠44–⁠7
Toledo3–⁠64–⁠7
Kent State3–⁠63–⁠8
Eastern Michigan1–⁠71–⁠9

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