1986 Northwestern Wildcats football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record4–7 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorBob Junko (1st season)
CaptainGame captains[1]
Home stadiumDyche Stadium
Seasons
← 1985
1987 →
1986 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Michigan + 7 – 1 – 0 11 – 2 – 0
No. 7 Ohio State + 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
No. 16 Iowa 5 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Minnesota 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
Michigan State 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Indiana 3 – 5 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
Illinois 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Northwestern 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Purdue 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Wisconsin 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Francis Peay, the Wildcats compiled a 4–7 record (2–6 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in eighth place in the Big Ten Conference.[2]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike Greenfield with 1,653 passing yards, Stanley Davenport with 703 rushing yards, and Curtis Duncan with 437 receiving yards.[3] Kicker John Duvic was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten player by the Associated Press,[4] while tight end Rich Borresen received first-team All-Big Ten honors from the UPI.[5]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 6Duke*
L 6–1721,514[6]
September 20Army*
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
W 25–18
September 27at Princeton*
W 37–08,750[7]
October 4Indiana
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 7–2424,873
October 117:00 p.m.at Minnesota
L 23–4455,177
October 18Wisconsin
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 27–3534,462
October 25at No. 11 Iowa
L 20–2767,250
November 1Purdue
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 16–1725,417
November 812:30 p.m.at No. 11 Ohio State
L 9–3089,808
November 151:00 p.m.Michigan State
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
W 24–2126,711
November 22at Illinois
W 23–1870,568
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Personnel

1986 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OL Michael Baum
TE Rich Borresen
QB Greg Bradshaw
RB Ron Burton Jr.
RB Stanley Davenport Jr
WR Walter Ding
TE Bob Driscoll
WR Curtis Duncan
QB Mike Greenfield Jr
OL Steve Hofmann
WR George Jones
WR Marcus Lang
WR Randy McClellan
OL Tom Nickles
RB Brian Nuffer
RB Claudell Robertson
RB Greg Schultz
OL Jeff Stainton
OL John Yale
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB Alan Brown
LB Bob Bucaro
DL Bob Dirkes
DL Dave Helding
DL Ted Karras
LB Tom Kaukialo
DB Todd Krehbiel
DB Rich Myers
DB Kyle Palmer
LB Charles Plant
DB Jeff Robinson
LB John Ruden
DL Kelvin Scott
DB Brett Whitley
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Shawn Carpenter
K John Duvic
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 149. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "1986 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  3. ^ "1986 Northwestern Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  4. ^ "Harbaugh heads All-Big Ten team". The Michigan Daily. November 26, 1986. p. 8.
  5. ^ "Woodson, Waiters Both All-Big Ten". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. November 25, 1986. p. 10.
  6. ^ "Duke's big plays stop NU". Chicago Tribune. September 7, 1986. Retrieved February 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Kloehn, Steve (September 28, 1986). "Northwestern Overwhelms Princeton, 37-0". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 11-E – via Newspapers.com.
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