CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 Minnesota

6–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by John Gutekunst.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 1986, game by game: won vs. Bowling Green 31–7; lost at No. 1 Oklahoma 0–63; lost vs. Pacific 20–24; won at Purdue 36–9; won vs. Northwestern 44–23; won vs. Indiana 19–17; lost at Ohio State 0–33; lost vs. Michigan State 23–52; won at Wisconsin 27–20; won at No. 2 Michigan 20–17; lost vs. Iowa 27–30; lost vs. Tennessee 14–21+27−63Won 31–7 vs. Bowling Green+24Bowling GreenLost 0–63 at No. 1 Oklahoma-63No. 1 OklahomaLost 20–24 vs. Pacific-4PacificWon 36–9 at Purdue+27PurdueWon 44–23 vs. Northwestern+21NorthwesternWon 19–17 vs. Indiana+2IndianaLost 0–33 at Ohio State-33Ohio StateLost 23–52 vs. Michigan State-29Michigan StateWon 27–20 at Wisconsin+7WisconsinWon 20–17 at No. 2 Michigan+3No. 2 MichiganLost 27–30 vs. Iowa-3IowaLost 14–21 vs. Tennessee-7Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 13vsBowling GreenW 31–⁠744%
Sep 20at1OklahomaL 0–⁠6321%
Sep 27vsPacificL 20–⁠2472%
Oct 4atPurdueW 36–⁠949%
Oct 11vsNorthwesternW 44–⁠2376%
Oct 18vsIndianaW 19–⁠1765%
Oct 25atOhio StateL 0–⁠3331%
Nov 1vsMichigan StateL 23–⁠5253%
Nov 8atWisconsinW 27–⁠2050%
Nov 15at2MichiganW 20–⁠1716%
Nov 22vsIowaL 27–⁠3048%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsTennesseeLiberty BowlL 14–⁠2137%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 21–⁠14 in the Liberty Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 82nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 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 1986.

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
261–⁠316
Coach
John Gutekunst
Elo
1520 +14 this season
SP+ rating
6.2 No. 42 of 101; offense No. 31, defense No. 56
SRS
0.6 No. 51 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Mark Dusbabek, Ray Hitchcock and Norries Wilson

Drafted in 1987

The 1987 draft
Rd 4Mark Dusbabek LBHouston Oilers

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Ray HitchcockCAP-2; UPI-2
  • Troy WolcrowOGAP-2
  • Jim HobbinsOTAP-2
  • Larry JoynerLBUPI-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.