1986 Syracuse Orangemen football team

The 1986 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University an independent during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Dick MacPherson, the Orangemen compiled a record of 5–6. Syracuse played home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.

1986 Syracuse Orangemen football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Dick MacPherson (6th season)
Captain	Pete Ewald, Jim Leible, Tim Pidgeon
Home stadium	Carrier Dome

1986 Major eastern college football independents records

	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

	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	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	Mississippi State	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	L 17–24	34,216
September 13	at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	L 28–33	38,822
September 20	Virginia Tech	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	L 17–26	27,466
September 27	Rutgers	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	L 10–16	33,577
October 4	Missouri	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 41–9	41,035
October 18	at No. 6 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	L 3–42	85,512
October 25	at Temple	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 27–24	19,422
November 1	Pittsburgh	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 24–20	34,114
November 8	Navy	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 31–22	36,796
November 15	at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	L 9–27	32,000
November 22	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	W 34–23	40,106
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1986 Syracuse Orange football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 68 Tom Bennett Fr TE 87 Pat Davis So RB 36 Robert Drummond So TE 89 Terry Dougherty Fr G 56 John Garrett Sr OT 69 Shawn Garrity Sr G 64 Ken Jenkins Sr RB 32 Daryl Johnston So TE 84 Pat Kelly Jr C 77 Jim Leible Sr QB 9 Don McPherson Jr RB 43 Len Nelson So WR 18 William Pennyfeather Fr QB 5 Todd Philcox So WR 16 Scott Schwedes Sr OT 76 Craig Stoeppel So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 85 John Dominic Jr DL 71 Wes Dove Sr DT 94 Paul Frase Jr NG 93 Ted Gregory Jr DB 24 Chris Ingram So DB 28 Jeff Mangram So DB 10 Markus Paul So LB 54 Tim Pidgeon Sr LB 99 Roger Remo Sr DB 21 Jim Sheedy Sr DL 91 Claus Stuhlweissenburg Jr LB 52 Derek Ward Jr LB 90 Terry Wooden Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 4 Jim Fox Jr	Head coach Dick MacPherson Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt