1986 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 1986 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the sport of American football during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season.

1986 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–5–1
Head coach	Mike Gottfried (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Solari (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Run and shoot, multiple pro-style
Defensive coordinator	John Fox (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium
Seasons ← 1985 1987 →

1986 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Penn State $	6	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
No. 19 Boston College	3	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Syracuse	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Temple	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Rutgers	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
West Virginia	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1986 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Penn State		–		–				12	–	0	–	0
No. 2 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Virginia Tech		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 19 Boston College		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Tulsa		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Florida State		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Army		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				3	–	6	–	2
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Wichita State		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	8:00 p.m.	Maryland	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN	L 7–10	48,120
September 13	7:00 p.m.	at NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC		T 14–14	47,200
September 20	12:30 p.m.	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	TNT	W 41–26	55,621
September 27	12:00 p.m.	West Virginia	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (Backyard Brawl)	T.E.N.	W 48–16	55,129
October 4	7:00 p.m.	Temple	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		L 13–19	40,136
October 11	12:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	USA	W 10–9	59,075
October 25	1:30 p.m.	Navy	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 56–14	45,345
November 1	12:00 p.m.	at Syracuse	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	T.V.E.N.	L 20–24	34,114
November 8	3:30 p.m.	No. 1 Miami (FL)	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ABC	L 10–37	55,338
November 15	1:30 p.m.	Rutgers	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 20–6	34,922
November 22	12:00 p.m.	at No. 2 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	USA	L 14–34	85,722
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Coaching staff

1986 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
	Coaching staff Mike Gottfried – Head coach Chuck Klausing – Assistant head coach/outside linebackers John Fox – Defensive coordinator/defensive Backfield Mike Solari – Offensive coordinator/offensive line Carl Angelo – Defensive line Steve Coury – Wide receivers Frank D'Alonzo – Defensive ends Mike Dickens – Quarterbacks Tommie Liggins – Running backs Sal Sunseri – Linebackers			Support staff Alex Kramer – Administrative assistant Bud Ratliff – Recruiting coordinator John Brown – Graduate assistant Rick Denstorff – Graduate assistant John Kukalis – Graduate assistant Larry Petroff – Graduate assistant			Strength and conditioning staff Buddy Morris – Weight training coordinator Ray Oliver – Assistant Strength

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Tony Woods	Defensive end	1	18	Seattle Seahawks
Randy Dixon	Guard	4	85	Indianapolis Colts
Lorenzo Freeman	Nose Tackle	4	89	Green Bay Packers
Tom Brown	Running back	7	182	Miami Dolphins