1986 Temple Owls football team

The 1986 Temple Owls football team was an American football team that represented Temple University as an independent during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its fourth season under head coach Bruce Arians, the team compiled a 6–5 record and outscored opponents by a total of 308 to 271. The team played its home games at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

1986 Temple Owls football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Bruce Arians (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Nick Rapone (2nd season)
Home stadium	Veterans Stadium

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

The team's statistical leaders included Lee Saltz with 1,729 passing yards, Paul Palmer with 1,866 rushing yards and 90 points scored, and Keith Gloster with 568 receiving yards.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at No. 6 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	L 15–45	85,732
September 13	at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	W 49–17
September 20	Florida A&M	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 38–17	42,098
September 27	at BYU	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 17–27	64,221
October 4	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	W 19–13	40,136
October 11	East Carolina	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 45–28	15,384
October 18	at Virginia Tech	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	W 29–13	23,500
October 25	Syracuse	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	L 24–27	19,422
November 8	Boston College	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia	L 29–38	17,952
November 15	at No. 11 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	L 14–24	60,210
November 22	at Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 29–22
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game