1986 UCF Knights football team

1986 UCF Knights football
ConferenceIndependent
Record6–5
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Kruczek (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorBruce Bennett (1st season)
Home stadiumFlorida Citrus Bowl
Seasons
← 1985
1987 →
1986 NCAA Division II independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Central State (OH) ^     10 1 1
No. T–18 New Haven     8 2 0
No. 7 Towson State ^     8 3 1
Southern Connecticut State     7 3 0
American International     6 4 0
UCF     6 5 0
Northern Michigan     5 5 0
Saint Mary's     5 5 0
Springfield     4 5 0
Michigan Tech     3 6 0
Kentucky State     1 9 0
Liberty     1 9 0
Central Connecticut     0 10 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

The 1986 UCF Knights football season was the eighth season for the team. It was Gene McDowell's second season as the head coach of the Knights. McDowell's 1986 team compiled a 6–5 overall record.[1]

The Knights competed as an NCAA Division II Independent. The team played their home games at the Citrus Bowl in Downtown Orlando. The Knights nearly earned their first-ever victory against a Division I-A team. On October 11, they fell 9-6 at Wichita State, on a miserable, soggy, afternoon after missing an extra point and two botched field goal attempts. It proved to be the Shockers' final football victory; less than two months after the game, Wichita State announced it was disbanding its program.

  1. ^ "UCF Develops Winning Ways: Part 4 of 8 – The History of UCF Football". University of Central Florida Athletics Association. July 10, 2007. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2011.