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1988 Northern Illinois

7–⁠4, coached by Jerry Pettibone.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 1988, game by game: won vs. Akron 7–6; won vs. Middle Tennessee 14–10; won at Wisconsin 19–17; lost at Minnesota 20–31; won vs. Missouri State 17–3; lost at Toledo 20–33; lost at Louisiana 0–45; won at Southern Illinois 10–9; lost vs. Ball State 17–18; won vs. Western Illinois 16–6; won vs. Western Michigan 15–7+14−45Won 7–6 vs. Akron+1AkronWon 14–10 vs. Middle Tennessee+4Middle TennesseeWon 19–17 at Wisconsin+2WisconsinLost 20–31 at Minnesota-11MinnesotaWon 17–3 vs. Missouri State+14Missouri StateLost 20–33 at Toledo-13ToledoLost 0–45 at Louisiana-45LouisianaWon 10–9 at Southern Illinois+1Southern Illino…Lost 17–18 vs. Ball State-1Ball StateWon 16–6 vs. Western Illinois+10Western IllinoisWon 15–7 vs. Western Michigan+8Western Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsAkronW 7–⁠670%
Sep 10vsMiddle TennesseeW 14–⁠1077%
Sep 17atWisconsinW 19–⁠1752%
Sep 24atMinnesotaL 20–⁠3140%
Oct 1vsMissouri StateW 17–⁠375%
Oct 8atToledoL 20–⁠3357%
Oct 15atLouisianaL 0–⁠4530%
Oct 22atSouthern IllinoisW 10–⁠961%
Oct 29vsBall StateL 17–⁠1838%
Nov 5vsWestern IllinoisW 16–⁠672%
Nov 12vsWestern MichiganW 15–⁠737%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Western Michigan 15–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 28th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
7–⁠4
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked
Points
155–⁠185
Coach
Jerry Pettibone
Elo
1450 +4 this season
SP+ rating
-12.6 No. 83 of 102; offense No. 99, defense No. 50
SRS
−16.2 No. 92 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Mike Summers
Defensive coordinator
Tim McGuire
Captains
Mike Hollingshed, Bob Montel and Marshall Taylor
Most valuable player
Mike Hollingshed and Bob Montel