CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1980 Northern Illinois

7–⁠4 (4–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Bill Mallory.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 1980, game by game: won at Long Beach State 16–9; lost vs. Ball State 17–18; lost vs. Western Michigan 6–35; won at Ohio 22–21; won at Southern Illinois 20–17; lost vs. Illinois State 18–28; won vs. Central Michigan 21–0; won at Wichita State 17–14; won at Kent State 35–14; lost at Toledo 6–13; won vs. Eastern Michigan 38–6+32−29Won 16–9 at Long Beach State+7Long Beach StateLost 17–18 vs. Ball State-1Ball StateLost 6–35 vs. Western Michigan-29Western MichiganWon 22–21 at Ohio+1OhioWon 20–17 at Southern Illinois+3Southern Illino…Lost 18–28 vs. Illinois State-10Illinois StateWon 21–0 vs. Central Michigan+21Central MichiganWon 17–14 at Wichita State+3Wichita StateWon 35–14 at Kent State+21Kent StateLost 6–13 at Toledo-7ToledoWon 38–6 vs. Eastern Michigan+32Eastern Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atLong Beach StateW 16–⁠938%
Sep 13vsBall StateL 17–⁠1848%
Sep 20vsWestern MichiganL 6–⁠3546%
Sep 27atOhioW 22–⁠2138%
Oct 4atSouthern IllinoisW 20–⁠1738%
Oct 11vsIllinois StateL 18–⁠2883%
Oct 18vsCentral MichiganW 21–⁠030%
Oct 25atWichita StateW 17–⁠1445%
Nov 1atKent StateW 35–⁠1464%
Nov 8atToledoL 6–⁠1352%
Nov 22vsEastern MichiganW 38–⁠687%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Eastern Michigan 38–⁠6; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
7–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
216–⁠175
Coach
Bill Mallory
Elo
1472 +40 this season
SP+ rating
2.2 No. 62 of 133; offense No. 86, defense No. 40
SRS
−8.1 No. 99 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Joe Novak
Captains
Mike Terna, Jim Hannula, Mike Pinckney and Jim Latanski
Most valuable player
Jim Latanski

1980 Mid-American Conference standings

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.