1986 Murray State Racers football team

American college football season

1986 Murray State Racers football

OVC co-champion

NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 21–28 at Eastern Illinois

Conference| Ohio Valley Conference
Record| 7–4–1 (6–1 OVC)
Head coach|

* Frank Beamer (6th season)

Home stadium| Roy Stewart Stadium

Seasons

<- 1985

1987 ->

1986 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 10 Eastern Kentucky ^  | 6  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 10  | - | 3  | - | 1
No. 18 Murray State $^  | 6  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 4  | - | 1
Akron | 4  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 4  | - | 0
Middle Tennessee | 4  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
Morehead State | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 4  | - | 0
Austin Peay | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Youngstown State | 2  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 9  | - | 0
Tennessee Tech | 0  | - | 7  | - | 0 |  |  | 0  | - | 10  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion
* ^ - NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant

Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1986 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Frank Beamer, the Racers compiled an overall record of 7–4–1 with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, and sharing the OVC title with Eastern Kentucky. Murray State advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship playoffs, where the Racers lost to Eastern Illinois in the first round.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 6| at Southeast Missouri State*| |

* Houck Stadium
* Cape Girardeau, MO

| W 42–17| | [1]
September 13| Southern Illinois*| No. 20|

* Roy Stewart Stadium
* Murray, KY

| L 0–31| 8,500| [2]
September 27| Western Kentucky*| |

* Roy Stewart Stadium
* Murray, KY (rivalry)

| T 10–10| 8,875| [3]
October 4| at UCF*| |

* Florida Citrus Bowl
* Orlando, FL

| L 25–38| 13,086| [4]
October 11| Eastern Kentucky| |

* Roy Stewart Stadium
* Murray, KY

| W 17–15| 7,116| [5]
October 16| at Akron| |

* Rubber Bowl
* Akron, OH

| L 13–24| | [6]
October 25| Tennessee Tech| |

* Roy Stewart Stadium
* Murray, KY

| W 23–16| 7,281| [7]
November 1| at Morehead State| |

* Jayne Stadium
* Morehead, KY

| W 45–11| | [8]
November 8| Youngstown State| |

* Roy Stewart Stadium
* Murray, KY

| W 17–14| 2,582| [9]
November 15| Middle Tennessee| |

* Roy Stewart Stadium
* Murray, KY

| W 21–7| 2,688| [10]
November 22| at Austin Peay| |

* Municipal Stadium
* Clarksville, TN

| W 24–14| | [11]
November 29| at No. 3 Eastern Illinois*| No. T–18|

* O'Brien Stadium
* Charleston, IL (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)

| L 21–28| 4,500| [12]

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Murray benefits from Bird's reunion". The Paducah Sun. September 7, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ "SIU soars in routing Racers, 31–0". Southern Illinoisan. September 14, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Western ties Murray State". The Tennessean. September 28, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "UCF makes believer of Murray State, 38–25". The Orlando Sentinel. October 5, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Murray's fuse burns enough to beat EKU". The Paducah Sun. October 12, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Akron rallies to bounce Murray State team 24–13". The Marion Star. October 17, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Interception and TD run spark Murray State win". The Courier-Journal. October 26, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Freshman quarterback leaads Murray past Morehead 45–11". Messenger-Inquirer. November 2, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Phantom field goal figures in Murray's 17–14 victory". The Courier-Journal. November 9, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Murray close to OVC crown". The Paducah Sun. November 16, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "4th-quarter outburst downs Govs". The Leaf-Chronicle. November 23, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Payton, E. Illinois vanquish Murray St". Chicago Tribune. November 30, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
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Murray State Racers football

Venues|

* Roy Stewart Stadium (1973–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* 1949 Tangerine Bowl
* Western Kentucky: Battle for the Red Belt

Culture & lore|

* Racer One
* Dunker
* "Fight Song"
* "The Old Gray Mare"
* Racer Band

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

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Ohio Valley Conference football champions

Pre-divisional|

* Evansville & Murray State (1948)
* Evansville (1949)
* Murray State (1950)
* Murray State (1951)
* Tennessee Tech & Western Kentucky (1952)
* Tennessee Tech (1953)
* Eastern Kentucky (1954)
* Tennessee Tech (1955)

NCAA College Division|

* Middle Tennessee (1956)
* Middle Tennessee (1957)
* Middle Tennessee & Tennessee Tech (1958)
* Middle Tennessee & Tennessee Tech (1959)
* Tennessee Tech (1960)
* Tennessee Tech (1961)
* East Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, & Morehead State (1962)
* Western Kentucky (1963)
* Middle Tennessee (1964)
* Middle Tennessee (1965)
* Morehead State (1966)
* Eastern Kentucky (1967)
* Eastern Kentucky (1968)
* East Tennessee State (1969)
* Western Kentucky (1970)
* Western Kentucky (1971)
* Tennessee Tech (1972)

Division II|

* Western Kentucky (1973)
* Eastern Kentucky (1974)
* Tennessee Tech & Western Kentucky† (1975)
* Eastern Kentucky (1976)
* Austin Peay (1977)
* Western Kentucky (1978)

I-AA/FCS|

* Murray State (1979)
* Western Kentucky (1980)
* Eastern Kentucky (1981)
* Eastern Kentucky (1982)
* Eastern Kentucky (1983)
* Eastern Kentucky (1984)
* Middle Tennessee (1985)
* Eastern Kentucky & Murray State (1986)
* Eastern Kentucky & Youngstown State (1987)
* Eastern Kentucky (1988)
* Middle Tennessee (1989)
* Eastern Kentucky & Middle Tennessee (1990)
* Eastern Kentucky (1991)
* Middle Tennessee (1992)
* Eastern Kentucky (1993)
* Eastern Kentucky (1994)
* Murray State (1995)
* Murray State (1996)
* Eastern Kentucky (1997)
* Tennessee State (1998)
* Tennessee State (1999)
* Western Kentucky (2000)
* Eastern Illinois (2001)
* Eastern Illinois & Murray State (2002)
* Jacksonville State (2003)
* Jacksonville State (2004)
* Eastern Illinois (2005)
* Eastern Illinois & Tennessee–Martin (2006)
* Eastern Kentucky (2007)
* Eastern Kentucky (2008)
* Eastern Illinois (2009)
* Southeast Missouri State (2010)
* Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, & Tennessee Tech (2011)
* Eastern Illinois (2012)
* Eastern Illinois (2013)
* Jacksonville State (2014)
* Jacksonville State (2015)
* Jacksonville State (2016)
* Jacksonville State (2017)
* Jacksonville State (2018)
* Austin Peay & Southeast Missouri State (2019)
* Jacksonville State (2020)
* UT Martin (2021)
* Southeast Missouri State & UT Martin (2022)

National championships in bold
† WKU claims a co-championship, while both the OVC and Tennessee Tech state it is not shared

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*[v]: View this template
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*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number