1986 Polls

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National Champion: Penn State (AP, FWAA, NFF, UPI, USA-CNN)

Heisman Memorial Trophy: Vinny Testaverde (Miami (FL))
FWAA Coach of the Year Award: Joe Paterno (Penn State)

AP Preseason #1: Oklahoma ▪ AP Final #1: Penn State

AP Polls

Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
1	Preseason	1	Oklahoma	NA	—	Big 8
1	Preseason	2	Michigan	NA	—	Big Ten
1	Preseason	3	Miami (FL)	NA	—	Ind
1	Preseason	4	UCLA	NA	—	Pac-10
1	Preseason	5	Alabama	NA	—	SEC
1	Preseason	6	Penn State	NA	—	Ind
1	Preseason	7	Texas A&M	NA	—	SWC
1	Preseason	8	Nebraska	NA	—	Big 8
1	Preseason	9	Ohio State	NA	—	Big Ten
1	Preseason	10	Tennessee	NA	—	SEC
1	Preseason	11	Florida State	NA	—	Ind
1	Preseason	12	Baylor	NA	—	SWC
1	Preseason	13	Florida	NA	—	SEC
1	Preseason	14	Auburn	NA	—	SEC
1	Preseason	15	Louisiana State	NA	—	SEC
1	Preseason	16	Georgia	NA	—	SEC
1	Preseason	16	Washington	NA	—	Pac-10
1	Preseason	18	Brigham Young	NA	—	WAC
1	Preseason	19	Arkansas	NA	—	SWC
1	Preseason	20	Michigan State	NA	—	Big Ten
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
2	1986-09-09	1	Oklahoma	1	NC	Big 8
2	1986-09-09	2	Miami (FL)	3	1	Ind
2	1986-09-09	3	Michigan	2	1	Big Ten
2	1986-09-09	4	Alabama	5	1	SEC
2	1986-09-09	5	Penn State	6	1	Ind
2	1986-09-09	6	Nebraska	8	2	Big 8
2	1986-09-09	7	Texas A&M	7	NC	SWC
2	1986-09-09	8	Tennessee	10	2	SEC
2	1986-09-09	9	Auburn	14	5	SEC
2	1986-09-09	10	Ohio State	9	1	Big Ten
2	1986-09-09	11	Brigham Young	18	7	WAC
2	1986-09-09	12	Baylor	12	NC	SWC
2	1986-09-09	13	Florida	13	NC	SEC
2	1986-09-09	14	Louisiana State	15	1	SEC
2	1986-09-09	15	Florida State	11	4	Ind
2	1986-09-09	16	UCLA	4	12	Pac-10
2	1986-09-09	17	Washington	16	1	Pac-10
2	1986-09-09	18	Arkansas	19	1	SWC
2	1986-09-09	19	Georgia	16	3	SEC
2	1986-09-09	20	Michigan State	20	NC	Big Ten
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
3	1986-09-16	1	Oklahoma	1	NC	Big 8
3	1986-09-16	2	Miami (FL)	2	NC	Ind
3	1986-09-16	3	Michigan	3	NC	Big Ten
3	1986-09-16	4	Alabama	4	NC	SEC
3	1986-09-16	5	Penn State	5	NC	Ind
3	1986-09-16	6	Nebraska	6	NC	Big 8
3	1986-09-16	7	Washington	17	10	Pac-10
3	1986-09-16	8	Louisiana State	14	6	SEC
3	1986-09-16	9	Baylor	12	3	SWC
3	1986-09-16	10	Auburn	9	1	SEC
3	1986-09-16	11	Brigham Young	11	NC	WAC
3	1986-09-16	12	Arkansas	18	6	SWC
3	1986-09-16	13	Florida	13	NC	SEC
3	1986-09-16	14	Georgia	19	5	SEC
3	1986-09-16	15	Florida State	15	NC	Ind
3	1986-09-16	16	Texas A&M	7	9	SWC
3	1986-09-16	17	Arizona			Pac-10
3	1986-09-16	18	Arizona State			Pac-10
3	1986-09-16	19	UCLA	16	3	Pac-10
3	1986-09-16	20	Notre Dame			Ind
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
4	1986-09-23	1	Oklahoma	1	NC	Big 8
4	1986-09-23	2	Miami (FL)	2	NC	Ind
4	1986-09-23	3	Alabama	4	1	SEC
4	1986-09-23	4	Nebraska	6	2	Big 8
4	1986-09-23	5	Michigan	3	2	Big Ten
4	1986-09-23	6	Washington	7	1	Pac-10
4	1986-09-23	7	Penn State	5	2	Ind
4	1986-09-23	8	Auburn	10	2	SEC
4	1986-09-23	9	Arkansas	12	3	SWC
4	1986-09-23	10	Arizona	17	7	Pac-10
4	1986-09-23	11	Arizona State	18	7	Pac-10
4	1986-09-23	12	Southern California			Pac-10
4	1986-09-23	13	Maryland			ACC
4	1986-09-23	14	Texas A&M	16	2	SWC
4	1986-09-23	15	Iowa			Big Ten
4	1986-09-23	16	UCLA	19	3	Pac-10
4	1986-09-23	17	Baylor	9	8	SWC
4	1986-09-23	18	Louisiana State	8	10	SEC
4	1986-09-23	19	Michigan State			Big Ten
4	1986-09-23	20	Florida State	15	5	Ind
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
5	1986-09-30	1	Miami (FL)	2	1	Ind
5	1986-09-30	2	Alabama	3	1	SEC
5	1986-09-30	3	Nebraska	4	1	Big 8
5	1986-09-30	4	Michigan	5	1	Big Ten
5	1986-09-30	5	Penn State	7	2	Ind
5	1986-09-30	6	Oklahoma	1	5	Big 8
5	1986-09-30	7	Auburn	8	1	SEC
5	1986-09-30	8	Arkansas	9	1	SWC
5	1986-09-30	9	Southern California	12	3	Pac-10
5	1986-09-30	10	Arizona	10	NC	Pac-10
5	1986-09-30	11	Iowa	15	4	Big Ten
5	1986-09-30	12	Washington	6	6	Pac-10
5	1986-09-30	13	Baylor	17	4	SWC
5	1986-09-30	14	Texas A&M	14	NC	SWC
5	1986-09-30	15	UCLA	16	1	Pac-10
5	1986-09-30	16	Arizona State	11	5	Pac-10
5	1986-09-30	17	Michigan State	19	2	Big Ten
5	1986-09-30	18	Louisiana State	18	NC	SEC
5	1986-09-30	19	Fresno State			PCAA
5	1986-09-30	20	North Carolina State			ACC
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
6	1986-10-07	1	Miami (FL)	1	NC	Ind
6	1986-10-07	2	Alabama	2	NC	SEC
6	1986-10-07	3	Nebraska	3	NC	Big 8
6	1986-10-07	4	Michigan	4	NC	Big Ten
6	1986-10-07	5	Penn State	5	NC	Ind
6	1986-10-07	6	Oklahoma	6	NC	Big 8
6	1986-10-07	7	Auburn	7	NC	SEC
6	1986-10-07	8	Arkansas	8	NC	SWC
6	1986-10-07	9	Southern California	9	NC	Pac-10
6	1986-10-07	10	Iowa	11	1	Big Ten
6	1986-10-07	11	Arizona	10	1	Pac-10
6	1986-10-07	12	Washington	12	NC	Pac-10
6	1986-10-07	13	Baylor	13	NC	SWC
6	1986-10-07	14	Texas A&M	14	NC	SWC
6	1986-10-07	15	Arizona State	16	1	Pac-10
6	1986-10-07	16	Louisiana State	18	2	SEC
6	1986-10-07	17	North Carolina State	20	3	ACC
6	1986-10-07	18	Stanford			Pac-10
6	1986-10-07	19	Mississippi State			SEC
6	1986-10-07	20	Clemson			ACC
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
7	1986-10-14	1	Miami (FL)	1	NC	Ind
7	1986-10-14	2	Alabama	2	NC	SEC
7	1986-10-14	3	Nebraska	3	NC	Big 8
7	1986-10-14	4	Michigan	4	NC	Big Ten
7	1986-10-14	5	Oklahoma	6	1	Big 8
7	1986-10-14	6	Penn State	5	1	Ind
7	1986-10-14	7	Auburn	7	NC	SEC
7	1986-10-14	8	Iowa	10	2	Big Ten
7	1986-10-14	9	Washington	12	3	Pac-10
7	1986-10-14	10	Arizona State	15	5	Pac-10
7	1986-10-14	11	Texas A&M	14	3	SWC
7	1986-10-14	12	Louisiana State	16	4	SEC
7	1986-10-14	13	Mississippi State	19	6	SEC
7	1986-10-14	14	Arkansas	8	6	SWC
7	1986-10-14	15	Southern California	9	6	Pac-10
7	1986-10-14	16	Arizona	11	5	Pac-10
7	1986-10-14	17	Clemson	20	3	ACC
7	1986-10-14	18	North Carolina			ACC
7	1986-10-14	19	UCLA			Pac-10
7	1986-10-14	20	Baylor	13	7	SWC
7	1986-10-14	20	Southern Methodist			SWC
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
8	1986-10-21	1	Miami (FL)	1	NC	Ind
8	1986-10-21	2	Alabama	2	NC	SEC
8	1986-10-21	3	Nebraska	3	NC	Big 8
8	1986-10-21	4	Michigan	4	NC	Big Ten
8	1986-10-21	5	Oklahoma	5	NC	Big 8
8	1986-10-21	6	Penn State	6	NC	Ind
8	1986-10-21	7	Auburn	7	NC	SEC
8	1986-10-21	8	Washington	9	1	Pac-10
8	1986-10-21	9	Arizona State	10	1	Pac-10
8	1986-10-21	10	Texas A&M	11	1	SWC
8	1986-10-21	11	Iowa	8	3	Big Ten
8	1986-10-21	12	Louisiana State	12	NC	SEC
8	1986-10-21	13	Mississippi State	13	NC	SEC
8	1986-10-21	14	Arkansas	14	NC	SWC
8	1986-10-21	15	Arizona	16	1	Pac-10
8	1986-10-21	16	Clemson	17	1	ACC
8	1986-10-21	17	UCLA	19	2	Pac-10
8	1986-10-21	18	Southern Methodist	20	2	SWC
8	1986-10-21	19	Stanford			Pac-10
8	1986-10-21	20	North Carolina State			ACC
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
9	1986-10-28	1	Miami (FL)	1	NC	Ind
9	1986-10-28	2	Penn State	6	4	Ind
9	1986-10-28	3	Michigan	4	1	Big Ten
9	1986-10-28	4	Oklahoma	5	1	Big 8
9	1986-10-28	5	Auburn	7	2	SEC
9	1986-10-28	6	Washington	8	2	Pac-10
9	1986-10-28	7	Arizona State	9	2	Pac-10
9	1986-10-28	8	Alabama	2	6	SEC
9	1986-10-28	9	Nebraska	3	6	Big 8
9	1986-10-28	10	Texas A&M	10	NC	SWC
9	1986-10-28	11	Iowa	11	NC	Big Ten
9	1986-10-28	12	Louisiana State	12	NC	SEC
9	1986-10-28	13	Arkansas	14	1	SWC
9	1986-10-28	14	Arizona	15	1	Pac-10
9	1986-10-28	15	UCLA	17	2	Pac-10
9	1986-10-28	16	North Carolina State	20	4	ACC
9	1986-10-28	17	Ohio State			Big Ten
9	1986-10-28	18	Southern California			Pac-10
9	1986-10-28	19	Mississippi State	13	6	SEC
9	1986-10-28	20	Florida State			Ind
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
10	1986-11-04	1	Miami (FL)	1	NC	Ind
10	1986-11-04	2	Penn State	2	NC	Ind
10	1986-11-04	3	Michigan	3	NC	Big Ten
10	1986-11-04	4	Oklahoma	4	NC	Big 8
10	1986-11-04	5	Arizona State	7	2	Pac-10
10	1986-11-04	6	Alabama	8	2	SEC
10	1986-11-04	7	Nebraska	9	2	Big 8
10	1986-11-04	8	Texas A&M	10	2	SWC
10	1986-11-04	9	Auburn	5	4	SEC
10	1986-11-04	10	Arkansas	13	3	SWC
10	1986-11-04	11	Ohio State	17	6	Big Ten
10	1986-11-04	12	UCLA	15	3	Pac-10
10	1986-11-04	13	Washington	6	7	Pac-10
10	1986-11-04	14	Southern California	18	4	Pac-10
10	1986-11-04	15	North Carolina State	16	1	ACC
10	1986-11-04	16	Iowa	11	5	Big Ten
10	1986-11-04	17	Arizona	14	3	Pac-10
10	1986-11-04	18	Louisiana State	12	6	SEC
10	1986-11-04	19	Georgia			SEC
10	1986-11-04	20	Clemson			ACC
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
11	1986-11-11	1	Miami (FL)	1	NC	Ind
11	1986-11-11	2	Michigan	3	1	Big Ten
11	1986-11-11	3	Penn State	2	1	Ind
11	1986-11-11	4	Oklahoma	4	NC	Big 8
11	1986-11-11	5	Arizona State	5	NC	Pac-10
11	1986-11-11	6	Nebraska	7	1	Big 8
11	1986-11-11	7	Texas A&M	8	1	SWC
11	1986-11-11	8	Auburn	9	1	SEC
11	1986-11-11	9	Ohio State	11	2	Big Ten
11	1986-11-11	10	Washington	13	3	Pac-10
11	1986-11-11	11	Alabama	6	5	SEC
11	1986-11-11	12	Louisiana State	18	6	SEC
11	1986-11-11	13	Southern California	14	1	Pac-10
11	1986-11-11	14	Arizona	17	3	Pac-10
11	1986-11-11	15	Clemson	20	5	ACC
11	1986-11-11	16	Stanford			Pac-10
11	1986-11-11	17	Arkansas	10	7	SWC
11	1986-11-11	18	Baylor			SWC
11	1986-11-11	19	UCLA	12	7	Pac-10
11	1986-11-11	20	Mississippi			SEC
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
12	1986-11-18	1	Miami (FL)	1	NC	Ind
12	1986-11-18	2	Penn State	3	1	Ind
12	1986-11-18	3	Oklahoma	4	1	Big 8
12	1986-11-18	4	Arizona State	5	1	Pac-10
12	1986-11-18	5	Nebraska	6	1	Big 8
12	1986-11-18	6	Michigan	2	4	Big Ten
12	1986-11-18	7	Ohio State	9	2	Big Ten
12	1986-11-18	8	Louisiana State	12	4	SEC
12	1986-11-18	9	Alabama	11	2	SEC
12	1986-11-18	10	Southern California	13	3	Pac-10
12	1986-11-18	11	Arkansas	17	6	SWC
12	1986-11-18	12	Washington	10	2	Pac-10
12	1986-11-18	13	Texas A&M	7	6	SWC
12	1986-11-18	14	Arizona	14	NC	Pac-10
12	1986-11-18	15	Auburn	8	7	SEC
12	1986-11-18	16	Stanford	16	NC	Pac-10
12	1986-11-18	17	Baylor	18	1	SWC
12	1986-11-18	18	UCLA	19	1	Pac-10
12	1986-11-18	19	Clemson	15	4	ACC
12	1986-11-18	20	Georgia			SEC
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
13	1986-11-25	1	Miami (FL)	1	NC	Ind
13	1986-11-25	2	Penn State	2	NC	Ind
13	1986-11-25	3	Oklahoma	3	NC	Big 8
13	1986-11-25	4	Michigan	6	2	Big Ten
13	1986-11-25	5	Louisiana State	8	3	SEC
13	1986-11-25	6	Nebraska	5	1	Big 8
13	1986-11-25	7	Alabama	9	2	SEC
13	1986-11-25	8	Arizona State	4	4	Pac-10
13	1986-11-25	9	Arkansas	11	2	SWC
13	1986-11-25	10	Texas A&M	13	3	SWC
13	1986-11-25	11	Ohio State	7	4	Big Ten
13	1986-11-25	12	Arizona	14	2	Pac-10
13	1986-11-25	13	Washington	12	1	Pac-10
13	1986-11-25	14	Auburn	15	1	SEC
13	1986-11-25	15	UCLA	18	3	Pac-10
13	1986-11-25	16	Baylor	17	1	SWC
13	1986-11-25	17	Southern California	10	7	Pac-10
13	1986-11-25	18	Georgia	20	2	SEC
13	1986-11-25	19	North Carolina State			ACC
13	1986-11-25	20	Iowa			Big Ten
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
14	1986-12-02	1	Miami (FL)	1	NC	Ind
14	1986-12-02	2	Penn State	2	NC	Ind
14	1986-12-02	3	Oklahoma	3	NC	Big 8
14	1986-12-02	4	Michigan	4	NC	Big Ten
14	1986-12-02	5	Louisiana State	5	NC	SEC
14	1986-12-02	6	Nebraska	6	NC	Big 8
14	1986-12-02	7	Arizona State	8	1	Pac-10
14	1986-12-02	8	Texas A&M	10	2	SWC
14	1986-12-02	9	Arkansas	9	NC	SWC
14	1986-12-02	10	Auburn	14	4	SEC
14	1986-12-02	11	Ohio State	11	NC	Big Ten
14	1986-12-02	12	Washington	13	1	Pac-10
14	1986-12-02	13	Alabama	7	6	SEC
14	1986-12-02	14	Baylor	16	2	SWC
14	1986-12-02	15	UCLA	15	NC	Pac-10
14	1986-12-02	16	Arizona	12	4	Pac-10
14	1986-12-02	17	Georgia	18	1	SEC
14	1986-12-02	18	North Carolina State	19	1	ACC
14	1986-12-02	19	Iowa	20	1	Big Ten
14	1986-12-02	20	Stanford			Pac-10
Wk	Date	Rk	School	Prev	Chng	Conf
15	Final	1	Penn State	2	1	Ind
15	Final	2	Miami (FL)	1	1	Ind
15	Final	3	Oklahoma	3	NC	Big 8
15	Final	4	Arizona State	7	3	Pac-10
15	Final	5	Nebraska	6	1	Big 8
15	Final	6	Auburn	10	4	SEC
15	Final	7	Ohio State	11	4	Big Ten
15	Final	8	Michigan	4	4	Big Ten
15	Final	9	Alabama	13	4	SEC
15	Final	10	Louisiana State	5	5	SEC
15	Final	11	Arizona	16	5	Pac-10
15	Final	12	Baylor	14	2	SWC
15	Final	13	Texas A&M	8	5	SWC
15	Final	14	UCLA	15	1	Pac-10
15	Final	15	Arkansas	9	6	SWC
15	Final	16	Iowa	19	3	Big Ten
15	Final	17	Clemson			ACC
15	Final	18	Washington	12	6	Pac-10
15	Final	19	Boston College			Ind
15	Final	20	Virginia Tech			Ind

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