The1986 Arkansas State Indians football team representedArkansas State University as a member of theSouthland Conference during the1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by eighth-year head coachLarry Lacewell, the Indians compiled an overall record of 12–2–1 with a mark of 5–0 in conference play, winning the Southland title for the second consecutive season. Arkansas State advanced to the advanced to theNCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeatedSam Houston State,Delaware, andEastern Kentucky en route to theNCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, where they were defeated byGeorgia Southern.

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	Southern Illinois*	No. 7	Indian Stadium Jonesboro, AR	W 22–7	16,321	[1]
September 6	Northwestern State*	No. 7	Indian Stadium Jonesboro, AR	W 21–0	16,419	[2]
September 13	atMemphis State*	No. 7	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (rivalry)	W 30–10	36,510	[3]
September 20	atOle Miss*	No. 2	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS	T 10–10	26,500	[4]
September 27	East Texas State*	No. 2	Indian Stadium Jonesboro, AR	W 44–0	16,889	[5][6]
October 11	at No. 19(I-A)Mississippi State*	No. 2	Scott Field Starkville, MS	L 9–24	33,500	[7]
October 18	at No. 20Louisiana Tech	No. 5	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	W 20–17	17,800	[8]
October 25	McNeese State	No. 4	Indian Stadium Jonesboro, AR	W 23–14		[9]
November 8	atNorth Texas State	No. 2	Fouts Field Denton, TX	W 43–21	16,100	[10]
November 15	Lamar	No. 2	Indian Stadium Jonesboro, AR	W 56–7		[11]
November 22	Northeast Louisiana	No. 2	Indian Stadium Jonesboro, AR	W 26–21	10,086	[12]
November 29	No. 11Sam Houston State*	No. 2	Indian Stadium Jonesboro, AR (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 48–7	4,500	[13]
December 6	at No. 13Delaware*	No. 2	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	W 55–14	12,018	[14]
December 13	No. 10Eastern Kentucky*	No. 2	Indian Stadium Jonesboro, AR (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	W 24–10	10,500	[15][16]
December 19	vs. No. 4Georgia Southern*	No. 2	Tacoma Dome Tacoma, WA (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)	L 21–48	4,419	[17][18]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromNCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

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