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1986 Iowa

9–⁠3 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Hayden Fry, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 1986, game by game: won vs. Iowa State 43–7; won vs. Northern Illinois 57–3; won vs. UTEP 69–7; won at No. 17 Michigan State 24–21; won vs. Wisconsin 17–6; lost at No. 4 Michigan 17–20; won vs. Northwestern 27–20; lost vs. No. 17 Ohio State 10–31; lost at Illinois 16–20; won vs. Purdue 42–14; won at Minnesota 30–27; won vs. San Diego State 39–38+62−21Won 43–7 vs. Iowa State+36Iowa StateWon 57–3 vs. Northern Illinois+54Northern Illino…Won 69–7 vs. UTEP+62UTEPWon 24–21 at No. 17 Michigan State+3No. 17 Michigan StateWon 17–6 vs. Wisconsin+11WisconsinLost 17–20 at No. 4 Michigan-3No. 4 MichiganWon 27–20 vs. Northwestern+7NorthwesternLost 10–31 vs. No. 17 Ohio State-21No. 17 Ohio StateLost 16–20 at Illinois-4IllinoisWon 42–14 vs. Purdue+28PurdueWon 30–27 at Minnesota+3MinnesotaWon 39–38 vs. San Diego State+1San Diego State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 13vsIowa StateW 43–⁠781%
Sep 20vsNorthern IllinoisW 57–⁠386%
Sep 27vsUTEPW 69–⁠788%
Oct 4at17Michigan StateW 24–⁠2156%
Oct 11vsWisconsinW 17–⁠684%
Oct 18at4MichiganL 17–⁠2037%
Oct 25vsNorthwesternW 27–⁠2089%
Nov 1vs17Ohio StateL 10–⁠3159%
Nov 8atIllinoisL 16–⁠2068%
Nov 15vsPurdueW 42–⁠1484%
Nov 22atMinnesotaW 30–⁠2752%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsSan Diego StateHoliday BowlW 39–⁠3859%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat San Diego State 39–⁠38 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 15
  2. Wk 5: 11
  3. Wk 6: 10
  4. Wk 7: 8
  5. Wk 8: 11
  6. Wk 9: 11
  7. Wk 10: 16
  8. Wk 13: 20
  9. Wk 14: 19
  10. Final: 16

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 1986.

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 8
Points
391–⁠214
Coach
Hayden Fry
Elo
1638 +11 this season
SP+ rating
12.2 No. 24 of 101; offense No. 17, defense No. 45
SRS
9.6 No. 23 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bill Snyder
Defensive coordinator
Bill Brashier
Captains
Dave Croston, George Davis, Jeff Drost, Ken Sims and Mark Vlasic
Most valuable player
Rick Bayless

Drafted in 1987

The 1987 draft
Rd 3Chris Gambol OTIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Dave Croston OTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 4Mark Vlasic QBSan Diego Chargers

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Rick BaylessRBAP-1
  • Bob KratchOGUPI-1
  • Dave CrostonOTAP-1; UPI-1
  • Jeff DrostLinemen-outside linebackersAP-1; UPI-1
  • Dave HaightLinemen-outside linebackersAP-1

Second team

  • Mike FlaggTEUPI-2
  • Rob HoughtlinKAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1986 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1986 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠111–⁠28
Ohio State7–⁠110–⁠37
Iowa5–⁠39–⁠316
Minnesota5–⁠36–⁠6
Michigan State4–⁠46–⁠5
Indiana3–⁠56–⁠6
Illinois3–⁠54–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠64–⁠7
Purdue2–⁠63–⁠8
Wisconsin2–⁠63–⁠9

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