# 1986 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 1986 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 94th overall and 53rd season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Ray Perkins, in his fourth year, and played their home games at both Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of ten wins and three losses (10–3 overall, 4–2 in the SEC) and with a victory in the Sun Bowl over Washington.
After opening the season with a victory over Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic, the Crimson Tide won their first seven games and eventually rise to as high as No. 2 in the rankings but lost to eventual national champion Penn State and lost out on an SEC championship after losses to LSU and Auburn. Highlights of the season included their first ever victory over Notre Dame and a 56–28 victory over Tennessee that snapped a four-game losing streak to the Vols.
After the season, Ray Perkins resigned on December 31, to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 27 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. No. 9 Ohio State* | No. 5 | Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic) | Raycom | W 16–10 | 68,296 |
| September 6 | 11:30 a.m. | Vanderbilt | No. 5 | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL | TBS | W 42–10 | 58,168 |
| September 13 | 1:30 p.m. | Southern Miss* | No. 4 | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (rivalry) | | W 31–17 | 73,687 |
| September 20 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 13 Florida | No. 4 | Florida FieldGainesville, FL (rivalry) | | W 21–7 | 74,685 |
| October 4 | 2:30 p.m. | Notre Dame* | No. 2 | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL | ABC | W 28–10 | 75,808 |
| October 11 | 1:30 p.m. | Memphis State* | No. 2 | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL | | W 37–0 | 60,210 |
| October 18 | 2:30 p.m. | at Tennessee | No. 2 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October) | ABC | W 56–28 | 95,116 |
| October 25 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 6 Penn State* | No. 2 | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL (rivalry) | ABC | L 3–23 | 60,210 |
| November 1 | 11:30 a.m. | at No. 19 Mississippi State | No. 8 | Scott FieldStarkville, MS (rivalry) | TBS | W 38–3 | 42,700 |
| November 8 | 6:45 p.m. | No. 18 LSU | No. 6 | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (rivalry) | ESPN | L 10–14 | 75,808 |
| November 15 | 1:30 p.m. | Temple* | No. 11 | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL | | W 24–14 | 60,210 |
| November 29 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. No. 14 Auburn | No. 7 | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) | ABC | L 17–21 | 75,808 |
| December 25 | 1:30 p.m. | vs. No. 12 Washington* | No. 13 | Sun Bowl StadiumEl Paso, TX (Sun Bowl) | CBS | W 28–6 | 48,722 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = 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 | 5 | 4 | 4 (1) | 3 | 2 (1) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 2 (3) | 8 | 6 (1) | 11 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 9 |
| Coaches | 6 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 | 3 (1) | 2 (1) | 2 | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 8 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 9 |

## Season summary
### Ohio State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Alabama | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
| Ohio St | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |

### Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| • Alabama | 3 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 42 |

### At Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Alabama | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
| Florida | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Memphis State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Memphis St | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Alabama | 10 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 37 |
Homecoming

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Penn St | 0 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 23 |
| Alabama | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### LSU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • LSU | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Alabama | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |

### Auburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Auburn | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Alabama | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 |

### Vs. Washington (Sun Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Huskies | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • No. 13 Crimson Tide | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |

## Awards and honors

* Cornelius Bennett – Lombardi Award, SEC Player of the Year, Unanimous First-team All-American

## 1987 NFL Draft

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Cornelius Bennett | Outside Linebacker | 1 | 2 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Freddie Robinson | Defensive back | 6 | 142 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Greg Richardson | Wide receiver | 6 | 156 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Curt Jarvis | Defensive tackle | 7 | 169 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Wayne Davis | Linebacker | 9 | 229 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Wes Neighbors | Center | 9 | 231 | Houston Oilers |
| Chris Goode | Defensive back | 10 | 253 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Mike Shula | Quarterback | 12 | 313 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |