1986 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

1986 Georgia Southern Eagles football
Division I-AA National Champions
NCAA Division I Football Championship vs. Arkansas State, W 48–21
Conference	Independent
1986 record	13–2
Head coach	Erk Russell
Home stadium	Paulson Stadium (Capacity: 18,000)

The 1986 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented the Georgia Southern Eagles of Georgia Southern University during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The team was coached by Erk Russell, in his fifth year as head coach for the Eagles.

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result	Attendance
August 30	at Florida*	Florida Field • Gainesville, FL	L 14–38	74,221
September 13	vs. Florida A&M*	Jacksonville, FL	W 35–12	–
September 20	at Middle Tennessee State*	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN	W 34–31	–
September 27	Chattanooga*	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W 34–14	–
October 4	at Tennessee Tech*	Tucker Stadium • Cookeville, TN	W 59–13	–
October 11	Bethune-Cookman (FL)*	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W 52–31	–
October 18	at East Carolina*	Ficklen Memorial Stadium • Greenville, NC	L 33–35	27,121
November 1	at Western Kentucky*	L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY	W 49–32	–
November 8	at UCF*	Florida Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL	W 33–23	11,137
November 15	James Madison (VA)*	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W 45–35	–
November 22	South Carolina State*	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA	W 28–7	–
November 29	North Carolina A&T*	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA (Division I-AA 1st Round Playoff Game)	W 52–21	–
December 6	Nicholls State (LA)*	Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA (Division I-AA Quarterfinal Playoff Game)	W 55–31	–
December 13	at Nevada*	Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV (Division I-AA Semifinal Playoff Game)	W 48–38	–
December 20	vs. Arkansas State*	Tacoma Dome • Tacoma, WA (Division I-AA Championship Game)	W 48–21	–
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1986 Georgia Southern Eagles football—NCAA Division I-AA national champions
Brad Bernard Tracy Ham Fred Stokes Head coach: Erk Russell Assistant coaches: Paul Johnson

Georgia Southern Eagles football
Venues	Paulson Stadium (1984–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Appalachian State Georgia State 2015 GoDaddy Bowl
Culture & lore	Traditions Freedom GUS "Georgia Southern Fight Song" Southern Pride Marching Band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1981 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
National championship seasons in bold

NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football champions
1970s	1978: Florida A&M 1979: Eastern Kentucky
1980s	1980: Boise State 1981: Idaho State 1982: Eastern Kentucky 1983: Southern Illinois 1984: Montana State 1985: Georgia Southern 1986: Georgia Southern 1987: Northeast Louisiana 1988: Furman 1989: Georgia Southern
1990s	1990: Georgia Southern 1991: Youngstown State 1992: Marshall 1993: Youngstown State 1994: Youngstown State 1995: Montana 1996: Marshall 1997: Youngstown State 1998: UMass 1999: Georgia Southern
2000s	2000: Georgia Southern 2001: Montana 2002: Western Kentucky 2003: Delaware 2004: James Madison 2005: Appalachian State 2006: Appalachian State 2007: Appalachian State 2008: Richmond 2009: Villanova
2010s	2010: Eastern Washington 2011: North Dakota State 2012: North Dakota State 2013: North Dakota State 2014: North Dakota State 2015: North Dakota State 2016: James Madison

1986 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Appalachian State Arkansas State Delaware Eastern Illinois Eastern Kentucky Furman Georgia Southern Idaho Jackson State Murray State Nevada Nicholls State North Carolina A&T Sam Houston State Tennessee State William & Mary
Champion – Georgia Southern Eagles

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