CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1987 Northern Illinois

5–⁠5–⁠1, coached by Jerry Pettibone.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 1987, game by game: lost vs. Lamar 35–39; won at Western Michigan 34–14; tied at Northwestern 16–16; lost at Eastern Michigan 31–32; won vs. Toledo 41–5; won vs. Missouri State 27–21; lost vs. Cal State Fullerton 20–21; lost at Ball State 17–42; won vs. Western Illinois 29–14; lost vs. Akron 21–27; won at UNLV 34–31+36−25Lost 35–39 vs. Lamar-4LamarWon 34–14 at Western Michigan+20Western MichiganTied 16–16 at Northwestern0NorthwesternLost 31–32 at Eastern Michigan-1Eastern MichiganWon 41–5 vs. Toledo+36ToledoWon 27–21 vs. Missouri State+6Missouri StateLost 20–21 vs. Cal State Fullerton-1Cal State Fulle…Lost 17–42 at Ball State-25Ball StateWon 29–14 vs. Western Illinois+15Western IllinoisLost 21–27 vs. Akron-6AkronWon 34–31 at UNLV+3UNLV
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsLamarL 35–⁠3974%
Sep 19atWestern MichiganW 34–⁠1437%
Sep 26atNorthwesternT 16–⁠1647%
Oct 3atEastern MichiganL 31–⁠3231%
Oct 10vsToledoW 41–⁠546%
Oct 17vsMissouri StateW 27–⁠2174%
Oct 24vsCal State FullertonL 20–⁠2159%
Oct 31atBall StateL 17–⁠4250%
Nov 7vsWestern IllinoisW 29–⁠1472%
Nov 14vsAkronL 21–⁠2778%
Nov 28atUNLVW 34–⁠3134%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UNLV 34–⁠31; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
5–⁠5–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked
Points
305–⁠262
Coach
Jerry Pettibone
Elo
1420 +18 this season
SP+ rating
-3.8 No. 66 of 101; offense No. 49, defense No. 76
SRS
−9.6 No. 80 of 104 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Pat Ruel
Defensive coordinator
Tim McGuire
Captains
Ted Karamanos and Tony Savegnago
Most valuable player
Ted Karamanos