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^[1]
Defensive coordinator	John Fox (1st season)
Base defense	4–3^[1]
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	^[2]
September 13	7:00 p.m.	at NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC		T 14–14	47,200	^[3]
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	^[4]
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

^[1][5]

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 doordinator 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

^[6]

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

^[7]

References

1. "Quick Facts About Pitt". Pitt Football 1986. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1986. p. 5. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
2. "Gottfried had it all planned, except a loss". The Pittsburgh Press. September 2, 1986. Retrieved February 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Pitt feels sick after N.C. State kick, 14–14". The Pittsburgh Press. September 14, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Panthers rip West Virginia". The Lima News. September 28, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "1986 In Review". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. pp. 55–63. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
6. "The Coaches". Pitt Football 1986. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1986. pp. 9–15. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
7. . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.