1985–86 NCAA football bowl games

1985–86 NCAA football bowl games
Season	1985
Number of bowls	18
Bowl games	December 14, 1985 – January 1, 1986
National Championship	1986 Orange Bowl
Location of Championship	Miami Orange Bowl, Miami
Champions	Oklahoma Sooners
Bowl record by conference Conference Bowls Record Final AP poll Big Ten 6 3–3 (0.500) 3 SEC 5 2–2–1 (0.500) 4 Pac-10 5 2–2–1 (0.500) 1 Independents 5 2–3 (0.400) 3 SWC 4 3–1 (0.750) 3 Big Eight 4 1–3 (0.250) 2 ACC 3 2–1 (0.667) 2 WAC 2 1–1 (0.500) 2 PCAA 1 1–0 (1.000) 0 MAC 1 0–1 (0.000) 0

The 1985–86 NCAA football bowl games were a series of post-season games played in December 1985 and January 1986 to end the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. A total of 18 team-competitive games,^[1] and two all-star games, were played. The post-season began with the California Bowl on December 14, 1985, and concluded on January 18, 1986, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Game	Site	Time (US EST)	TV	Matchup (pre-game record)	AP pre-game rank	UPI (Coaches) pre-game rank
12/14	California Bowl	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, California			Fresno State 51 (10–0–1) (PCAA Champion), Bowling Green 7 (11–0) (MAC Champion)	NR #20	#18 NR
12/21	Cherry Bowl	Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan		USA Network	Maryland 35 (8–3) (ACC Champion), Syracuse 18 (7–4) (Independent)	#20 NR	NR NR
12/21	Independence Bowl	Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana		Mizlou	Minnesota 20 (6–5) (Big Ten), Clemson 13 (6–5) (ACC)	NR NR	NR NR
12/22	Holiday Bowl	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, California		USA Network	Arkansas 18 (10–2) (SWC), Arizona State 17 (8–4) (Pac-10)	#14 NR	#12 NR
12/27	Liberty Bowl	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, Tennessee		Raycom	Baylor 21 (8–3) (SWC), LSU 7 (9–1–1) (SEC)	NR #12	NR #10
12/28	Sun Bowl	Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas		CBS	Arizona 13 (8–3) (Pac-10), Georgia 13 (7–3–1) (SEC)	NR NR	#20 NR
12/28	Aloha Bowl	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii			Alabama 24 (8–2–1) (SEC), USC 3 (6–5) (Pac-10)	#15 NR	#14 NR
12/28	Florida Citrus Bowl	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida		NBC	Ohio State 10 (8–3) (Big Ten), BYU 7 (11–2) (WAC)	#17 #9	#17 #9
12/30	Freedom Bowl	Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, California		Lorimar	Washington 20 (6–5) (Pac-10), Colorado 17 (7–4) (Big Eight)	NR NR	NR NR
12/30	Gator Bowl	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, Florida		ABC	Florida State 34 (8–3) (Independent), Oklahoma State 23 (8–3) (Big Eight)	#18 #19	#16 #19
12/31	Bluebonnet Bowl	Rice Stadium Houston, Texas		Lorimar	Air Force 24 (11–1) (WAC), Texas 16 (8–3) (SWC)	#10 NR	#7 NR
12/31	Peach Bowl	Fulton County Stadium Atlanta		CBS	Army 31 (8–3) (Independent), Illinois 29 (6–4–1) (Big Ten)	NR NR	NR NR
12/31	Hall of Fame Classic	Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama		WTBS	Georgia Tech 17 (8–2–1) (ACC), Michigan State 14 (7–4) (Big Ten)	NR NR	NR NR
1/1	Cotton Bowl Classic[2]	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas	1:30 PM	CBS	Texas A&M 36 (9–2) (SWC Champion), Auburn 16 (8–3) (SEC)	#11 #16	#11 #15
1/1	Fiesta Bowl[3]	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona	1:30 PM	NBC	Michigan 27 (9–1–1) (Big Ten), Nebraska 23 (9–2) (Big Eight)	#5 #7	#5 #6
1/1	Rose Bowl[4]	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California	4:30 PM	NBC	UCLA 45 (8–2–1) (Pac-10 Champion), Iowa 28 (10–1) (Big Ten Champion)	#13 #4	#13 #3
1/1	Sugar Bowl[5]	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana	8:00 PM	ABC	Tennessee 35 (8–1–2) (SEC Champion), Miami (FL) 7 (10–1) (Independent)	#8 #2	#8 #4
1/1	Orange Bowl[6]	Orange Bowl Miami, Florida	8:00 PM	NBC	Oklahoma 25 (10–1) (Big Eight Champion), Penn State 10 (11–0) (Independent)	#3 #1	#2 #1

References

1. "1985 College Football Bowl Games". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
2. "Cotton Bowl; Bo Gets the Yards, but Aggies Get the Win". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
3. "Fiesta Bowl; Michigan Rallies to Win". The New York Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
4. "Iowa Has No Fun, but UCLA Has a Ball". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
5. "Tennessee's Defense Controls Hurricanes In Sugar Bowl, 35-7". The Washington Post. January 2, 1986. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
6. "Orange Bowl; Oklahoma Upends Penn State, Stakes Claim to No. 1". The New York Times. January 2, 1986. Retrieved October 30, 2017.