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1981 Kent State

4–⁠7 (3–⁠6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Ed Chlebek.

Schedule and results

Kent State in 1981, game by game: lost vs. Western Michigan 17–20; won vs. Akron 17–6; lost at Iowa State 19–28; lost at Miami (OH) 13–20; won vs. Northern Illinois 31–10; won at Ball State 17–7; lost at Central Michigan 3–24; lost at Bowling Green 7–13; won vs. Eastern Michigan 13–7; lost at Toledo 0–17; lost vs. Ohio 7–20+21−21Lost 17–20 vs. Western Michigan-3Western MichiganWon 17–6 vs. Akron+11AkronLost 19–28 at Iowa State-9Iowa StateLost 13–20 at Miami (OH)-7Miami (OH)Won 31–10 vs. Northern Illinois+21Northern Illino…Won 17–7 at Ball State+10Ball StateLost 3–24 at Central Michigan-21Central MichiganLost 7–13 at Bowling Green-6Bowling GreenWon 13–7 vs. Eastern Michigan+6Eastern MichiganLost 0–17 at Toledo-17ToledoLost 7–20 vs. Ohio-13Ohio
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsWestern MichiganL 17–⁠2039%
Sep 19vsAkronW 17–⁠669%
Sep 26atIowa StateL 19–⁠2826%
Oct 3atMiami (OH)L 13–⁠2023%
Oct 10vsNorthern IllinoisW 31–⁠1046%
Oct 17atBall StateW 17–⁠732%
Oct 24atCentral MichiganL 3–⁠2429%
Oct 31atBowling GreenL 7–⁠1335%
Nov 7vsEastern MichiganW 13–⁠783%
Nov 14atToledoL 0–⁠1726%
Nov 21vsOhioL 7–⁠2054%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio 20–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 30th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

Record
4–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠6 7th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
144–⁠172
Coach
Ed Chlebek
Elo
1360 −13 this season
SP+ rating
-9.4 No. 106 of 132; offense No. 127, defense No. 52
SRS
−13.1 No. 118 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

1981 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo8–⁠19–⁠3
Miami (OH)6–⁠1–⁠18–⁠2–⁠1
Central Michigan7–⁠27–⁠4
Bowling Green5–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Western Michigan5–⁠46–⁠5
Ohio5–⁠45–⁠6
Kent State3–⁠64–⁠7
Ball State2–⁠64–⁠7
Northern Illinois2–⁠73–⁠8
Eastern Michigan0–⁠90–⁠11

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