1986 Louisville Cardinals football team

1986 Louisville Cardinals football
Conference	Independent
Record	3–8
Head coach	Howard Schnellenberger (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Rick Lantz (1st season)
Home stadium	Cardinal Stadium
Seasons ←  1985 1987  →

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

The 1986 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cardinals, led by second-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger, participated as independents and played their home games at Cardinal Stadium.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–23	72,822	[1]
September 13	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 0–21	35,126	[2]
September 20	Western Kentucky	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	W 45–6	34,144	[3]
September 27	Memphis State	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY (rivalry)	W 34–8	30,801	[4]
October 4	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH (The Keg of Nails)	L 17–24	16,317	[5]
October 18	at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	L 7–41	28,105	[6]
October 25	Florida State	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	L 18–54	22,822	[7]
November 1	Rutgers	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	L 0–41	20,165	[8]
November 8	at Tulane	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA	W 23–12	22,108	[9]
November 15	West Virginia	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	L 19–42	21,834	[10]
November 22	at Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	L 16–31	11,231	[11]
Homecoming

^{[12] [13] [14]}

References

1. "Illini trump Cards". Quad-City Times. September 7, 1986. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Hoosiers don't panic and survive opener nicely". The South Bend Tribune. September 14, 1986. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Louisville destroys Western Kentucky". The Paducah Sun. September 21, 1986. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Gruden's 5-minute flurry subdues Memphis State". The Paducah Sun. September 28, 1986. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Louisville comeback falls short as Cincinnati gets 24–17 win". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 5, 1986. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Eagles blast Cards". The Kentucky Advocate. October 19, 1986. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "FSU hammers Louisville 54–18". The Palm Beach Post. October 26, 1986. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Rutgers rambles past Louisville, 4 turnovers convert to 24 points". Courier-Post. November 2, 1986. Retrieved April 19, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Super Dome a house of Cards in 23–12 surprise". The Courier-Journal. November 9, 1986. Retrieved February 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Mountaineers thrash U of L 42–19". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 16, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Failing to think puts U of L over brink, Southern Miss rolls". The Courier-Journal. November 23, 1986. Retrieved March 27, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
12. "1986 Louisville Cardinals Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
13. "Louisville – 2018 Football Media Guide – page 204". www.guide.provations.com. University of Louisville. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
14. "Louisville – 2018 Football Media Guide – page 194". www.guide.provations.com. University of Louisville. Retrieved January 14, 2019.