The 1986 Baylor Bears football team represented the

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Bears offense scored 325 points, while the Bears defense allowed 207 points. The Bears finished the season second in the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

. In the

Battle of the Brazos The Battle of the Brazos is an American college football rivalry game between the Baylor Bears and Texas A&M Aggies. The rivalry is named for the Brazos River that flows by the two schools, which are 90 miles apart. The Battle of the Brazos ...

, ''Texas Football'' magazine voted the 1986 football game between Baylor and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

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 advanced to the 1987 Cotton Bowl Classic, Cotton Bowl Classic.

Schedule

Roster

Game summaries

USC

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.

After the season

Awards and honors

* Thomas Everett,

Jim Thorpe Award The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Payco ...

Team Players drafted into the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

References

Baylor Baylor Bears football seasons Bluebonnet Bowl champion seasons

Baylor Bears football The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium, renamed Floyd Casey Stadium in 1989, the Bears ope ...

{{Collegefootball-1980s-season-stub