1986 Georgia Southern Eagles football
NCAA Division I-AA champion
ConferenceIndependent
Record13–2
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorPaul Johnson (2nd season)
Home stadiumPaulson Stadium
Seasons
← 1985
1987 →
1986 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Georgia Southern ^   –   13 – 2 – 0
No. 14 Tennessee State ^   –   10 – 2 – 1
No. 8 William & Mary ^   –   9 – 3 – 0
Eastern Washington   –   5 – 5 – 0
James Madison   –   5 – 5 – 1
Florida A&M   –   4 – 6 – 0
Northeastern   –   4 – 6 – 0
Western Kentucky   –   4 – 6 – 1
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1986 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented the Georgia Southern Eagles of Georgia Southern College (now known as Georgia Southern University) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The team was coached by Erk Russell, in his fifth year as head coach for the Eagles.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 30at No. 13 (I-A) FloridaNo. 1
L 14–3874,221[1]
September 13vs. Florida A&MNo. 1
W 35–1221,982
September 20at No. 17 Middle TennesseeNo. 4
W 34–3111,000
September 27ChattanoogaNo. 4
W 34–1415,235
October 4at Tennessee TechNo. 4
W 59–136,211
October 11Bethune–CookmanNo. 3
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 52–3114,321
October 18at East CarolinaNo. 2
L 33–3527,121[2]
November 1at Western KentuckyNo. 9
W 49–3213,000
November 8at UCFNo. 5
W 33–2311,137
November 15James MadisonNo. 5
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 45–3516,135[3]
November 22South Carolina StateNo. 5
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 28–712,585
November 29No. 20 North Carolina A&TNo. 4
W 52–217,767
December 6No. 12 Nicholls StateNo. 4
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)
W 55–319,121
December 13at No. 1 NevadaNo. 4
W 48–3815,000
December 19vs. No. 2 Arkansas StateNo. 4
W 48–214,419[4][5][6]

[7]

References

  1. ^ "Big game for goliath: Gators 38, Eagles 14". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. August 31, 1986. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Ga. Southern falls as ECU ends 15-loss streak". The Atlanta Constitution. October 19, 1986. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Defenseless Ga. Southern survives James Madison 45–35". The Atlanta Constitution. November 16, 1986. Retrieved October 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Georgia Southern goes for 2nd-straight title". The News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. AP. December 19, 1986. p. 5C. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Georgia Southern wins I-AA football crown". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. December 20, 1986. p. 1B. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "NCAA Official Scoring Summary" (PDF). December 19, 1986. Retrieved May 2, 2019 – via Amazon Web Services.
  7. ^ "1986 Football Schedule". CFBDataWarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.

External links


1986 Georgia Southern Eagles football—NCAA Division I-AA national champions
Georgia Southern Eagles football
NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football champions
1986 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
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