The Northwestern Wildcats were 4-7 in 1986.
| GP | PTS | YDS | PLY | AVG | RUSH YDS | RUSH ATT | RUSH AVG | PASS YDS | PASS ATT | PASS AVG | SCK | SCKY | 1DWN | RUSH 1DWN | PASS 1DWN | PEN 1DWN | PEN | PEN YDS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 11 | 217 | 3,820 | 787 | 4.9 | 1,887 | 496 | 3.8 | 1,933 | 291 | 6.6 | ||||||||
Team Rank | 75th | 64th | 53rd | 62nd | 52nd | 45th | 52nd | 61st | 58th | 62nd | |||||||||
Opponent | 11 | 251 | 3,998 | 5.0 | 2,175 | 521 | 4.2 | 1,823 | 271 | 6.7 | |||||||||
Opponent Rank | 59th | 59th | 64th | 77th | 73rd | 77th | 30th | 27th | 56th | ||||||||||
Net | -34 | -178 | +787 | -0.2 | -288 | -25 | -0.4 | +110 | +20 | -0.1 | |||||||||
Net Rank | 67th | 64th | 53rd | 62nd | 64th | 60th | 63rd | 53rd | 40th | 65th |
| Mountain West | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | .667 | |
| 2 | 9 | 3 | .750 |
| Big 10 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2 | 12 | 0 | 1.000 |
| American Athletic | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 1 | .917 | |
| 2 | 10 | 2 | .833 |
| Independent | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2 | .833 | |
| 2 | 9 | 3 | .750 |
| Big 12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 1 | .917 | |
| 2 | 11 | 1 | .917 |
| Pac-12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 6 | .500 | |
| 2 | 2 | 10 | .167 |
| Mid-American | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | .667 | |
| 2 | 8 | 4 | .667 |
| Conference USA | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | .667 | |
| 2 | 9 | 3 | .750 |