1986 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 28–6 vs. Washington
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 9
Record10–3 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGeorge Henshaw (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorJoe Kines (2nd season)
Captains
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
(Capacity: 60,210)
Legion Field
(Capacity: 75,808)
Seasons
← 1985
1987 →
1986 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 LSU $ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 6 Auburn 4 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 9 Alabama 4 – 2 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
Georgia 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Ole Miss 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 1
Tennessee 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Mississippi State 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Kentucky 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
Florida 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Vanderbilt 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 94th overall and 53rd season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Ray Perkins, in his fourth year, and played their home games at both Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of ten wins and three losses (10–3 overall, 4–2 in the SEC) and with a victory in the Sun Bowl over Washington.

After opening the season with a victory over Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic, the Crimson Tide won their first seven games and eventually rise to as high as No. 2 in the rankings but lost to eventual national champion Penn State[1] and lost out on an SEC championship after losses to LSU[2] and Auburn.[3] Highlights of the season included their first ever victory over Notre Dame and a 56–28 victory over Tennessee that snapped a four-game losing streak to the Vols.[4]

After the season, Ray Perkins resigned on December 31, to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League.[5]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 277:00 p.m.vs. No. 9 Ohio State*No. 5
RaycomW 16–1068,296[6]
September 611:30 a.m.VanderbiltNo. 5
TBSW 42–1058,168[7]
September 131:30 p.m.Southern Miss*No. 4
W 31–1773,687[8]
September 2012:30 p.m.at No. 13 FloridaNo. 4
W 21–774,685[9]
October 42:30 p.m.Notre Dame*No. 2
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
ABCW 28–1075,808[10]
October 111:30 p.m.Memphis State*daggerNo. 2
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
W 37–060,210[11]
October 182:30 p.m.at TennesseeNo. 2
ABCW 56–2895,116[12]
October 252:30 p.m.No. 6 Penn State*No. 2
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)
ABCL 3–2360,210[13]
November 111:30 a.m.at No. 19 Mississippi StateNo. 8
TBSW 38–342,700[14]
November 86:45 p.m.No. 18 LSUNo. 6
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL (rivalry)
ESPNL 10–1475,808[15]
November 151:30 p.m.Temple*No. 11
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
W 24–1460,210[16]
November 292:30 p.m.vs. No. 14 AuburnNo. 7
ABCL 17–2175,808[17]
December 251:30 p.m.vs. No. 12 Washington*No. 13
CBSW 28–648,722[18]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[19]

Roster

1986 Alabama Crimson Tide football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB Doug Allen
WR Marco Battle
WR Albert Bell
RB John Cassimus
RB David Casteal
OL Bill Condon
TE 85 Howard Cross So
RB Kerry Goode
RB Murry Hill
RB 26 Bobby Humphrey So
RB Gene Jelks
OL David Johnson
OL Joe King
OL Wes Neighbors
WR Greg Payne
WR 17 Greg Richardson Sr
RB Carlos Robinson
OL Larry Rose
QB 11 Mike Shula (C) Sr
QB David Smith
TE Angelo Stafford
WR Clay Whitehurst
RB Bo Wright
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 97 Cornelius Bennett (C) Sr
LB George Bethune
DB Britton Cooper
DB Vantriese Davis
LB Wayne Davis
LB Greg Gilbert
CB 36 Chris Goode Jr
DL Curt Jarvis
DB Kermit Kendrick
DB Freddie Robinson
LB Randy Rockwell
DL Derrick Slaughter
DL Cliff Thomas
LB 55 Derrick Thomas So
DB Ricky Thomas
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 5 Chris Mohr So
K 3 Van Tiffin Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Rankings

Further information: 1986 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP544 (1)32 (1)2 (2)2 (2)2 (3)86 (1)1197139
Coaches6 (1)4 (1)43 (1)2 (1)22 (3)2 (3)861597149

Season summary

Ohio State

1 234Total
• Alabama 3 3010 16
Ohio St 0 730 10

See also: 1986 Ohio State Buckeyes football team and Kickoff Classic

Vanderbilt

1 234Total
Vanderbilt 0 037 10
• Alabama 3 111414 42

Southern Mississippi

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

At Florida

1 234Total
• Alabama 0 0147 21
Florida 7 000 7
  • Date: September 20
  • Location: Florida Field
  • Game attendance: 74,685

Notre Dame

See also: 1986 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Memphis State

1 234Total
Memphis St 0 000 0
• Alabama 10 7317 37
  • Date: October 11
  • Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium
  • Game attendance: 60,210

Homecoming

At Tennessee

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

Penn State

1 234Total
• Penn St 0 1436 23
Alabama 3 000 3
  • Date: October 25
  • Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium
  • Game attendance: 60,210
  • Television network: ABC

See also: 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions football team and Alabama–Penn State football rivalry

At Mississippi State

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

LSU

1 234Total
• LSU 0 1400 14
Alabama 7 030 10
  • Date: November 8
  • Location: Legion Field
  • Game attendance: 75,808
  • Television network: ESPN

Temple

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

Auburn

1 234Total
• Auburn 0 7014 21
Alabama 7 730 17
  • Date: November 29
  • Location: Legion Field
  • Game attendance: 75,808
  • Television network: ABC

See also: 1986 Auburn Tigers football team and Iron Bowl

Vs. Washington (Sun Bowl)

Washington vs. Alabama
1 234Total
No. 12 Huskies 0 600 6
• No. 13 Crimson Tide 0 7147 28

Main article: 1986 Sun Bowl

See also: 1986 Washington Huskies football team

Awards and honors

1987 NFL Draft

Main article: 1987 NFL Draft
Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Cornelius Bennett Outside Linebacker 1 2 Indianapolis Colts
Freddie Robinson Defensive back 6 142 Indianapolis Colts
Greg Richardson Wide receiver 6 156 Minnesota Vikings
Curt Jarvis Defensive tackle 7 169 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Wayne Davis Linebacker 9 229 St. Louis Cardinals
Wes Neighbors Center 9 231 Houston Oilers
Chris Goode Defensive back 10 253 Indianapolis Colts
Mike Shula Quarterback 12 313 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

[20]

References

General

  • "1986 Game Recaps". 1987 Alabama Football Media Guide (PDF). Tuscaloosa, Alabama: UA Athletics Media Relations Office. 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2012.

Specific

  1. ^ Looney, Douglas S. (November 3, 1986). "A midseason run for respect". Sports Illustrated. SI.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  2. ^ 1986 Game Recaps, Game No. 10
  3. ^ 1986 Game Recaps, Game No. 12
  4. ^ Maisel, Ivan (October 27, 1986). "Vol-in tears". Sports Illustrated. SI.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  5. ^ Wheat, Jack (December 31, 1986). "Perkins takes Tampa Bay coaching job". The Tuscaloosa News. Google News. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  6. ^ "Alabama capitalizes on OSU's mistakes". The Akron Beacon Journal. August 28, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Bama crashes Vandy's party, 42–10". The Tennessean. September 7, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "USM falls short in bid to knock off Tide". Hattiesburg American. September 14, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Bama rules Gators for 21–7 victory". The Orlando Sentinel. September 21, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Alabama makes quick work of Irish". Chicago Tribune. October 5, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Bama overwhelms downtrodden Tigers". The Jackson Sun. October 12, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "'Bama offense destroys Vols". Johnson City Press. October 19, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Move over Miami: State bombs Bama". Sunday News. October 27, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Humphrey, Tide crush reeling 'Dogs". Clarion-Ledger. November 2, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Tigers capitalize on low Tide to gig floundering Alabama". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. November 9, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Owls can't stem Tide; Palmer gains 145 yards". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 16, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Tillman's mistake helps Auburn over Bama". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 30, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "'Bama defense shines in Sun". El Paso Times. December 26, 1986. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "1986 Alabama football archives". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  20. ^ "1987 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
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