1978 Southern Illinois
7–4 (3–2 Missouri Valley Conference), coached by Rey Dempsey. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Illinois State 26–0Oct 7
By 26 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9 | at Drake | L 14–38 | 43% |
| Sep 16 | at Lamar | W 22–20 | 43% |
| Sep 23 | vsWest Texas | W 17–3 | 44% |
| Sep 30 | vs New Mexico State | W 43–39 | 53% |
| Oct 7 | at Illinois State | W 26–0 | 63% |
| Oct 14 | vs Arkansas State | L 24–26 | 56% |
| Oct 21 | atWichita State | L 7–33 | 41% |
| Oct 28 | vs Northern Illinois | L 13–14 | 67% |
| Nov 4 | at Indiana State | W 28–7 | 56% |
| Nov 11 | vs Marshall | W 15–14 | 80% |
| Nov 18 | at Louisiana | W 10–9 | 44% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Louisiana 10–9; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Missouri Valley Conference.
In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 62 on file).
- Record
- 7–4
- Conference
- 3–2 3rd in Missouri Valley Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 219–203
- Coach
- Rey Dempsey
- Elo
- 1402 +44 this season
- SP+ rating
- -17.6 No. 123 of 133; offense No. 123, defense No. 111
- SRS
- −14.8 No. 120 of 138 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- —
1978 Missouri Valley Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico State | 5–1 | 6–5 | |
 Tulsa | 3–1 | 9–2 | |
 Southern Illinois | 3–2 | 7–4 | |
| Drake | 3–3 | 4–7 | |
| Indiana State | 2–3 | 3–8 | |
| Wichita State | 2–4 | 4–7 | |
| West Texas | 1–5 | 3–8 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.