The 1986 Duke Blue Devils football team represented Duke University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Steve Sloan, the Blue Devils compiled an overall record of 4–7 with a mark of 2–5 in conference play, and tied for sixth place in the ACC. Duke played home games at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Northwestern*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 17–6	21,514	[1]
September 13	at No. 19 Georgia*	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	L 7–31	80,420	[2]
September 20	Ohio*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	W 22–7	28,500	[3]
September 27	Virginia	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	W 20–13	20,500	[4]
October 4	at Vanderbilt*	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	L 18–24	38,874	[5]
October 18	at No. 17 Clemson	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	L 3–35	81,500	[6]
October 25	Maryland	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	L 19–27	18,600	[7]
November 1	at Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 6–34	37,102	[8]
November 8	Wake Forest	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	W 38–36	36,200	[9]
November 15	at NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC (rivalry)	L 15–29	41,800	[10]
November 22	North Carolina	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC (Victory Bell)	L 35–42	33,500	[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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