CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1983 Northern Illinois

10–⁠2 (8–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Bill Mallory.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 1983, game by game: won at Kansas 37–34; lost at Wisconsin 9–37; won at Kent State 38–7; won at Ball State 27–14; won vs. Western Michigan 27–3; won at Eastern Michigan 34–15; won vs. Bowling Green 24–23; won at Miami (OH) 17–0; lost at Central Michigan 14–30; won vs. Toledo 26–10; won vs. Ohio 41–17; won vs. Cal State Fullerton 20–13+31−28Won 37–34 at Kansas+3KansasLost 9–37 at Wisconsin-28WisconsinWon 38–7 at Kent State+31Kent StateWon 27–14 at Ball State+13Ball StateWon 27–3 vs. Western Michigan+24Western MichiganWon 34–15 at Eastern Michigan+19Eastern MichiganWon 24–23 vs. Bowling Green+1Bowling GreenWon 17–0 at Miami (OH)+17Miami (OH)Lost 14–30 at Central Michigan-16Central MichiganWon 26–10 vs. Toledo+16ToledoWon 41–17 vs. Ohio+24OhioWon 20–13 vs. Cal State Fullerton+7Cal State Fulle…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atKansasW 37–⁠3447%
Sep 10atWisconsinL 9–⁠3737%
Sep 24atKent StateW 38–⁠765%
Oct 1atBall StateW 27–⁠1444%
Oct 8vsWestern MichiganW 27–⁠357%
Oct 15atEastern MichiganW 34–⁠1579%
Oct 22vsBowling GreenW 24–⁠2361%
Oct 29atMiami (OH)W 17–⁠052%
Nov 5atCentral MichiganL 14–⁠3051%
Nov 12vsToledoW 26–⁠1049%
Nov 19vsOhioW 41–⁠1780%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvsCal State FullertonCalifornia BowlW 20–⁠1376%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Cal State Fullerton 20–⁠13 in the California Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 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.

Mid-American Conference champions8–⁠1 in the conference

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠1 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
314–⁠203
Coach
Bill Mallory
Elo
1607 +137 this season
SP+ rating
10.8 No. 32 of 108; offense No. 38, defense No. 29
SRS
1.0 No. 49 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Joe Novak
Captains
Scott Bolzan, Steve Hirsch and Jim Mukite
Most valuable player
Tim Tyrrell

1983 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Illinois8–⁠110–⁠2
Toledo7–⁠29–⁠2
Central Michigan7–⁠28–⁠3
Bowling Green7–⁠28–⁠3
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠5
Western Michigan4–⁠56–⁠5
Miami (OH)3–⁠54–⁠7
Ohio3–⁠64–⁠7
Kent State1–⁠81–⁠10
Eastern Michigan0–⁠91–⁠10

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