CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1998 Western Michigan

7–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Gary Darnell.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 1998, game by game: won vs. Northern Illinois 37–23; lost at Indiana 30–45; lost at Toledo 7–35; lost vs. Ohio 35–37; won vs. UL Monroe 27–14; won at Vanderbilt 27–24; won vs. Eastern Michigan 45–35; lost at Central Michigan 24–26; won at Kent State 48–23; won at Ball State 24–23; won vs. Bowling Green 56–27+29−28Won 37–23 vs. Northern Illinois+14Northern Illino…Lost 30–45 at Indiana-15IndianaLost 7–35 at Toledo-28ToledoLost 35–37 vs. Ohio-2OhioWon 27–14 vs. UL Monroe+13UL MonroeWon 27–24 at Vanderbilt+3VanderbiltWon 45–35 vs. Eastern Michigan+10Eastern MichiganLost 24–26 at Central Michigan-2Central MichiganWon 48–23 at Kent State+25Kent StateWon 24–23 at Ball State+1Ball StateWon 56–27 vs. Bowling Green+29Bowling Green
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsNorthern IllinoisW 37–⁠2383%
Sep 12atIndianaL 30–⁠4557%
Sep 19atToledoL 7–⁠3537%
Sep 26vsOhioL 35–⁠3758%
Oct 3vsUL MonroeW 27–⁠1461%
Oct 10atVanderbiltW 27–⁠2458%
Oct 17vsEastern MichiganW 45–⁠3569%
Oct 24atCentral MichiganL 24–⁠2658%
Oct 31atKent StateW 48–⁠2376%
Nov 7atBall StateW 24–⁠2362%
Nov 14vsBowling GreenW 56–⁠2762%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Bowling Green 56–⁠27; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
7–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
360–⁠312
Coach
Gary Darnell
Elo
1512 +15 this season
SP+ rating
-11.3 No. 86 of 112; offense No. 47, defense No. 102
SRS
−10.3 No. 86 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bill Cubit
Defensive coordinator
Chuck Driesbach
Most valuable player
Tim Lester

1998 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall7–⁠112–⁠1
Miami (OH)7–⁠110–⁠1
Toledo6–⁠27–⁠5
Western Michigan5–⁠37–⁠4
Central Michigan5–⁠36–⁠5
Bowling Green5–⁠35–⁠6
Ohio5–⁠35–⁠6
Akron3–⁠64–⁠7
Eastern Michigan3–⁠63–⁠8
Northern Illinois2–⁠62–⁠9
Ball State1–⁠71–⁠10
Kent State0–⁠80–⁠11

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