1986 Baylor Bears football team

1986 Baylor Bears football
Bluebonnet Bowl champion
Bluebonnet Bowl, W 21–9 vs. Colorado
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 12
Record	9–3 (6–2 SWC)
Head coach	Grant Teaff (15th season)
Offensive coordinator	Duke Christian (8th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Pete Fredenburg (4th season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Baylor Stadium
Seasons ←  1985 1987  →

1986 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Texas A&M $	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Arkansas	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 12 Baylor	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Texas Tech	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
SMU	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Texas	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Rice	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
TCU	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Houston	0	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 15th-year head coach Grant Teaff, the Bears compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the SWC. Baylor was invited to the Bluebonnet Bowl, where the Bears defeated Colorado. The team played home games at Baylor Stadium in Waco, Texas.

The Bears offense scored 325 points, while the Bears defense allowed 207 points. In the Battle of the Brazos, Texas Football magazine voted the 1986 football game between Baylor and Texas A&M the outstanding game of the Southwest Conference of the 1980s. Texas A&M overcame a 17–0 deficit, and won the game, 31–30, and later won the SWC title and earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Wyoming *	No. 12	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY		W 31–28	20,542	[2]
September 13	Louisiana Tech *	No. 12	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX		W 38–7	31,000	[3]
September 20	USC *	No. 9	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	ABC	L 14–17	35,000	[4]
September 27	at Texas Tech	No. 17	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	Raycom	W 45–14	41,046	[5]
October 4	Houston	No. 13	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)	ESPN	W 27–13	34,000	[6]
October 11	No. T–20 SMU	No. 13	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX		L 21–27	36,927	[7]
October 18	at No. 11 Texas A&M	No. T–20	Kyle Field College Station, TX (Battle of the Brazos)	ABC	L 30–31	74,739	[8]
October 25	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	Raycom	W 28–17	24,101	[9]
November 8	No. 10 Arkansas		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	Raycom	W 29–14	44,500	[10]
November 15	at Rice	No. 18	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		W 23–17	12,500	[11]
November 22	Texas	No. 17	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)		W 18–13	42,500	[12]
December 31	vs. Colorado *	No. 14	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (Bluebonnet Bowl)	Raycom	W 21–9	40,470	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

USC

USC at Baylor

1 2 3 4 Total •Trojans 0 7 0 10 17 No. 9 Bears 7 0 0 7 14 Date: September 20 Location: Baylor Stadium Waco, Texas Game attendance: 35,000 TV announcers (ABC Sports): Keith Jackson (play-by-play) and Tim Brant (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 Baylor Matt Clark 1-yard run (Terry Syler kick) Baylor 7–0 2 0:15 USC Tim McDonald 99-yard fumble return (Don Shafer kick) Tied 7–7 4 7:24 Baylor Charles Perry 3-yard run (Terry Syler kick) Baylor 14–7 3:50 USC Ken Henry 12-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Don Shafer kick) Tied 14–14 0:00 USC Don Shafer 32-yard field goal USC 17–14

See also: 1986 USC Trojans football team

Visiting USC stunned the No. 9 Bears on a 32-yard field goal on the final play. Baylor dominated the game statistically, outgaining USC 408-197, holding a 26-11 advantage is first downs (including not allowing USC a first down through three quarters), and maintaining a 15-minute advantage in time of possession (37:47 to 22:13). Mirroring the result of last year's matchup, the unranked road team knocked off the host with an AP top ten ranking. ^[14]

Roster

1986 Baylor Bears football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 51 John Adickes Sr QB 14 Cody Carlson Sr WR 26 Derrick McAdoo Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S Anthony Coleman  Sr DB Ron Francis Sr CB Johnny Thomas Sr FS 27 Thomas Everett Sr LB 57 Ray Berry Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 32 Jim Mueller Sr K Terry Syler So	Head coach Grant Teaff Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

After the season

Awards and honors

• Thomas Everett, Jim Thorpe Award ^[15]

Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season. ^[16]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Ron Francis	Defensive back	2	39	Dallas Cowboys
Ray Berry	Linebacker	2	44	Minnesota Vikings
Cody Carlson	Quarterback	3	64	Houston Oilers
Thomas Everett	Defensive back	4	94	Pittsburgh Steelers
John Adickes	Center	6	154	Chicago Bears
Johnny Thomas	Defensive back	7	192	Washington Redskins

References

1. "High Five: Texas A&M-Baylor".^{[ permanent dead link ]}
2. "Baylor averts upset". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 7, 1986. Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Baylor gets answers in 38–7 romp". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 14, 1986. Retrieved July 6, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Southern Cal kick beats Baylor, 17–14". The Paris News. September 21, 1986. Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Baylor bounces Texas Tech". The Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. September 28, 1986. Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Bears' Rose plucks win from Coogs". The Abilene Reporter-News. October 5, 1986. Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Collins' hunch correct as Ponies shock Bears". Bryan-College Station Eagle. October 12, 1986. Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Murray whips Aggies past Baylor". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 19, 1986. Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Bears get big play to nip TCU". The Victoria Advocate. October 26, 1986. Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Baylor bowls over Arkansas, 29–14". Waco Tribune-Herald. November 9, 1986. Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Baylor Bears survive Owls". Wichita Falls Times. November 16, 1986. Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Baylor squeaks out 18–13 win over UT". The Orange Leader. November 23, 1986. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Bears rip Buffs in Bluebonnet, 21–9". The Kilgore News Herald. January 1, 1987. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "At the End, USC Takes Baylor by Storm, 17-14". The Los Angeles Times . September 21, 1986. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
15. "Do You Know Which Team Has the Most College Football Championships?". Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
16. "1987 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.