1986 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1986 Tennessee Volunteers football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 21–14 vs. Minnesota
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	7–5 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Johnny Majors (10th season)
Offensive coordinator	Walt Harris (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Ken Donahue (2nd season)
Captains	Joey Clinkscales Dale Jones Bruce Wilkerson
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ←  1985 1987  →

1986 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 LSU $	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 6 Auburn	4	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Alabama	4	–	2	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Georgia	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Ole Miss	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Florida	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his tenth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of seven wins and five losses (7–5 overall, 3–3 in the SEC) and with a victory over Minnesota in the Liberty Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 293 points while the defense allowed 249 points.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	New Mexico *	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 35–21	93,875	[1]
September 13	Mississippi State	No. 8	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	TBS	L 27–23	89,897	[2]
September 27	at No. 8 Auburn		Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	ABC	L 8–34	72,500	[3]
October 4	UTEP *		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 26–16	92,824	[4]
October 11	Army *		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		L 21–25	91,343	[5]
October 18	No. 2 Alabama		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)	ABC	L 28–56	95,115	[6]
October 25	at Georgia Tech *		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	TBS	L 13–14	28,432	[7]
November 8	Memphis State *		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 33–3	89,815	[8]
November 15	at No. 20 Ole Miss		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)	TBS	W 22–10	35,000	[9]
November 22	Kentucky		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 28–9	90,747	[10]
November 29	at Vanderbilt		Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN		W 35–20	41,572	[11]
December 29	vs. Minnesota *		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	Raycom	W 21–14	51,357	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Vs. Minnesota (Liberty Bowl)

Minnesota vs. Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total Golden Gophers 0 3 8 3 14 •Volunteers 7 7 0 7 21 Date: December 29 Location: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee Game attendance: 51,327 TV announcers (Raycom): Merle Harmon and Kevin Kiley

Main article: 1986 Liberty Bowl

See also: 1986 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Bruce Wilkerson	Tackle	2	52	Los Angeles Raiders
Joey Clinkscales	Wide receiver	9	233	Pittsburgh Steelers
Dale Jones	Linebacker	10	262	Dallas Cowboys
Carlos Reveiz	Kicker	11	302	New England Patriots

• Reference: ^{[13] [14]}

References

1. "Lobos lose to Vols". The Santa Fe New Mexican. September 7, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Felker making many believers". Hattiesburg American. September 14, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Tigers put the squeeze on". The Anniston Star. September 28, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. "UT win over Miners is no gem". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 5, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Vols fall in battle to Army". The Commercial Appeal. October 12, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
6. "'Bama offense destroys Vols". Johnson City Press. October 19, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Slip of toe lets Tech win 14–13". The Atlanta Constitution. October 26, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Vols pocket 33–3 win". The Herald. November 9, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Tennessee knocks out the Rebels". The Commercial Appeal. November 16, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Vols earn Liberty bid, 28–9". Kingsport Times-News. November 23, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Tennessee bowls over Vanderbilt". The Jackson Sun. November 30, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Tennessee air raid sinks Gophers' rally". Chicago Tribune. December 30, 1986. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
13. "1987 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
14. "Joey Clinkscales Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 13, 2024.

External links

• Season summary at Sports Reference