1986 Pre-Season College Football Team Rankings
1986 rankings calculated with the Classic formula (Ken's 2016-based hybrid, applied retroactively); records, NOW and game results come from James Howell's historical college football score archive.
| Rank | Change | Rating | Team | Conf | Record | Win % | Place | NOW | Game Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 0.000 |  Air Force (AIR FORCE) | IND WAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 4 | 0.000 |  Alabama (ALABAMA) |  SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 26 | 0.000 |  Arizona (ARIZONA) |  PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 25 | 0.000 |  Arizona State (ARIZONA STATE) | PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 13 | 0.000 |  Arkansas (ARKANSAS) | IND SWC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 35 | 0.000 |  Army (ARMY) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 16 | 0.000 |  Auburn (AUBURN) | SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 80 | 0.000 |  Ball State (BALL STATE) |  MAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 19 | 0.000 |  Baylor (BAYLOR) | IND SWC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 71 | 0.000 |  Boston College (BOSTON COLLEGE) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 12 | 0.000 |  Bowling Green (BOWLING GREEN) | MAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 21 | 0.000 |  BYU | IND WAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 63 | 0.000 |  CAL State Fullerton (CAL STATE FULLERTON) | IND PCAA | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 76 | 0.000 |  California (CALIFORNIA) | PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 32 | 0.000 |  Central Michigan (CENTRAL MICHIGAN) | MAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 57 | 0.000 |  Cincinnati (CINCINNATI) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 42 | 0.000 |  Clemson (CLEMSON) |  ACC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 31 | 0.000 |  Colorado (COLORADO) | IND B8 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 55 | 0.000 |  Colorado State (COLORADO STATE) | IND WAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 74 | 0.000 |  Duke (DUKE) | ACC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 93 | 0.000 |  East Carolina (EAST CAROLINA) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 83 | 0.000 |  Eastern Michigan (EASTERN MICHIGAN) | MAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 1 | 0.000 |  Florida (FLORIDA) | SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 20 | 0.000 |  Florida State (FLORIDA STATE) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 8 | 0.000 |  Fresno State (FRESNO STATE) | IND PCAA | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 18 | 0.000 |  Georgia (GEORGIA) | SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 23 | 0.000 |  Georgia Tech (GEORGIA TECH) | ACC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 65 | 0.000 |  Hawai'i (HAWAII) | IND WAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 66 | 0.000 |  Houston (HOUSTON) | IND SWC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 40 | 0.000 |  Illinois (ILLINOIS) |  B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 75 | 0.000 |  Indiana (INDIANA) | B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 5 | 0.000 |  Iowa (IOWA) | B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 64 | 0.000 |  Iowa State (IOWA STATE) | IND B8 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 54 | 0.000 |  Kansas (KANSAS) | IND B8 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 103 | 0.000 |  Kansas State (KANSAS STATE) | IND B8 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 90 | 0.000 |  Kent State (KENT STATE) | MAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 46 | 0.000 |  Kentucky (KENTUCKY) | SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 58 | 0.000 |  Long Beach State (LONG BEACH STATE) | IND PCAA | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 92 | 0.000 |  Louisiana (LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 99 | 0.000 |  Louisville (LOUISVILLE) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 22 | 0.000 |  LSU | SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 15 | 0.000 |  Maryland (MARYLAND) | ACC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 82 | 0.000 |  Memphis (MEMPHIS) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 9 | 0.000 |  Miami (MIAMI) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 24 | 0.000 |  Miami (OH) (MIAMI (OH)) | MAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 0 | 0.000 |  Michigan (MICHIGAN) | B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 30 | 0.000 |  Michigan State (MICHIGAN STATE) | B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 34 | 0.000 |  Minnesota (MINNESOTA) | B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 61 | 0.000 |  Ole Miss (MISSISSIPPI) | SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 53 | 0.000 |  Mississippi State (MISSISSIPPI STATE) | SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 98 | 0.000 |  Missouri (MISSOURI) | IND B8 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 70 | 0.000 |  Navy (NAVY) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 14 | 0.000 |  Nebraska (NEBRASKA) | IND B8 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 88 | 0.000 |  New Mexico (NEW MEXICO) | IND WAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 102 | 0.000 |  New Mexico State (NEW MEXICO STATE) | IND PCAA | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 51 | 0.000 |  North Carolina (NORTH CAROLINA) | ACC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 89 | 0.000 |  NC State (NORTH CAROLINA STATE) | ACC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 73 | 0.000 |  Northern Illinois (NORTHERN ILLINOIS) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 87 | 0.000 |  Northwestern (NORTHWESTERN) | B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 33 | 0.000 |  Notre Dame (NOTRE DAME) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 97 | 0.000 |  Ohio (OHIO) | MAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 17 | 0.000 |  Ohio State (OHIO STATE) | B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 2 | 0.000 |  Oklahoma (OKLAHOMA) | IND B8 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 27 | 0.000 |  Oklahoma State (OKLAHOMA STATE) | IND B8 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 56 | 0.000 |  Oregon (OREGON) | PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 91 | 0.000 |  Oregon State (OREGON STATE) | PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 72 | 0.000 |  Pacific (PACIFIC) | IND PCAA | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 3 | 0.000 |  Penn State (PENN STATE) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 50 | 0.000 |  Pittsburgh (PITTSBURGH) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 44 | 0.000 |  Purdue (PURDUE) | B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 81 | 0.000 |  Rice (RICE) | IND SWC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 94 | 0.000 |  Rutgers (RUTGERS) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 52 | 0.000 |  San Diego State (SAN DIEGO STATE) | IND WAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 96 | 0.000 |  San José State (SAN JOSE STATE) | IND PCAA | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 36 | 0.000 |  SMU | IND SWC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 62 | 0.000 |  South Carolina (SOUTH CAROLINA) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 45 | 0.000 |  Southern Miss (SOUTHERN MISS) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 68 | 0.000 |  Stanford (STANFORD) | PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 39 | 0.000 |  Syracuse (SYRACUSE) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 95 | 0.000 |  TCU | IND SWC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 78 | 0.000 |  Temple (TEMPLE) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 6 | 0.000 |  Tennessee (TENNESSEE) | SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 28 | 0.000 |  Texas (TEXAS) | IND SWC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 10 | 0.000 |  Texas A&M (TEXAS A & M) | IND SWC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 69 | 0.000 |  Texas Tech (TEXAS TECH) | IND SWC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 77 | 0.000 |  Toledo (TOLEDO) | MAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 100 | 0.000 |  Tulane (TULANE) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 49 | 0.000 |  Tulsa (TULSA) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 11 | 0.000 |  UCLA | PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 60 | 0.000 |  UNLV | IND PCAA | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 41 | 0.000 |  USC | PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 38 | 0.000 |  Utah (UTAH) | IND WAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 85 | 0.000 |  Utah State (UTAH STATE) | IND PCAA | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 101 | 0.000 |  UTEP | IND WAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 84 | 0.000 |  Vanderbilt (VANDERBILT) | SEC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 43 | 0.000 |  Virginia (VIRGINIA) | ACC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 48 | 0.000 |  Virginia Tech (VIRGINIA TECH) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 79 | 0.000 |  Wake Forest (WAKE FOREST) | ACC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 37 | 0.000 |  Washington (WASHINGTON) | PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 59 | 0.000 |  Washington State (WASHINGTON STATE) | PAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 29 | 0.000 |  West Virginia (WEST VIRGINIA) | IND FBSI | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 67 | 0.000 |  Western Michigan (WESTERN MICHIGAN) | MAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 47 | 0.000 |  Wisconsin (WISCONSIN) | B10 | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |
| 1 | 86 | 0.000 |  Wyoming (WYOMING) | IND WAC | 0–0 | 0.000 | 1 | 0 | Preseason |