1986 UNLV Rebels football team

The 1986 UNLV Rebels football team was an American football team that represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Wayne Nunnely, the Rebels compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 3–4 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the PCAA. The team played home games at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in Whitney, Nevada.

1986 UNLV Rebels football
Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Record	6–5 (3–4 PCAA)
Head coach	Wayne Nunnely (1st season)
Home stadium	Sam Boyd Silver Bowl

1986 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
San Jose State $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Fresno State	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Long Beach State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
UNLV	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Utah State	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Pacific (CA)	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Cal State Fullerton	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	9	–	0
New Mexico State	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Washington State*	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	L 14–34	17,000
September 13	Portland State*	Sam Boyd Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 51–14	12,561
September 20	Wisconsin*	Sam Boyd Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 17–7	32,207
September 27	Cal State Fullerton	Sam Boyd Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 40–23	20,101
October 11	at Pacific (CA)	Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, CA	L 15–21	11,500
October 18	San Jose State	Sam Boyd Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	L 20–23	17,522
October 25	at Utah State	Romney Stadium Logan, UT	L 6–7	11,270
November 1	North Texas State*	Sam Boyd Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 27–26	12,131
November 6	Fresno State	Sam Boyd Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	L 7–36	8,940
November 15	at New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	W 58–42	9,283
November 22	at Long Beach State	Veterans Memorial Stadium Long Beach, CA	W 31–8	5,197
*Non-conference game