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1981 Ohio

5–⁠6 (5–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Brian Burke.

Schedule and results

Ohio in 1981, game by game: lost at Minnesota 17–19; won vs. Bowling Green 23–21; won vs. Ball State 30–27; lost at Toledo 14–21; lost vs. Cincinnati 9–19; won vs. Eastern Michigan 29–7; lost at Miami (OH) 14–40; lost vs. Central Michigan 21–38; lost at Northern Illinois 14–38; won vs. Western Michigan 37–20; won at Kent State 20–7+22−26Lost 17–19 at Minnesota-2MinnesotaWon 23–21 vs. Bowling Green+2Bowling GreenWon 30–27 vs. Ball State+3Ball StateLost 14–21 at Toledo-7ToledoLost 9–19 vs. Cincinnati-10CincinnatiWon 29–7 vs. Eastern Michigan+22Eastern MichiganLost 14–40 at Miami (OH)-26Miami (OH)Lost 21–38 vs. Central Michigan-17Central MichiganLost 14–38 at Northern Illinois-24Northern Illino…Won 37–20 vs. Western Michigan+17Western MichiganWon 20–7 at Kent State+13Kent State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atMinnesotaL 17–⁠1946%
Sep 19vsBowling GreenW 23–⁠2164%
Sep 26vsBall StateW 30–⁠2758%
Oct 3atToledoL 14–⁠2150%
Oct 10vsCincinnatiL 9–⁠1970%
Oct 17vsEastern MichiganW 29–⁠784%
Oct 24atMiami (OH)L 14–⁠4032%
Oct 31vsCentral MichiganL 21–⁠3842%
Nov 7atNorthern IllinoisL 14–⁠3846%
Nov 14vsWestern MichiganW 37–⁠2040%
Nov 21atKent StateW 20–⁠746%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kent State 20–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 93 on file).

Record
5–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 5th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
228–⁠257
Coach
Brian Burke
Elo
1446 −48 this season
SP+ rating
-6.7 No. 94 of 132; offense No. 72, defense No. 106
SRS
−11.6 No. 116 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

1981 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo8–⁠19–⁠3
Miami (OH)6–⁠1–⁠18–⁠2–⁠1
Central Michigan7–⁠27–⁠4
Bowling Green5–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Western Michigan5–⁠46–⁠5
Ohio5–⁠45–⁠6
Kent State3–⁠64–⁠7
Ball State2–⁠64–⁠7
Northern Illinois2–⁠73–⁠8
Eastern Michigan0–⁠90–⁠11

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