1986 North Dakota State Bison football team

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1986 North Central Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 North Dakota State $^	9	–	0	–	0			13	–	0	–	0
No. 6 South Dakota ^	8	–	1	–	0			11	–	3	–	0
Mankato State	6	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
South Dakota State	5	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Nebraska–Omaha	4	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
St. Cloud State	4	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Augustana (SD)	3	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Northern Colorado	3	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
North Dakota	2	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Morningside	1	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

The 1986 North Dakota State football team represented North Dakota State University during the 1986 NCAA Division II football season, and completed the 90th season of Bison football. The Bison played their home games at Dacotah Field in Fargo, North Dakota. The 1986 team came off an 11–2–1 record from the previous season. The 1986 team was led by coach Earle Solomonson. The team finished the regular season with an undefeated 10–0 record and made the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Bison defeated the South Dakota Coyotes 27–7 in the National Championship Game en route to the program's second consecutive, and third NCAA Division II Football Championship.