The 1986 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its ninth season under head coach Danny Ford, the team compiled an 8–2–2 record (5–1–1 against conference opponents), won the ACC championship, defeated Stanford in the 1986 Gator Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 296 to 187.^[1][2] The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

Terrence Flagler and Terence Mack were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Rodney Williams with 1,245 passing yards, Terrence Flagler with 1,258 rushing yards and 78 points scored (13 touchdowns), and Ray Williams with 280 receiving yards.^[3]

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	Virginia Tech*		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	L 14–20	75,930	[4]
September 20	at No. 14 Georgia*		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	W 31–28	81,377	[5]
September 27	at Georgia Tech		Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	W 27–3	46,062	[6]
October 4	The Citadel*		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 24–0	75,540	[7]
October 11	at Virginia	No. 20	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 31–17	44,300	[8]
October 18	Duke	No. 17	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 35–3	81,320	[9]
October 25	at No. 20 NC State	No. 16	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC (Textile Bowl)	L 3–27	51,300	[10]
November 1	at Wake Forest		Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	W 28–20	20,370	[11]
November 8	North Carolina		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 38–10	79,210	[12]
November 15	at Maryland	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Baltimore, MD	T 17–17	58,758	[13]
November 22	South Carolina*	No. 19	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (rivalry)	T 21–21	82,500	[14]
December 27	vs. No. 20 Stanford*		Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	W 27–21	80,104	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game