1986 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record6–5 (2–4 SEC)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorZaven Yaralian (1st season)
Home stadiumFlorida Field
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 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was Galen Hall's third as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. The 1986 Florida Gators compiled a 6–5 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 2–4, tying for 7th place among Ten SEC teams. This was the last year that Florida lost to the Kentucky Wildcats until 2018. This was the longest annual win streak of any team over another in NCAA history and the longest such streak in Southeastern Conference history.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 30No. 1 (I-AA) Georgia Southern*No. 13
W 38–1474,221[2]
September 6No. 3 Miami (FL)*No. 13
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 15–2374,875[3]
September 20No. 4 AlabamaNo. 13
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 7–2174,685[4]
September 27at Mississippi State
L 10–1638,625[5]
October 4No. 18 LSU
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
TigerVisionL 17–2874,211[6]
October 11Kent State*dagger
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 52–973,718[7]
October 18at Rutgers*
W 15–336,781[8]
November 1No. 5 Auburn
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 18–1774,521[9]
November 8vs. No. 19 Georgia
W 31–1981,957[10]
November 15at Kentucky
L 3–1052,160[11]
November 29at Florida State*
W 17–1362,370[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

Personnel

1986 Florida Gators football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 12 Kerwin Bell Jr
RB Larry Bernstein
QB Rodney Brewer
OL John Durden
RB Dwayne Ferguson (C)
WR Ed Frazier
RB Octavius Gould
WR Eric Hodges
TE Rodney Jones
QB Pepe Lescano
RB Tony Lomack
RB James Massey
OL Frank McCarthy
TE Mark McGriff
WR 89 Ricky Nattiel (C) Sr
WR Stacey Simmons
OL Bob Sims
RB Cedric Smith
WR Bret Wiechmann
RB Anthony Williams
OL David Williams
RB Wayne Williams
WR Darrell Woulard
OL Charlie Wright
OL Jeff Zimmerman
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB Scott Armstrong (C)
LB Clifford Charlton
DB Richard Fain
LB Pat Moorer
LB Ron Moten
DB Rick Mulberry
DB Louis Oliver
DL Jeff Roth
LB Steve Stipe
DB Kerry Watkins
DL Rhondy Weston
DB Adrian White
LB Arthur White
DB Jarvis Williams
DL Keith Williams
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Jeff Dawson
P Jamie McAndrew
K Robert McGinty
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

Georgia Southern

1 2 3 4 Total
Georgia Southern 0 0 0 14 14
Florida 7 14 3 14 38

Miami (FL)

1 2 3 4 Total
Miami (FL) 7 0 9 7 23
Florida 0 9 0 6 15

Alabama

1 2 3 4 Total
Alabama 0 0 14 7 21
Florida 7 0 0 0 7

At Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total
Florida 7 0 3 0 10
Mississippi State 0 10 3 3 16

LSU

1 2 3 4 Total
LSU 14 7 0 7 28
Florida 3 14 0 0 17

Kerwin Bell was injured during the game.[13]

Kent State

1 234Total
Kent State 0 306 9
• Florida 7 211410 52
Scoring summary
1FLAGould 7 yard run (Dawson kick)FLA 7-0
2FLAMassey 5 yard run (Dawson kick)FLA 14-0
2KSUSteinberg 27 yard field goalFLA 14-3
2FLAA. Williams 12 yard pass from Brewer (Dawson kick)FLA 21-3
2FLAGould 2 yard run (Dawson kick)FLA 28-3
3FLANattiel 60 yard pass from Brewer (Dawson kick)FLA 35-3
3FLAGould 1 yard run (Dawson kick)FLA 42-3
4FLADawson 30 yard field goalFLA 45-3
4FLAW. Williams 9 yard run (Dawson kick)FLA 52-3
4KSUPotter 1 yard run (run failed)FLA 52-9

[14]

At Rutgers

1 2 3 4 Total
Florida 6 0 9 0 15
Rutgers 0 0 3 0 3

at Giants Stadium

Auburn

#5 Auburn at Florida
1 234Total
Auburn 7 730 17
• Florida 0 0018 18
Scoring summary
15:50AUBWare 1 yard run (Knapp kick)AUB 7-0
214:53AUBFullwood 11 yard run (Knapp kick)AUB 14-0
3:14AUBKnapp 31 yard field goalAUB 17-0
412:09FLABell 1 yard run (Dawson kick)AUB 17-7
47:10FLAMcGinty 51 yard field goalAUB 17-10
4:36FLANattiel 5 yard pass from Bell (Bell run)

For most of the game, coach Pat Dye's fifth-ranked 1986 Auburn Tigers dominated coach Galen Hall's unranked Gators at Florida Field.[15] The Tigers defense was stifling, and forced Gators substitute quarterback Rodney Brewer to commit four turnovers in the first two quarters.[15] Hall replaced Brewer with starting quarterback Kerwin Bell, who had missed two games with a knee injury.[15] Tigers tailback Brent Fullwood gained 166 yards on the ground, including a second-quarter touchdown, to give Auburn a 17–0 lead early in the fourth quarter.[15] Bell then led the Gators on two scoring drives, with Gators placekicker Robert McGinty—a transfer from Auburn—booting a 51-yard field goal to close the Tigers' advantage to 17−10 with 1:45 to play.[16] With thirty-six seconds remaining in the game, Bell directed one final 79-yard drive in ten plays that was capped by a five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ricky Nattiel, who was playing with a separated shoulder.[15] The limping Bell then surprised the Tigers defense by running in the two-point conversion and completing the comeback, with the Gators winning 18–17.[17]

Vs. Georgia

See also: 1986 Georgia Bulldogs football team
1 234Total
Georgia 10 630 19
• Florida 0 10714 31
Scoring summary
1UGATate 1 yard run (Crumley kick)UGA 7-0
1UGACrumley 24 yard field goalUGA 10-0
2FLADawson 23 yard field goalUGA 10-3
2UGACrumley 35 yard field goalUGA 13-3
2UGACrumley 45 yard field goalUGA 16-3
2FLANattiel 8 yard pass from Bell (Dawson kick)UGA 16-10
3UGACrumley 43 yard field goalUGA 19-10
3FLANattiel 9 yard pass from Bell (Dawson kick)UGA 19-17
4FLAMassey 3 yard run (Dawson kick)FLA 24-19
4FLANattiel 42 yard pass from Bell (Dawson kick)FLA 31-19

[18]

At Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total
Florida 0 3 0 0 3
Kentucky 7 0 0 3 10

At Florida State

1 2 3 4 Total
Florida 7 3 0 7 17
Florida State 3 7 3 0 13

References

  1. ^ a b 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "Big game for goliath: Gators 38, Eagles 14". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. August 31, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "'Canes clean Gators' house". The Tampa Tribune. September 7, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Bama rules Gators for 21–7 victory". The Orlando Sentinel. September 21, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Bulldogs' defense stops Gators 16–10". The Palm Beach Post. September 28, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Gators lose more than just another game". The Palm Beach Post. October 5, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Gators filet outmanned Golden Flashes". Florida Today. October 12, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Defenses rule as Gators bite toothless RU". The Central New Jersey Home News. October 19, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Bell stages comeback to upset Auburn 18–17". The Selma Times-Journal. November 2, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Bell sounds death knell for Georgia". The Sun Herald. November 9, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "'Cats put Gator Bowl plans in deep freeze". The Tennessean. November 16, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Gators grab a six-pack". Fort Myers News-Press. November 30, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Lsu Greases Florida's Slide -- Bell Injured".
  14. ^ Gainesville Sun. 12 Oct 1986.
  15. ^ a b c d e Paul Jenkins, "Ask not for whom the Bell tolls: Florida 18, Auburn 17," The Gainesville Sun, pp. 1F & 10F (November 2, 1986). Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  16. ^ Bob Dunkel, "UF kicker McGinty gets revenge," The Gainesville Sun, p. 10F (November 2, 1986). Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  17. ^ Bob Greene, "Kramer's last-second pass lifts Wolfpack," Madison Courier, p. B5 (November 3, 1986). Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  18. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1986 Nov 9.
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