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The 1986 season

Penn State finished No. 1 in the final AP poll, 12–⁠0 under Joe Paterno, after it beat Miami 14–⁠10 in the Fiesta Bowl. The biggest game by the rankings: No. 2 Miami 28, No. 1 Oklahoma 16 (Sep 27, 1986). One Division I-A team finished unbeaten. 53 ranked teams lost to unranked or lower-ranked opponents.

Heisman Trophy: Vinny Testaverde, QB, Miami (FL), who also won the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Davey O’Brien.

The Heisman vote: Vinny Testaverde 2,213 points, Paul Palmer 672
PlayerPoints1st2nd3rd
Vinny Testaverde QB, Miami (FL)2,2136787627
Paul Palmer RB, Temple67228207174
Jim Harbaugh QB, Michigan45825136111
Brian Bosworth LB, Oklahoma395913696
Gordie Lockbaum RB, Holy Cross242323968
Brent Fullwood RB, Auburn12944527
Cornelius Bennett LB, Alabama9632929
D.J. Dozier RB, Penn State7702331
Kevin Sweeney QB, Fresno State7361623
Chris Spielman LB, Ohio State605927

First-, second- and third-place votes (3, 2 and 1 points), from the season’s Wikipedia article, as published.

Scoreboards

Final AP poll

1Penn StateIndependent
2MiamiIndependent
3OklahomaBig Eight
4Arizona StatePac-10
5NebraskaBig Eight
6AuburnSoutheastern Conference
7Ohio StateBig Ten
8MichiganBig Ten
9AlabamaSoutheastern Conference
10LSUSoutheastern Conference
11ArizonaPac-10
12BaylorSouthwest Conference
13Texas A&MSouthwest Conference
14UCLAPac-10
15ArkansasSouthwest Conference
16IowaBig Ten
17ClemsonAtlantic Coast Conference
18WashingtonPac-10
19Boston CollegeIndependent
20Virginia TechIndependent

Biggest upsets

Nov 15, 1986Minnesota 20, 2Michigan 17
Oct 25, 1986Colorado 20, 3Nebraska 10
Nov 1, 1986Florida 18, 5Auburn 17
Sep 13, 1986Mississippi State 27, 8Tennessee 23
Sep 20, 1986Miami (OH) 21, 8LSU 12
Oct 11, 1986Texas Tech 17, 8Arkansas 7
Nov 15, 1986Georgia 20, 8Auburn 16
Sep 20, 1986USC 17, 9Baylor 14
Oct 11, 1986Washington State 34, 9USC 14
Nov 8, 1986Baylor 29, 10Arkansas 14
Oct 11, 1986UCLA 32, 11Arizona 25
Nov 1, 1986Ole Miss 21, 12LSU 19

Ranked teams that lost as the betting favorite, the longest shots first, with the winner’s odds on the line; before lines are on file, ranked teams beaten by unranked or lower-ranked ones.

The AP poll, week by week

The AP poll’s top 10 in 1986, week by week1510152025Wk 1Wk 3Wk 5Wk 7Wk 9Wk 11Wk 13FinalLSU: Wk 1 No. 15, Wk 2 No. 14, Wk 3 No. 8, Wk 4 No. 18, Wk 5 No. 18, Wk 6 No. 16, Wk 7 No. 12, Wk 8 No. 12, Wk 9 No. 12, Wk 10 No. 18, Wk 11 No. 12, Wk 12 No. 8, Wk 13 No. 5, Wk 14 No. 5, Final No. 1010 LSUAlabama: Wk 1 No. 5, Wk 2 No. 4, Wk 3 No. 4, Wk 4 No. 3, Wk 5 No. 2, Wk 6 No. 2, Wk 7 No. 2, Wk 8 No. 2, Wk 9 No. 8, Wk 10 No. 6, Wk 11 No. 11, Wk 12 No. 9, Wk 13 No. 7, Wk 14 No. 13, Final No. 99 AlabamaMichigan: Wk 1 No. 2, Wk 2 No. 3, Wk 3 No. 3, Wk 4 No. 5, Wk 5 No. 4, Wk 6 No. 4, Wk 7 No. 4, Wk 8 No. 4, Wk 9 No. 3, Wk 10 No. 3, Wk 11 No. 2, Wk 12 No. 6, Wk 13 No. 4, Wk 14 No. 4, Final No. 88 MichiganOhio State: Wk 1 No. 9, Wk 2 No. 10, Wk 3 unranked, Wk 4 unranked, Wk 5 unranked, Wk 6 unranked, Wk 7 unranked, Wk 8 unranked, Wk 9 No. 17, Wk 10 No. 11, Wk 11 No. 9, Wk 12 No. 7, Wk 13 No. 11, Wk 14 No. 11, Final No. 77 Ohio StateAuburn: Wk 1 No. 14, Wk 2 No. 9, Wk 3 No. 10, Wk 4 No. 8, Wk 5 No. 7, Wk 6 No. 7, Wk 7 No. 7, Wk 8 No. 7, Wk 9 No. 5, Wk 10 No. 9, Wk 11 No. 8, Wk 12 No. 15, Wk 13 No. 14, Wk 14 No. 10, Final No. 66 AuburnNebraska: Wk 1 No. 8, Wk 2 No. 6, Wk 3 No. 6, Wk 4 No. 4, Wk 5 No. 3, Wk 6 No. 3, Wk 7 No. 3, Wk 8 No. 3, Wk 9 No. 9, Wk 10 No. 7, Wk 11 No. 6, Wk 12 No. 5, Wk 13 No. 6, Wk 14 No. 6, Final No. 55 NebraskaArizona State: Wk 1 unranked, Wk 2 unranked, Wk 3 No. 18, Wk 4 No. 11, Wk 5 No. 16, Wk 6 No. 15, Wk 7 No. 10, Wk 8 No. 9, Wk 9 No. 7, Wk 10 No. 5, Wk 11 No. 5, Wk 12 No. 4, Wk 13 No. 8, Wk 14 No. 7, Final No. 44 Arizona StateOklahoma: Wk 1 No. 1, Wk 2 No. 1, Wk 3 No. 1, Wk 4 No. 1, Wk 5 No. 6, Wk 6 No. 6, Wk 7 No. 5, Wk 8 No. 5, Wk 9 No. 4, Wk 10 No. 4, Wk 11 No. 4, Wk 12 No. 3, Wk 13 No. 3, Wk 14 No. 3, Final No. 33 OklahomaMiami: Wk 1 No. 3, Wk 2 No. 2, Wk 3 No. 2, Wk 4 No. 2, Wk 5 No. 1, Wk 6 No. 1, Wk 7 No. 1, Wk 8 No. 1, Wk 9 No. 1, Wk 10 No. 1, Wk 11 No. 1, Wk 12 No. 1, Wk 13 No. 1, Wk 14 No. 1, Final No. 22 MiamiPenn State: Wk 1 No. 6, Wk 2 No. 5, Wk 3 No. 5, Wk 4 No. 7, Wk 5 No. 5, Wk 6 No. 5, Wk 7 No. 6, Wk 8 No. 6, Wk 9 No. 2, Wk 10 No. 2, Wk 11 No. 3, Wk 12 No. 2, Wk 13 No. 2, Wk 14 No. 2, Final No. 11 Penn State
The top 10 of the final AP poll and where each stood every week before it; a gap is a week out of the Top 25. Hover or tab to a line for its weeks.

Climbed

  1. Arizona Stateunranked → No. 4
  2. Arizonaunranked → No. 11
  3. Iowaunranked → No. 16
  4. Clemsonunranked → No. 17
  5. AuburnNo. 14 → No. 6

Fell

  1. TennesseeNo. 10 → unranked
  2. Florida StateNo. 11 → unranked
  3. FloridaNo. 13 → unranked
  4. UCLANo. 4 → No. 14
  5. GeorgiaNo. 16 → unranked

From the season’s first AP poll (the preseason poll) to the final one.

National leaders

Passing yardsSammy Garza (UTEP)3,140 yds
Passing touchdownsVinny Testaverde (Miami)26 TD
Passer ratingVinny Testaverde (Miami)165.8
Rushing yardsPaul Palmer (Temple)1,866 yds
Rushing touchdownsSteve Bartalo (Colorado State)19 TD
Yards per carryBrent Fullwood (Auburn)8.3
ReceptionsMark Templeton (Long Beach State)99 catches
Receiving yardsWendell Davis (LSU)1,244 yds
Yards per catchKeith Gloster (Temple)24.7
Receiving touchdownsAndy Schillinger (Miami (OH))12 TD
PointsSteve Bartalo (Colorado State)114 pts
Points per gameSteve Bartalo (Colorado State)10.4
Total offenseMike Perez (San José State)3,250 yds
Total offense per gameMike Perez (San José State)329.9
Punt return averageRod Smith (Nebraska)18.9
Kickoff return averageTerrance Roulhac (Clemson)33

The NCAA’s official leaders. From Wikipedia’s yearly NCAA leader lists for passing, rushing, receiving, scoring, total offense and returns.

Conference champions

Division I-A

Atlantic Coast Conference
Clemson
Big Eight
Oklahoma
Big Ten
Michigan and Ohio State (shared)
Mid-American Conference
Miami (OH)
Pac-10
Arizona State
Pacific Coast Athletic Association
San José State
Southeastern Conference
LSU
Southwest Conference
Texas A&M
Western Athletic Conference
San Diego State

Division I-AA

Big Sky
Nevada
Colonial Conference
Holy Cross
Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference
Eastern Illinois
Gulf Star Conference
Sam Houston
Ivy League
Pennsylvania
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
North Carolina A&T
Ohio Valley Conference
Eastern Kentucky and Murray State (shared)
Southern Conference
App State
Southland Conference
Arkansas State
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Jackson State
Yankee Conference
Delaware, Massachusetts and UConn (shared)

Division II and below

Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference
Central Arkansas
Gulf South Conference
Troy
North Central Conference
North Dakota State
Northern California Athletic Conference
UC Davis
Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Tarleton State
Western Football Conference
Sacramento State

From each program’s Wikipedia article, with the conference’s name that season. Titles come from the articles of today’s FBS and FCS programs, so a title shared with a school outside them lists only one champion.

Consensus All-Americans

29 playersAll 10 selectors’ teams

Players picked by enough of the major selectors to count as consensus, shown in bold in Wikipedia’s 1986 All-America article. Every selector’s teams, first to last, are on the 1986 All-America teams page.

The 1986 awards

Every award

Player of the year

By position

Coaches

Bowls and playoff

Scoreboard
Dec 13, 1986San José State 37, Miami (OH) 7California Bowl
Dec 20, 1986Ole Miss 20, Texas Tech 17Independence Bowl
Dec 23, 1986Boston College 27, 17Georgia 24Hall of Fame Bowl
Dec 25, 198613Alabama 28, 12Washington 6Sun Bowl
Dec 27, 198616Arizona 30, North Carolina 21Aloha Bowl
Dec 27, 1986Clemson 27, 20Stanford 21Gator Bowl
Dec 29, 1986Tennessee 21, Minnesota 14Liberty Bowl
Dec 30, 198619Iowa 39, San Diego State 38Holiday Bowl
Dec 30, 198615UCLA 31, BYU 10Freedom Bowl
Dec 31, 198614Baylor 21, Colorado 9Bluebonnet Bowl
Dec 31, 1986Florida State 27, Indiana 13All-American Bowl
Dec 31, 1986Virginia Tech 25, 18NC State 24Peach Bowl
Jan 1, 19877Arizona State 22, 4Michigan 15Rose Bowl
Jan 1, 198710Auburn 16, USC 7Citrus Bowl
Jan 1, 19876Nebraska 30, 5LSU 15Sugar Bowl
Jan 1, 198711Ohio State 28, 8Texas A&M 12Cotton Bowl
Jan 1, 19873Oklahoma 42, 9Arkansas 8Orange Bowl
Jan 2, 19872Penn State 14, 1Miami 10Fiesta Bowl