1979 Northern Illinois
5–5–1 (3–3–1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Pat Culpepper. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Illinois State 33–7Oct 20
By 26 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 15 | vs East Tennessee State | W 21–14 | 78% |
| Sep 22 | at Western Michigan | L 17–45 | 34% |
| Sep 29 | vsLong Beach State | L 3–9 | 52% |
| Oct 6 | at Eastern Michigan | T 0–0 | 51% |
| Oct 13 | at Central Michigan | L 11–31 | 12% |
| Oct 20 | at Illinois State | W 33–7 | 55% |
| Oct 27 | vs Southern Illinois | L 11–21 | 52% |
| Nov 3 | vs Kent State | W 25–0 | 64% |
| Nov 10 | vs Toledo | W 28–10 | 41% |
| Nov 17 | at Ball State | L 0–42 | 26% |
| Nov 24 | vs Ohio | W 28–27 | 50% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Ohio 28–27; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mid-American Conference.
In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).
Led the nationDave Petzke: receptions (91 catches), receiving yards (1,215 yds)
- Record
- 5–5–1
- Conference
- 3–3–1 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 177–206
- Coach
- Pat Culpepper
- Elo
- 1397 +11 this season
- SP+ rating
- -6.2 No. 100 of 135; offense No. 108, defense No. 68
- SRS
- −9.9 No. 107 of 140 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captain
- All seniors
- Most valuable player
- Frank Lewandoski and Mike Pinckney
1979 Mid-American Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan | 8–0–1 | 10–0–1 | |
| Toledo | 7–1–1 | 7–3–1 | |
| Western Michigan | 5–4 | 6–5 | |
| Ohio | 4–4 | 6–5 | |
| Ball State | 4–4 | 6–5 | |
 Northern Illinois | 3–3–1 | 5–5–1 | |
 Miami (OH) | 3–4 | 6–5 | |
 Bowling Green | 3–5 | 4–7 | |
| Eastern Michigan | 1–6–1 | 2–8–1 | |
| Kent State | 1–8 | 1–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.