1986 NCAA Division I-A football season

1986 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	105
Preseason AP #1	Oklahoma Sooners
Post-season
Bowl games	18
Heisman Trophy	Vinny Testaverde, Miami QB
Winner	Penn State Nittany Lions
Division I-A football seasons
← 1985 1987 →

The 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Penn State winning the national championship. Coached by Joe Paterno, they defeated Miami (Fl) 14–10 in the Fiesta Bowl. This Fiesta Bowl was the first in the game's history to decide the national championship, launching it into the top tier of bowls.

Miami came into the game #1 and Penn State #2. In a move that would come to symbolize the game for years to come, Miami arrived wearing combat fatigues while Penn State arrived wearing suits and ties.

Despite all the hype surrounding Miami, Penn State's defense harassed and harried Heisman trophy winner Vinny Testaverde throughout the Fiesta Bowl. The Hurricanes committed seven turnovers, including five interceptions thrown by Testaverde – the last of which, in the end zone with 18 seconds left, won the game for the Nittany Lions.

Conference and program changes

• The total number of Division 1-A teams dropped to 105 this season due to the loss of the Missouri Valley Conference and 5 of the 7 teams that were members of the conference: Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State, Southern Illinois, and West Texas State. Two of the league's members, Tulsa and Wichita State, became independents.

School	1985 Conference	1986 Conference
Drake Bulldogs	Missouri Valley	Dropped Program
Illinois State Redbirds	Missouri Valley (I-A)	Gateway (I-AA)
Northern Illinois Huskies	MAC	I-A Independent
Southern Illinois Huskies	Missouri Valley (I-A)	Gateway (I-AA)
Tulsa Golden Hurricane	Missouri Valley	I-A Independent
Wichita State Shockers	Missouri Valley	I-A Independent
West Texas State Buffaloes	Missouri Valley (I-A)	Lone Star (D-II)

Rule changes

• Kickoffs are moved from the 40-yard line to the 35-yard line, mirroring a change made in 1974 by the NFL, and receivers may not line up closer than 10 yards from the spot of the kickoff.
• The definition of "Roughing the passer" is expanded to prohibit throwing passers to the ground after the ball is released.
• The definition of a "catch" is clarified to require players maintain control of a ball when returning to the ground, and an incomplete pass will be called if there is doubt in the official's mind that the catch was made.
• The penalty for batting loose balls forward in the field of play or anywhere in the end zone now includes loss of down.
• Clipping that occurs behind the scrimmage line will be enforced from the previous spot.
• The loss of down penalty for ineligible man downfield penalties is removed.

Conference standings

1986 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #17 Clemson $ 5 – 1 – 1     8 – 2 – 2 NC State 5 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 1 North Carolina 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 1 Georgia Tech 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Maryland 2 – 3 – 1     5 – 5 – 1 Wake Forest 2 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Duke 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Virginia 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1986 Big 8 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #3 Oklahoma $ 7 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 Colorado 6 – 1 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 #5 Nebraska 5 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Oklahoma State 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Iowa State 3 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Missouri 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Kansas State 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Kansas 0 – 7 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1986 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #8 Michigan + 7 – 1 – 0     11 – 2 – 0 #7 Ohio State + 7 – 1 – 0     10 – 3 – 0 #16 Iowa 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Minnesota 5 – 3 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Michigan State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Indiana 3 – 5 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 Illinois 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Northwestern 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Purdue 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Wisconsin 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
1986 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Miami $ 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Toledo 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Bowling Green 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Kent State 5 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Ball State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Eastern Michigan 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Central Michigan 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Western Michigan 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Ohio 0 – 8 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1986 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T San Jose State $ 7 – 0 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 Fresno State 6 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Long Beach State 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 UNLV 3 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Utah State 3 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Pacific 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 Cal State Fullerton 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 9 – 0 New Mexico State 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1986 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #4 Arizona State $ 5 – 1 – 1     10 – 1 – 1 #14 UCLA 5 – 2 – 1     8 – 3 – 1 #18 Washington 5 – 2 – 1     8 – 3 – 1 #11 Arizona 5 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Stanford 5 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 USC 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Oregon 3 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Washington State 2 – 6 – 1     3 – 7 – 1 California 2 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 Oregon State 1 – 6 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1986 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #10 LSU $ 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #6 Auburn 4 – 2 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 #9 Alabama 4 – 2 – 0     10 – 3 – 0 Georgia 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 Ole Miss 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 1 Tennessee 3 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Florida 2 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Mississippi State 2 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Kentucky 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 1 Vanderbilt 0 – 6 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1986 Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #13 Texas A&M $ 7 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #15 Arkansas 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 #12 Baylor 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0 Texas Tech 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 SMU 5 – 3 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Texas 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 Rice 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 TCU 1 – 7 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 Houston 0 – 8 – 0     1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1986 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T San Diego State $ 7 – 1 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 BYU 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 5 – 0 Air Force 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Hawaii 4 – 4 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 Colorado State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0 Wyoming 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 6 – 0 New Mexico 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 8 – 0 UTEP 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 8 – 0 Utah 1 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1986 Division I-A independents football records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #1 Penn State   –   –       12 – 0 – 0 #2 Miami (FL)   –   –       11 – 1 – 0 #20 Virginia Tech   –   –       9 – 2 – 1 #19 Boston College   –   –       9 – 3 – 0 Tulsa   –   –       7 – 4 – 0 Florida State   –   –       7 – 4 – 1 Army   –   –       6 – 5 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana   –   –       6 – 5 – 0 Southern Miss   –   –       6 – 5 – 0 Temple   –   –       6 – 5 – 0 Pittsburgh   –   –       5 – 5 – 1 Rutgers   –   –       5 – 5 – 1 Cincinnati   –   –       5 – 6 – 0 Notre Dame   –   –       5 – 6 – 0 Syracuse   –   –       5 – 6 – 0 South Carolina   –   –       3 – 6 – 2 Tulane   –   –       4 – 7 – 0 West Virginia   –   –       4 – 7 – 0 Louisville   –   –       3 – 8 – 0 Navy   –   –       3 – 8 – 0 Wichita State   –   –       3 – 8 – 0 East Carolina   –   –       2 – 9 – 0 Northern Illinois   –   –       2 – 9 – 0 Memphis   –   –       1 – 10 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll

Key matchups and upsets

Oklahoma and Michigan began the season at #1 and #2. A 28–16 defeat of Oklahoma by Miami on September 27 pushed the Hurricanes into the #1 ranking and ultimately proved the spoiler for the Sooners, who finished the 1986 season ranked first in all four major defensive statistical categories - a feat not to be duplicated until 2012, by Alabama. The Crimson Tide moved into the number 2 spot following the Sooner's loss. Probably the strongest case for Penn State was a defeat of the well-regarded, then-#2 ranked Alabama squad by a score of 23–3, at Tuscaloosa on October 26. This pushed Penn State into the number two spot. Otherwise, both Miami and Penn State had a number of teams on their schedule that were not strong opponents. Michigan defeated Iowa in a rematch of the previous season's #1 vs #2 game. Three games later, Michigan was number 2 and undefeated after Penn State fell in the rankings following a 17–15 close win to Maryland.

Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst threw five interceptions in a 21–21 tie with Washington State ASU's 16-9 win over the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl stadium on October 4 would later prove to be the deciding game in the conference. The Sun Devils beat both USC and UCLA in Los Angeles, the first Pacific-10 conference team to do so. The Sun Devils defeated outgoing coach Joe Kapp's California Golden Bears team 49–0. Kapp had unzipped his pants in front of the Seattle media following an embarrassing 50–18 loss against Washington on October 4. The win over Cal, combined with the UCLA loss to Stanford, enabled the Sun Devils to clinch the Rose Bowl Berth on November 8. The early clinching of the Rose Bowl bid for Arizona State began a scramble for all the Bowl games to confirm teams before the bids were to be extended on November 22.

The Michigan Wolverines football team began the season ranked number 2 in the nation. A #1 vs #2 matchup the previous season between Iowa and Michigan had decided the race for the 1986 Rose Bowl; in the 1986 rematch, the Wolverines defeated Iowa 20–17. Minnesota, a 25-point underdog to number two ranked Michigan, was regarded as being likely to provide an easy victory for the Wolverines in the November 15 game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor; the Gophers had not defeated the Wolverines since 1977. With two minutes to go, Michigan scored a touchdown to tie the game at 17. On the ensuing Minnesota possession, quarterback Rickey Foggie scrambled to put Chip Lohmiller in field goal position; Lohmiller connected for a 20-17 Gophers victory. The Gophers took home the Little Brown Jug from Michigan for the first time since 1962. The Wolverines fell to #6 and then faced arch rival Ohio State for the right to play in the Rose Bowl. Jim Harbaugh guaranteed a Michigan Victory over Ohio State. "We don't care where we play the game," said the senior quarterback early in the week. "I hate to say it, but we could play it in the parking lot. We could play the game at 12 noon or midnight. We're going to be jacked up." The Wolverines won 26–24.

#1 and #2 Progress

WEEKS	#1	#2	Event
PRE	Oklahoma	Michigan	Miami 23, Florida 15	Sep 6
1-3	Oklahoma	Miami	Miami 28, Oklahoma 16	Sep 27
4-7	Miami	Alabama	Penn State 23, Alabama 3	Oct 25
8-9	Miami	Penn State	Penn State 17, Maryland 15	Nov 8
10	Miami	Michigan	Minnesota 20, Michigan 17	Nov 15
11-13	Miami	Penn State	Penn State 14, Miami 10	Jan 2

Notable rivalry games

• LSU 37, Tulane 17
• Michigan 27, Notre Dame 26
• Notre Dame 38, USC 37
• Oklahoma 20, Nebraska 17
• UCLA 45, USC 25
• Arkansas 21, Texas 14

Arkansas' victory over Texas was the Razorbacks' first win in Austin since 1966.

Bowl games

With Arizona State having clinched the Rose Bowl berth on November 8, and the Fiesta Bowl and Citrus Bowl scrambling to bid for the #1 Miami (Florida) vs. #2 Penn State Game, the Cotton Bowl Classic struck an agreement to take the loser of the Michigan-Ohio State game. All the bowl games attempted to line up participants before the official bids were extended on November 22. The Sugar Bowl agreed to take the loser of the Oklahoma-Nebraska game to match the SEC winner, and the Orange Bowl agreed to take the second place SWC team to match the Big 8 winner. The Citrus Bowl, which moved to January 1, got a second place SEC team in Auburn, and, what they hoped would be a good matchup, in 7-2 USC. The Trojans would lose to UCLA and Notre Dame after they were invited.

• Rose Bowl: #7 Arizona State 22, #4 Michigan 15
• Sugar Bowl: #6 Nebraska 30, #5 LSU 15
• Cotton Bowl Classic: #11 Ohio State 28, #8 Texas A&M 12
• Fiesta Bowl: #2 Penn State 14, #1 Miami (Fl) 10
• Florida Citrus Bowl: #10 Auburn 16, USC 7

  #3 Oklahoma 42, #9 Arkansas 8

• Hall of Fame Bowl: Boston College 27, #17 Georgia 24

  #21 Clemson 27, #20 Stanford 21

• Sun Bowl: #13 Alabama 28, #12 Washington 6
• Holiday Bowl: #19 Iowa 39, San Diego State 38
• Freedom Bowl: #15 UCLA 31, BYU 10
• Peach Bowl: [[{{{school}}}|Virginia Tech]] 25, #18 NC State 24
• All-American Bowl: Florida State 27, Indiana 13

  Tennessee 21, Minnesota 14

  #16 Arizona 30, North Carolina 21

• Independence Bowl: Mississippi 20, Texas Tech 17

  San Jose State 37, Miami (Ohio) 7

  Baylor 21, Colorado 6

Polls

Final AP Poll

1. Penn State
2. Miami (FL)
3. Oklahoma
4. Arizona State
5. Nebraska
6. Auburn
7. Ohio State
8. Michigan
9. Alabama
10. LSU
11. Arizona
12. Baylor
13. Texas A&M
14. UCLA
15. Arkansas
16. Iowa
17. Clemson
18. Washington
19. Boston College
20. Virginia Tech

Final Coaches Poll

1. Penn St.
2. Miami (FL)
3. Oklahoma
4. Nebraska
5. Arizona St.
6. Ohio St.
7. Michigan
8. Auburn
9. Alabama
10. Arizona
11. Louisiana St.
12. Texas A&M
13. Baylor
14. UCLA
15. Iowa
16. Arkansas
17. Washington
18. Boston College
19. Clemson
20. Florida St.

Awards

Heisman Trophy

1. Winner: Vinny Testaverde, Miami (Fl), Sr. QB
2. Paul Palmer, Temple, Sr. TB
3. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan, Sr. QB
4. Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma, Sr. LB
5. Gordie Lockbaum, Holy Cross, Jr. TB

Other major awards

• Maxwell (Player):Vinny Testaverde, Miami (Fl)
• Camp (Back): Vinny Testaverde, Miami (Fl)
• O'Brein Award (QB): Vinny Testaverde, Miami (Fl)
• Rockne (Lineman): N/A
• Lombardi (Defensive Front Seven): Cornelius Bennett, Alabama
• Butkus (Linebacker): Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma
• Outland (Interior): Jason Buck, BYU
• Coach of the Year: Joe Paterno, Penn St.