1981 Southern Illinois
7–4 (5–2 Missouri Valley Conference), coached by Rey Dempsey. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Louisiana 41–0Oct 24
By 41 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at McNeese | L 12–27 | 18% |
| Sep 12 | vsWichita State | L 7–13 | 51% |
| Sep 19 | vs Tennessee State | L 14–17 | 40% |
| Sep 26 | at Tulsa | W 36–34 | 24% |
| Oct 3 | vs Illinois State | W 14–3 | 61% |
| Oct 10 | atWest Texas | W 29–22 | 25% |
| Oct 17 | at Fresno State | W 24–18 | 50% |
| Oct 24 | vs Louisiana | W 41–0 | 61% |
| Oct 31 | at Indiana State | W 17–3 | 40% |
| Nov 7 | vs Drake | L 17–22 | 55% |
| Nov 14 | at New Mexico State | W 23–15 | 64% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat New Mexico State 23–15; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Missouri Valley Conference.
In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 62 on file).
- Record
- 7–4
- Conference
- 5–2 3rd in Missouri Valley Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 234–174
- Coach
- Rey Dempsey
- Elo
- 1499 +107 this season
- SP+ rating
- 7.1 No. 45 of 132; offense No. 64, defense No. 45
- SRS
- 0.8 No. 64 of 137 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- —
1981 Missouri Valley Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 5–1 | 10–1 | |
| Tulsa | 5–1 | 6–5 | |
 Southern Illinois | 5–2 | 7–4 | |
| West Texas | 3–3 | 7–4 | |
| Wichita State | 3–3–1 | 4–6–1 | |
| Indiana State | 2–4–1 | 5–5–1 | |
| New Mexico State | 1–5 | 3–8 | |
| Illinois State | 0–5 | 3–7 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.