1986 Illinois State Redbirds football team

The 1986 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their sixth year under head coach Bob Otolski, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 5–5, with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, and placed fourth in the GCAC. Illinois State played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

1986 Illinois State Redbirds football
Conference	Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference
Record	5–5 (3–3 GCAC)
Head coach	Bob Otolski (6th season)
Home stadium	Hancock Stadium
Seasons ← 1985 1987 →

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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	Eastern Illinois	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL (rivalry)	W 23–20	6,965	[1]
September 6	Southwest Missouri State	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 16–17	6,458	[2]
September 20	Wayne State (MI)*	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 13–17		[3]
September 27	at Oklahoma State*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 7–23	38,600	[4]
October 4	at Western Illinois	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 17–7	12,136	[5]
October 18	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 38–28		[6]
October 25	Southern Illinois	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 3–20	10,346	[7]
November 8	at Wichita State*	Cessna Stadium Wichita, KS	W 17–10	4,233	[8]
November 15	Northwest Missouri State*	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 35–14	5,714	[9]
November 22	at Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	L 13–22	7,452	[10]
*Non-conference game