CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Toledo

9–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Gary Pinkel.

Schedule and results

Toledo in 1997, game by game: won vs. Purdue 36–22; won vs. Eastern Michigan 38–35; won at Western Michigan 23–13; won vs. Nevada 31–13; won at Central Michigan 41–10; won vs. Northern Illinois 41–14; won at Bowling Green 35–20; won vs. Miami (OH) 35–28; lost at Ball State 3–35; won vs. Akron 42–10; lost at UCF 17–34; lost vs. Marshall 14–34+32−32Won 36–22 vs. Purdue+14PurdueWon 38–35 vs. Eastern Michigan+3Eastern MichiganWon 23–13 at Western Michigan+10Western MichiganWon 31–13 vs. Nevada+18NevadaWon 41–10 at Central Michigan+31Central MichiganWon 41–14 vs. Northern Illinois+27Northern Illino…Won 35–20 at Bowling Green+15Bowling GreenWon 35–28 vs. Miami (OH)+7Miami (OH)Lost 3–35 at Ball State-32Ball StateWon 42–10 vs. Akron+32AkronLost 17–34 at UCF-17UCFLost 14–34 vs. Marshall-20Marshall
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsPurdueW 36–⁠2265%
Sep 13vsEastern MichiganW 38–⁠3573%
Sep 20atWestern MichiganW 23–⁠1358%
Sep 27vsNevadaW 31–⁠1363%
Oct 11atCentral MichiganW 41–⁠1069%
Oct 18vsNorthern IllinoisW 41–⁠1492%
Oct 25atBowling GreenW 35–⁠2070%
Nov 1vsMiami (OH)W 35–⁠2857%
Nov 8atBall StateL 3–⁠3570%
Nov 15vsAkronW 42–⁠1085%
Nov 22atUCFL 17–⁠3461%
Dec 5Bowls & playoffvsMarshallMid-American Championship GameL 14–⁠3451%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Marshall 34–⁠14 in the Mid-American Championship Game; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 34th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 75 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 24
  2. Wk 11: 22
  3. Wk 12: 18

MAC West champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 18
Points
356–⁠268
Coach
Gary Pinkel
Elo
1516 +12 this season
SP+ rating
8.2 No. 42 of 112; offense No. 36, defense No. 47
SRS
2.5 No. 49 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Dave Christensen
Defensive coordinator
Tom Amstutz

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 4Clarence Love DBPhiladelphia Eagles

1997 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall7–⁠110–⁠3
Toledo7–⁠19–⁠3
Western Michigan6–⁠28–⁠3
Miami (OH)6–⁠28–⁠3
Ohio6–⁠28–⁠3
Ball State4–⁠45–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠54–⁠7
Bowling Green3–⁠53–⁠8
Kent State3–⁠53–⁠8
Akron2–⁠72–⁠9
Central Michigan1–⁠72–⁠9
Northern Illinois0–⁠80–⁠11

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