The 1886 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1886 college football season. The team finished with a 12–2 record and outscored opponents 765 to 41 under first-year head coach Frank A. Mason. On November 3, 1886, in a game played at Exeter, New Hampshire, the Crimson defeated the team from Phillips Exeter Academy by a score of 158-0, the highest point total ever achieved in a football game to that point. The team's two losses were against rivals Princeton (0–12) and Yale (4–29). Princeton and Yale are recognized by various selectors as the 1886 national champions.