# 1986 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

The 1986 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University as a member of Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach John Cooper, the Sun Devils compiled an overall record of 10–1–1 with a mark of 5–1–1 in conference play, winning the Pac-10 title.

## Season summary

Arizona State quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst looked uncomfortable in the first two games of the season, wins over Michigan State and SMU. He threw five interceptions in the third game of year against Washington State, which ended in a 21–21 tie. A 16–9 win for Arizona State over UCLA in Pasadena on October 4 later proved to be the deciding game in the race for the Pac-10 Conference title. The Sun Devils then defeated Oregon in Eugene and returned to Southern California to defeat USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, becoming the first Pac-10 team to beat both Los Angeles area conference members on their home turf.
With three straight wins at home over former Western Athletic Conference (WAC) nemesis Utah, Washington, and Cal, combined with a UCLA loss to Stanford, Arizona State clinched the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth on November 8. The Sun Devils dropped their final game of the regular season to in-state rival Arizona, 34–17, in the annual Territorial Cup. The Sun Devils then defeated Michigan, 22–15, on January 1, 1987, in their first Rose Bowl.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 13 | 7:30 pm | No. 20 Michigan State* | | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | WTBS | W 20–17 | 70,689 |
| September 20 | 7:30 pm | SMU* | No. 18 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | | W 30–0 | 70,511 |
| September 27 | 7:30 pm | Washington State | No. 11 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | | T 21–21 | 70,543 |
| October 4 | 11:30 am | at No. 15 UCLA | No. 16 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | CBS | W 16–9 | 51,533 |
| October 11 | 1:00 pm | at Oregon | No. 15 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | | W 37–17 | 28,552 |
| October 18 | 1:30 pm | at No. 15 USC | No. 10 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | W 29–20 | 65,874 |
| October 25 | 7:30 pm | Utah* | No. 9 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | | W 52–7 | 67,130 |
| November 1 | 7:30 pm | No. 6 Washington | No. 7 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | KTVK | W 34–21 | 71,589 |
| November 8 | 5:00 pm | California | No. 5 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | WTBS | W 49–0 | 70,239 |
| November 15 | 7:30 pm | Wichita State* | No. 5 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | | W 52–6 | 65,333 |
| November 22 | 1:30 pm | at No. 14 Arizona | No. 4 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ (rivalry) | CBS | L 17–34 | 58,267 |
| January 1 | 3:00 pm | vs. No. 4 Michigan* | No. 7 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | NBC | W 22–15 | 103,168 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| AP | — | — | 18 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 (1) | 4 (1) | 8 | 7 | 4 |
| Coaches | — | — | 17 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5 |

## Game summaries
### At Arizona

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Arizona St | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Arizona | 7 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 34 |
at Arizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona
* Date: November 22
* Game attendance: 58,267
* TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist
Game information :
Arizona St
Jeff Van Raaphorst 38/55, 437 Yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Darryl Harris 16 Rush, 55 Yds
Aaron Cox 10 Rec, 191 Yds, TD
Arizona
Alfred Jenkins 11/17, 165 Yds, TD
David Adams 18 Rush, 91 Yds
Derek Hill 2 Rec, 67 Yds :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | ASU | ARI |
| 1 | 7:14 | 6 | 97 | | Arizona | Adams 18-yard touchdown reception from Jenkins, Coston kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 13:31 | | | | Arizona | Greathouse 5-yard touchdown run, Coston kick good | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | 7:59 | | | | Arizona St | Garrett 7-yard touchdown reception from Van Raaphorst, Bostrom kick good | 7 | 14 |
| 2 | 0:00 | | | | Arizona St | 21-yard field goal by Bostrom | 10 | 14 |
| 3 | 11:55 | | | | Arizona | McLemore 6-yard touchdown run, Coston kick good | 10 | 21 |
| 4 | 12:56 | | | | Arizona | 28-yard field goal by Coston | 10 | 24 |
| 4 | 8:56 | | | | Arizona | Interception returned 100 yards for touchdown by Cecil, Coston kick good | 10 | 31 |
| 4 | 6:47 | | | | Arizona St | Cox 20-yard touchdown reception from Van Raaphorst, Bostrom kick good | 17 | 31 |
| 4 | 2:14 | | | | Arizona | 27-yard field goal by Coston | 17 | 34 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 17 | 34 |

### Vs. Michigan (Rose Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wolverines | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| • Sun Devils | 0 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 22 |