The1986 Idaho Vandals football team represented theUniversity of Idaho in the1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by first-year head coachKeith Gilbertson, were members of theBig Sky Conference and played their home games at theKibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus inMoscow, Idaho.

Continuing upon the success of the previous four seasons underDennis Erickson, the Vandals were defending conference champions and finished the regular season at8–3 and5–2 in the Big Sky, tied for second. Led by senior quarterbackScott Linehan, Idaho qualified for theI-AA playoffs for the second straight season.^[1]

The Vandals defeatedrivalBoise State for the fifth consecutive year, the fifth of twelve straight over the Broncos, but lost twice toNevada, who were top-ranked in I-AA and undefeated in the regular season.^[2] Uncommon for a playoff team, the Vandals were shut out at home 24–0 byNorthern Arizona in late October.^[3]

The playoffs were expanded from 12 to 16 teams in1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, eliminating the first round bye for the top four seeds. Idaho and Big Sky championNevada were the only two teams selected from theWest, and were paired up in the first round inReno two days after Thanksgiving. In mid-October the teams played a close defensive game, and the Vandals came up short by four points.^[4] The rematch in the post-season was not close as the Wolf Pack prevailed 27–7,^[2] improving their record over Idaho to 8–1 since joining the Big Sky in 1979.

The 1986 team included two futureNFL head coaches: quarterbackScott Linehan^[5] and offensive linemanTom Cable. Future NFL players with lengthy pro careers included guardMark Schlereth (redshirt sophomore) and redshirt freshmanJohn Friesz, a futurecollegiate hall of fame quarterback was Linehan's back-up in 1986. Friesz was a three-year starter (1987–89) and defeated Nevada-Reno all three seasons, including the first-ever victory in Reno in1988.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	6:30 pm	Portland State*		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 42–10	8,500	[6]
September 13	10:00 am	atCentral Michigan*		Perry Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	L 21–34	18,201	[7]
September 20	1:00 pm	Cal State Fullerton*		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 25–17	12,500	[8]
September 27	1:00 pm	at No. 6Eastern Washington*		Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 27–10	7,835	[9]
October 4	6:30 pm	Idaho State	No. 17	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID (rivalry)	W 38–26	9,500	[10]
October 18	1:00 pm	at No. 1Nevada	No. 12	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	L 17–23	13,825	[11]
October 25	6:30 pm	Northern Arizona	No. 15	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	L 0–24	10,600	[12]
November 1	12:00 pm	atMontana		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MY (Little Brown Stein)	W 38–31	7,303	[13]
November 8	6:30 pm	Montana State		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 44–17	8,200	[14]
November 15	6:30 pm	Weber State		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 31–17	5,917	[15]
November 22	12:30 pm	atBoise State	No. 20	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)	W 21–14	21,275	[16]
November 29	12:00 pm	at No. 1 Nevada*	No. 16	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 7–27	13,715	[17]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromNCAA (Div. I-AA) All times are inPacific time

^[2][3]

Source:^[18][19]

Linebacker Tom Hennessey was a repeat selection to the all-conferenceteam.^[20][21] Eight Vandals were included on the second team: safety Mark Tidd, linebacker Nolan Harper, defensive end Kord Smith, quarterback Scott Linehan, running back Steve Jackson, wide receiver Brant Bengen, and tackles Paul Taggert and Greg Hale.^[20]

• Gem of the Mountains: 1987 University of Idaho yearbook – 1986 football season
• Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1986 editions

• 1986 Big Sky Conference football season
• Idaho Vandals football seasons
• 1986 in sports in Idaho

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