1986 Northwestern Wildcats football team

1986 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–7 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Francis Peay (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bob Junko (1st season)
Captain	Game captains[1]
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium

1986 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	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

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6		Duke*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 6–17	21,514	[6]
September 20		Army*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 25–18
September 27		at Princeton*	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	W 37–0	8,750	[7]
October 4		Indiana	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 7–24	24,873
October 11	7:00 p.m.	at Minnesota	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	L 23–44	55,177
October 18		Wisconsin	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 27–35	34,462
October 25		at No. 11 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 20–27	67,250
November 1		Purdue	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 16–17	25,417
November 8	12:30 p.m.	at No. 11 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 9–30	89,808
November 15	1:00 p.m.	Michigan State	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 24–21	26,711
November 22		at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 23–18	70,568
*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 Francis Peay Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

• No position listed: Curtis Spears

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.