CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Western Michigan

6–⁠5 (5–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Elliot Uzelac.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 1981, game by game: won at Kent State 20–17; won vs. Marshall 14–3; lost at Wisconsin 10–21; won at Bowling Green 21–7; lost vs. Central Michigan 13–15; lost at Miami (OH) 19–20; won vs. Ball State 14–3; won at Northern Illinois 23–12; lost vs. Toledo 14–28; lost at Ohio 20–37; won vs. Eastern Michigan 38–7+31−17Won 20–17 at Kent State+3Kent StateWon 14–3 vs. Marshall+11MarshallLost 10–21 at Wisconsin-11WisconsinWon 21–7 at Bowling Green+14Bowling GreenLost 13–15 vs. Central Michigan-2Central MichiganLost 19–20 at Miami (OH)-1Miami (OH)Won 14–3 vs. Ball State+11Ball StateWon 23–12 at Northern Illinois+11Northern Illino…Lost 14–28 vs. Toledo-14ToledoLost 20–37 at Ohio-17OhioWon 38–7 vs. Eastern Michigan+31Eastern Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atKent StateW 20–⁠1761%
Sep 19vsMarshallW 14–⁠381%
Sep 26atWisconsinL 10–⁠2148%
Oct 3atBowling GreenW 21–⁠754%
Oct 10vsCentral MichiganL 13–⁠1555%
Oct 17atMiami (OH)L 19–⁠2041%
Oct 24vsBall StateW 14–⁠368%
Oct 31atNorthern IllinoisW 23–⁠1260%
Nov 7vsToledoL 14–⁠2864%
Nov 14atOhioL 20–⁠3760%
Nov 21vsEastern MichiganW 38–⁠789%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Eastern Michigan 38–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1981.

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 5th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
206–⁠170
Coach
Elliot Uzelac
Elo
1477 −29 this season
SP+ rating
-1.7 No. 80 of 132; offense No. 101, defense No. 52
SRS
−8.1 No. 106 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Reggie Hinton and John Schuster
Most valuable player
Bob Phillips

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.