CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 San José State

10–⁠2 (7–⁠0 Pacific Coast Athletic Association), coached by Claude Gilbert.

Schedule and results

San José State in 1986, game by game: lost vs. Oregon 14–21; won at Washington State 20–13; lost at Stanford 10–28; won at California 35–14; won vs. No. 19 Fresno State 45–41; won vs. Utah State 38–28; won at UNLV 23–20; won at Pacific 44–15; won at New Mexico State 45–7; won at Cal State Fullerton 48–24; won vs. Long Beach State 38–14; won vs. Miami (OH) 37–7+38−18Lost 14–21 vs. Oregon-7OregonWon 20–13 at Washington State+7Washington StateLost 10–28 at Stanford-18StanfordWon 35–14 at California+21CaliforniaWon 45–41 vs. No. 19 Fresno State+4No. 19 Fresno StateWon 38–28 vs. Utah State+10Utah StateWon 23–20 at UNLV+3UNLVWon 44–15 at Pacific+29PacificWon 45–7 at New Mexico State+38New Mexico StateWon 48–24 at Cal State Fullerton+24Cal State Fulle…Won 38–14 vs. Long Beach State+24Long Beach StateWon 37–7 vs. Miami (OH)+30Miami (OH)
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsOregonL 14–⁠2149%
Sep 13atWashington StateW 20–⁠1327%
Sep 20atStanfordL 10–⁠2834%
Sep 27atCaliforniaW 35–⁠1436%
Oct 4vs19Fresno StateW 45–⁠4133%
Oct 11vsUtah StateW 38–⁠2872%
Oct 18atUNLVW 23–⁠2043%
Oct 25atPacificW 44–⁠1553%
Nov 1atNew Mexico StateW 45–⁠784%
Nov 8atCal State FullertonW 48–⁠2467%
Nov 15vsLong Beach StateW 38–⁠1469%
Dec 13Bowls & playoffvsMiami (OH)California BowlW 37–⁠747%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami (OH) 37–⁠7 in the California Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Pacific Coast Athletic Association champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 91 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.

Pacific Coast Athletic Association champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationMike Perez: total offense (3,250 yds), total offense per game (329.9)

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Pacific Coast Athletic Association
AP final
Unranked
Points
397–⁠232
Coach
Claude Gilbert
Elo
1628 +204 this season
SP+ rating
12.2 No. 24 of 101; offense No. 11, defense No. 54
SRS
9.1 No. 27 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Sam Gruneisen

1986 Pacific Coast Athletic Association standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
San José State7–⁠010–⁠2
Fresno State6–⁠19–⁠2
Long Beach State4–⁠36–⁠5
UNLV3–⁠46–⁠5
Utah State3–⁠43–⁠8
Pacific2–⁠54–⁠7
Cal State Fullerton2–⁠53–⁠9
New Mexico State1–⁠61–⁠10

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