The 1986 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
in the
1986 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Penn State winning the national championship. Coached by Joe Paterno, they defeated Miami (Fl) 14–10 in the Fiesta Bowl. This Fiesta Bowl was the first in the game's history to decide the na ...
. In their first full year under head coach
John Gutekunst
John Gutekunst (born April 13, 1944) is an American former college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Minnesota from 1985 to 1991, compiling a record of 29–37–2. Gutekunst came to Minnesota in ...
, the Golden Gophers compiled a 6–6 record and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 316 to 261. The team went to a second straight bowl game for the second time in school history (the first being the 1961 and 1962 Rose Bowls).
Freshman tailback
Darrell Thompson
Darrell Alexander Thompson (born November 23, 1967) is a former professional American football running back who played for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers. He was selected by Green Bay in the first roun ...
was named the Big Ten's freshman of the year.
Thompson and kicker
Chip Lohmiller
John McLeod "Chip" Lohmiller (born July 16, 1966) is a former professional American football placekicker in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, and St. Louis Rams. He played college football at the Univ ...
were named All-Big Ten first team.
[ Center Ray Hitchcock, Safety Larry Joyner and offensive linemen Jim Hobbins and Troy Wolkow were named All-Big Ten second team.][ Offensive lineman Paul Anderson, punter Brent Herbel and offensive lineman Jim Hobbins were named Academic All-Big Ten.][ Chip Lohmiller was awarded the Bobby Bell Award.][ Offensive tackle Anthony Burke was awarded the Butch Nash Award.][ Offensive tackle ]Norries Wilson
Norries Wilson is an American football coach and former player. He was the running backs coach of the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights football team, but was let go in 2015. He was the first African-American head football coach in the Ivy L ...
was awarded the Paul Giel Award.[
Total attendance for the season was 335,150, which averaged out to 55,858 per game. The season high for attendance was against rival ]Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
.
Schedule
Personnel
Game summaries
at Oklahoma
at Ohio State
at Wisconsin
*MINN: Thompson 26 Rush, 117 Yds
at Michigan
Iowa
vs. Tennessee (Liberty Bowl)
References
{{Minnesota Golden Gophers football navbox
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
Minnesota Golden Gophers football seasons
Minnesota Golden Gophers football
The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its ince ...