American college football season
The 1987 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season . In their first season under head coach Dennis Erickson , the Cougars compiled a 3–7–1 record (1–5–1 in Pac-10, ninth), and were outscored 356 to 238.[ 1] [ 2] Home games were played on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington .
The team's statistical leaders included Timm Rosenbach with 2,446 passing yards, Richard Calvin with 822 rushing yards, and Steve Broussard with 701 receiving yards.[ 3]
After nine years as WSU head coach, Jim Walden departed for Iowa State in the Big Eight Conference in late 1986 ,[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] and was succeeded by Erickson, who returned to the Palouse in January 1987 after just one season at Wyoming ; he had led neighboring Idaho for the previous four years.[ 7] [ 8] [ 9] Wyoming visited Pullman in the second week of the season, a fifteen-point Cougar victory.[ 10] [ 11] [ 12]
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 5 Fresno State * W 41–2422,971 September 12 Wyoming * Martin Stadium Pullman, WA W 43–2824,151 [ 10] [ 11] [ 12] September 19 at No. 19 Michigan * L 18–44103,521 September 26 at Colorado * L 17–2643,527 October 10 Stanford Martin Stadium Pullman, WA L 7–4431,538 October 17 at Arizona State L 7–3870,341 October 24 Arizona Martin Stadium Pullman, WA W 45–2822,269 October 31 at USC L 7–4224,834 November 14 Oregon Martin Stadium Pullman, WA L 17–3114,089 November 21 at Washington L 19–3474,038 November 28 vs. California T 17–1754,000 [ 13] *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1987 Washington State Cougars football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 87 Marvin Adams Sr LB 55 Tuineau Alipate Jr DE 76 Ivan Cook Jr DT 97 Tim Downing So LB 57 Brian Forde Sr DE 96 Randy Gray So CB 41 James Hasty Sr DE 93 Chris Hiller Sr SS 19 Artie Holmes Jr CB 18 Shawn Landrum Jr DB 10 Jay Languein So SS 42 Ron Lee Jr LB 40 Maury Metcalf Jr DB 37 Roosevelt Noble So DT 75 Tony Savage So LB 21 Neti Ulaga'ono FS 29 Vernon Todd Jr
Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 4 Kevin Adams Sr P 45 Rob Myers So
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt
[ 14] [ 15]
Two Cougars were selected in the 1988 NFL draft .
[ 16] [ 17]
^ "1987 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016 . ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF) . WSUCougars.com . Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016 . ^ "1987 Washington State Cougars Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016 . ^ "Walden denies seeking job" . Spokane Chronicle . (Washington). November 21, 1986. p. 21. ^ Devlin, Vince (December 16, 1986). "It's official: Walden's gone" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. B1. ^ Condotta, Bob (December 15, 1986). "Iowa State hires WSU's Walden" . Idahonian . (Moscow). p. 1. ^ Grummert, Dale (January 8, 1987). "Erickson sets lofty goals for Cougars" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. C1. ^ Condotta, Bob (January 7, 1987). "Denny's dream comes true" . Idahonian . (Moscow). p. 1. ^ Weaver, Dan (January 8, 1987). "Erickson followed his heart to WSU" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. C1. ^ a b Jacobson, Bryan (September 12, 1987). "Cougs, Cowboys are carbon copy" . Idahonian . (Moscow). p. 1D. ^ a b "WSU deals Cowboys 43-28 loss" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. September 13, 1987. p. 6B. ^ a b Jacobson, Bryan (September 14, 1987). "Tough week for WSU's Erickson" . Idahonian . (Moscow). p. 1B. ^ "Field goal lifts California to 17–17 tie with Cougars" . The Olympian . November 29, 1987. Retrieved January 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . ^ "Oregon outlook: matchups" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). November 14, 1987. p. 4C. ^ "Cougar roster" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). November 21, 1987. p. B2. ^ "WSU's Hasty taken by Jets in 3rd round" . Idahonian . (Moscow). staff and wire reports. April 25, 1988. p. 3B. ^ "New Orleans takes Forde in 7th" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). staff and wire reports. April 26, 1988. p. C3.
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