CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 Wake Forest

5–⁠6 (2–⁠5 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Al Groh.

Schedule and results

Wake Forest in 1986, game by game: won vs. App State 21–13; won vs. Boston University 31–0; lost at NC State 38–42; won at Army 49–14; lost vs. Virginia 28–30; lost vs. North Carolina 30–40; won at Maryland 27–21; lost vs. Clemson 20–28; lost at Duke 36–38; lost at South Carolina 21–48; won vs. Georgia Tech 24–21+35−27Won 21–13 vs. App State+8App StateWon 31–0 vs. Boston University+31Boston Universi…Lost 38–42 at NC State-4NC StateWon 49–14 at Army+35ArmyLost 28–30 vs. Virginia-2VirginiaLost 30–40 vs. North Carolina-10North CarolinaWon 27–21 at Maryland+6MarylandLost 20–28 vs. Clemson-8ClemsonLost 36–38 at Duke-2DukeLost 21–48 at South Carolina-27South CarolinaWon 24–21 vs. Georgia Tech+3Georgia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsApp StateW 21–⁠1376%
Sep 13vsBoston UniversityW 31–⁠084%
Sep 20atNC StateL 38–⁠4248%
Sep 27atArmyW 49–⁠1431%
Oct 4vsVirginiaL 28–⁠3061%
Oct 11vsNorth CarolinaL 30–⁠4049%
Oct 18atMarylandW 27–⁠2124%
Nov 1vsClemsonL 20–⁠2845%
Nov 8atDukeL 36–⁠3852%
Nov 15atSouth CarolinaL 21–⁠4844%
Nov 22vsGeorgia TechW 24–⁠2135%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Georgia Tech 24–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 46th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 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
5–⁠6
Conference
2–⁠5 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
325–⁠295
Coach
Al Groh
Elo
1452 +11 this season
SP+ rating
-0.7 No. 56 of 101; offense No. 8, defense No. 93
SRS
2.3 No. 44 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Bob Pruett
Captains
Rory Holt, Paul Kiser, Tim Morrison and Terence Ryan

Drafted in 1987

The 1987 draft
Rd 6Paul Kiser OGAtlanta Falcons

All-ACC

3 first team

First 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 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson5–⁠1–⁠18–⁠2–⁠217
NC State5–⁠28–⁠3–⁠1
North Carolina5–⁠27–⁠4–⁠1
Georgia Tech3–⁠35–⁠5–⁠1
Maryland2–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Wake Forest2–⁠55–⁠6
Duke2–⁠54–⁠7
Virginia2–⁠53–⁠8

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