CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 Texas Tech

7–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Southwest Conference), coached by David McWilliams, then Spike Dykes (bowl game).

Schedule and results

Texas Tech in 1986, game by game: won vs. Kansas State 41–7; lost at No. 2 Miami 11–61; won vs. New Mexico 14–7; lost vs. No. 17 Baylor 14–45; lost at No. 14 Texas A&M 8–45; won at No. 8 Arkansas 17–7; won at Rice 49–21; won vs. Texas 23–21; won at TCU 36–14; lost vs. SMU 7–13; won vs. Houston 34–7; lost vs. Ole Miss 17–20+34−50Won 41–7 vs. Kansas State+34Kansas StateLost 11–61 at No. 2 Miami-50No. 2 MiamiWon 14–7 vs. New Mexico+7New MexicoLost 14–45 vs. No. 17 Baylor-31No. 17 BaylorLost 8–45 at No. 14 Texas A&M-37No. 14 Texas A&MWon 17–7 at No. 8 Arkansas+10No. 8 ArkansasWon 49–21 at Rice+28RiceWon 23–21 vs. Texas+2TexasWon 36–14 at TCU+22TCULost 7–13 vs. SMU-6SMUWon 34–7 vs. Houston+27HoustonLost 17–20 vs. Ole Miss-3Ole Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsKansas StateW 41–⁠769%
Sep 13at2MiamiL 11–⁠6117%
Sep 20vsNew MexicoW 14–⁠768%
Sep 27vs17BaylorL 14–⁠4541%
Oct 4at14Texas A&ML 8–⁠4522%
Oct 11at8ArkansasW 17–⁠716%
Oct 18atRiceW 49–⁠2163%
Nov 1vsTexasW 23–⁠2157%
Nov 8atTCUW 36–⁠1459%
Nov 15vsSMUL 7–⁠1354%
Nov 22vsHoustonW 34–⁠777%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsOle MissIndependence BowlL 17–⁠2047%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ole Miss 20–⁠17 in the Independence Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 54th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 101 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
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Southwest Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
271–⁠268
Coach
David McWilliams, then Spike Dykes (bowl game)
Elo
1523 +63 this season
SP+ rating
4.4 No. 44 of 101; offense No. 49, defense No. 47
SRS
1.5 No. 48 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Spike Dykes
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1987

The 1987 draft
Rd 2Roland Mitchell DBBuffalo Bills
Rd 5Timmy Smith RBWashington Redskins

All-Southwest Conference

3 first team, 7 second team

First team

  • Brad HastingsLBAP-1
  • Tyrone ThurmanRSAP-1
  • David McWilliamsMiscellaneousAP

Second team

  • Wayne WalkerWRAP-2
  • Chris TannerCAP-2
  • Jeff KeithOGAP-2
  • Calvin RiggsDLAP-2
  • Michael JohnsonLBAP-2
  • Roland MitchellSecondaryAP-2
  • Merv ScurlarkSecondaryAP-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 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.