CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 New Mexico

4–⁠8 (2–⁠5 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Joe Lee Dunn.

Schedule and results

New Mexico in 1986, game by game: lost at No. 10 Tennessee 21–35; lost at No. 11 BYU 30–31; lost at Texas Tech 7–14; lost vs. San Diego State 34–38; lost at Hawai’i 10–27; won vs. UTEP 24–22; won vs. Utah 47–43; won vs. New Mexico State 45–14; lost at Wyoming 25–35; lost vs. Tulsa 27–34; lost at Colorado State 27–32; won at Memphis 20–13+31−17Lost 21–35 at No. 10 Tennessee-14No. 10 TennesseeLost 30–31 at No. 11 BYU-1No. 11 BYULost 7–14 at Texas Tech-7Texas TechLost 34–38 vs. San Diego State-4San Diego StateLost 10–27 at Hawai’i-17Hawai’iWon 24–22 vs. UTEP+2UTEPWon 47–43 vs. Utah+4UtahWon 45–14 vs. New Mexico State+31New Mexico StateLost 25–35 at Wyoming-10WyomingLost 27–34 vs. Tulsa-7TulsaLost 27–32 at Colorado State-5Colorado StateWon 20–13 at Memphis+7Memphis
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6at10TennesseeL 21–⁠3514%
Sep 13at11BYUL 30–⁠3113%
Sep 20atTexas TechL 7–⁠1432%
Sep 27vsSan Diego StateL 34–⁠3841%
Oct 4atHawai’iL 10–⁠2724%
Oct 11vsUTEPW 24–⁠2258%
Oct 18vsUtahW 47–⁠4346%
Oct 25vsNew Mexico StateW 45–⁠1478%
Nov 1atWyomingL 25–⁠3533%
Nov 8vsTulsaL 27–⁠3431%
Nov 15atColorado StateL 27–⁠3225%
Nov 22atMemphisW 20–⁠1353%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Memphis 20–⁠13; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 72nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 109 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠5 7th in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
317–⁠338
Coach
Joe Lee Dunn
Elo
1375 −23 this season
SP+ rating
-7.6 No. 71 of 101; offense No. 40, defense No. 91
SRS
−5.8 No. 71 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

1986 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
San Diego State7–⁠18–⁠4
BYU6–⁠28–⁠5
Air Force5–⁠26–⁠5
Hawai’i4–⁠47–⁠5
Colorado State4–⁠46–⁠5
Wyoming4–⁠46–⁠6
New Mexico2–⁠54–⁠8
UTEP2–⁠64–⁠8
Utah1–⁠72–⁠9

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