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2001 Western Michigan

5–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Gary Darnell.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2001, game by game: won vs. Illinois State 48–7; lost at No. 9 Virginia Tech 0–31; lost at Michigan 21–38; won at Eastern Michigan 31–10; won vs. Akron 31–14; won vs. Bowling Green 37–28; lost at Northern Illinois 12–20; lost at Miami (OH) 11–25; lost at Toledo 35–41; won vs. Central Michigan 20–17; lost vs. Ball State 31–35+41−31Won 48–7 vs. Illinois State+41Illinois StateLost 0–31 at No. 9 Virginia Tech-31No. 9 Virginia TechLost 21–38 at Michigan-17MichiganWon 31–10 at Eastern Michigan+21Eastern MichiganWon 31–14 vs. Akron+17AkronWon 37–28 vs. Bowling Green+9Bowling GreenLost 12–20 at Northern Illinois-8Northern Illino…Lost 11–25 at Miami (OH)-14Miami (OH)Lost 35–41 at Toledo-6ToledoWon 20–17 vs. Central Michigan+3Central MichiganLost 31–35 vs. Ball State-4Ball State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsIllinois StateW 48–⁠788%
Sep 8at9Virginia TechL 0–⁠3127%
Sep 22atMichiganL 21–⁠3829%
Sep 29atEastern MichiganW 31–⁠1070%
Oct 6vsAkronW 31–⁠1470%
Oct 13vsBowling GreenW 37–⁠2872%
Oct 20atNorthern IllinoisL 12–⁠2066%
Oct 27atMiami (OH)L 11–⁠2546%
Nov 6atToledoL 35–⁠4127%
Nov 17vsCentral MichiganW 20–⁠1781%
Nov 24vsBall StateL 31–⁠3577%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ball State 35–⁠31; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 26th-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 2001.

Record
5–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 8th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
277–⁠266
Coach
Gary Darnell
Elo
1496 −68 this season
SP+ rating
-1.4 No. 72 of 117; offense No. 84, defense No. 54
SRS
−5.2 No. 80 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 51
Offensive coordinator
Brian Rock
Most valuable player
Bryan Lape

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 27— allowed
Defense0.0own 34— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

2001 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall8–⁠011–⁠2
Miami (OH)6–⁠27–⁠5
Toledo5–⁠210–⁠223
Bowling Green5–⁠38–⁠3
Kent State5–⁠36–⁠5
Northern Illinois4–⁠36–⁠5
Ball State4–⁠35–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠45–⁠6
Akron4–⁠44–⁠7
Central Michigan2–⁠63–⁠8
Eastern Michigan1–⁠62–⁠9
Buffalo1–⁠73–⁠8
Ohio1–⁠71–⁠10

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