1986 Southwest Missouri State Bears football team

1986 Southwest Missouri State Bears football
Conference	Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference
Record	3–7 (1–5 GCAC)
Head coach	Jesse Branch (1st season)
Home stadium	Briggs Stadium

1986 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Eastern Illinois $^	5	–	1	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
No. 17 Southern Illinois	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Northern Iowa	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	1
Illinois State	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Western Illinois	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
SW Missouri State	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Indiana State	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1986 Southwest Missouri State Bears football team represented Southwest Missouri State University (now known as Missouri State University) as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Jesse Branch, the Bears compiled an overall record of 3–7, with a mark of 1–5 in conference play, and finished tied for sixth in the GCAC.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Illinois State	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 17–16	6,458	[1]
September 13	at Indiana State	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	L 10–14		[2]
September 20	Western Illinois	Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	L 10–27		[3]
September 27	at Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	L 3–45	13,000	[4]
October 4	No. 12 Nicholls State*	Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	L 0–31		[5]
October 11	at Jackson State*	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	W 10–6	20,000	[6]
October 18	Middle Tennessee*	Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	L 19–42	3,000	[7]
October 25	No. T–8 Eastern Illinois	Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	L 20–34	6,000	[8]
November 1	Southern Illinois	Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	L 14–35	3,000	[9]
November 8	at Central Missouri State*	Vernon Kennedy Field Warrensburg, MO	W 24–13		[10]
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "SW Missouri State rallies by Redbirds". The Pantagraph. September 7, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Indiana State wins". The Times. September 14, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Western Illinois wins". The Pantagraph. September 21, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Bears no match for rugged UNI". The Daily Nonpareil. September 28, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Nicholls State blanks Southwest Mo. State". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 5, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Southwest Missouri halts JSU 10–6". The Clarion-Ledger. October 12, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Raider eruption sinks SMSU". The Daily News-Journal. October 19, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Bears discover unfriendly skies with Eastern". The Springfield News-Leader. October 26, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "SIU: Move over Eastern Illinois". Southern Illinoisan. November 2, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Bears bag win over CMS". The Springfield News-Leader. November 9, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.