CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 Texas A&M

9–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Jackie Sherrill, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas A&M in 1986, game by game: lost at No. 14 LSU 17–35; won vs. North Texas 48–28; won vs. Southern Miss 16–7; won vs. Texas Tech 45–8; won at Houston 19–7; won vs. No. 20 Baylor 31–30; won vs. Rice 45–10; won at SMU 39–35; lost at No. 17 Arkansas 10–14; won vs. TCU 74–10; won at Texas 16–3; lost vs. No. 11 Ohio State 12–28+64−18Lost 17–35 at No. 14 LSU-18No. 14 LSUWon 48–28 vs. North Texas+20North TexasWon 16–7 vs. Southern Miss+9Southern MissWon 45–8 vs. Texas Tech+37Texas TechWon 19–7 at Houston+12HoustonWon 31–30 vs. No. 20 Baylor+1No. 20 BaylorWon 45–10 vs. Rice+35RiceWon 39–35 at SMU+4SMULost 10–14 at No. 17 Arkansas-4No. 17 ArkansasWon 74–10 vs. TCU+64TCUWon 16–3 at Texas+13TexasLost 12–28 vs. No. 11 Ohio State-16No. 11 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 13at14LSUL 17–⁠3547%
Sep 20vsNorth TexasW 48–⁠2887%
Sep 27vsSouthern MissW 16–⁠770%
Oct 4vsTexas TechW 45–⁠878%
Oct 11atHoustonW 19–⁠767%
Oct 18vs20BaylorW 31–⁠3063%
Oct 25vsRiceW 45–⁠1091%
Nov 1atSMUW 39–⁠3549%
Nov 15at17ArkansasL 10–⁠1449%
Nov 22vsTCUW 74–⁠1089%
Nov 27atTexasW 16–⁠361%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs11Ohio StateCotton BowlL 12–⁠2848%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 28–⁠12 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; Southwest Conference champions.

In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 16
  4. Wk 4: 14
  5. Wk 5: 14
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 11
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 10
  10. Wk 10: 8
  11. Wk 11: 7
  12. Wk 12: 13
  13. Wk 13: 10
  14. Wk 14: 8
  15. Final: 13

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.

Southwest Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 7
Points
372–⁠215
Coach
Jackie Sherrill
Elo
1664 +34 this season
SP+ rating
13.8 No. 22 of 101; offense No. 22, defense No. 27
SRS
11.2 No. 20 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Lynn Amedee
Defensive coordinator
R.C. Slocum
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1987

The 1987 draft
Rd 1Roger Vick RBNew York Jets
Rd 1Rod Bernstine TESan Diego Chargers
Rd 2Johnny Holland LBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 3Todd Howard LBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 4Rod Saddler DTSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 4Larry Kelm LBLos Angeles Rams

All-Southwest Conference

8 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

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

1986 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas A&M7–⁠19–⁠313
Baylor6–⁠29–⁠312
Arkansas6–⁠29–⁠315
Texas Tech5–⁠37–⁠5
SMU5–⁠36–⁠5
Texas4–⁠45–⁠6
Rice2–⁠64–⁠7
TCU1–⁠73–⁠8
Houston0–⁠81–⁠10

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