1987 Indiana Hoosiers football team

1987 Indiana Hoosiers football
Peach Bowl, L 22–27 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
Record	8–4 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bill Mallory (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Novak (4th season)
MVP	Ernie Jones
Captains	Tom Polce Van Waiters
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1987 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Michigan State $	7	–	0	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 16 Iowa	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Indiana	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 19 Michigan	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
Illinois	2	–	5	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Northwestern	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
Wisconsin	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1987 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented Indiana University Bloomington as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Bill Mallory, the Hoosiers compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the Big Ten. The team played home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.

In their season opener against Rice, Anthony Thompson rushed for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns en route to a 35–13 Indiana win.^[1] However, in what was the renewal of their rivalry against Kentucky, the Hoosiers lost 34–15 at Lexington.^[2] Indiana rebounded from their loss to the Wildcats with a five-game winning streak. After a win over Missouri, Indiana defeated Northwestern to open their conference schedule behind a 170-yard, and two touchdown performance by Thompson.^[3] The next week, the Hoosiers traveled to Columbus to play No. 9 Ohio State, and for the first time since 1951 Indiana defeated the Buckeyes in their 31–10 upset victory.^[4]

Indiana followed their upset with a win at Minnesota after Chip Lohmiller missed what would have been a game-winning field goal in the final minutes for the Gophers.^[5] The Hoosiers then returned to Bloomington where they defeated Michigan for the first time since the 1967 season to move into first place in the Big Ten standings.^[6] After their win over the Wolverines, Indiana was ranked No. 11, however they went on to split their final four games with losses against Iowa and Michigan State and victories over Illinois and Purdue and finished the regular season tied for second in conference with an overall record of eight wins and three losses.^[7]

In November, the Hoosiers accepted an invitation to play in the Peach Bowl against Tennessee of the Southeastern Conference^[8] Against the Volunteers, Indiana fell behind by a score of 21–3. However, the Hoosiers rallied and took a 22–21 lead in the fourth quarter only to fall 27–22 after Tennessee scored a late touchdown.^[9]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Rice*		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN		W 35–13	38,132
September 19	at Kentucky*		Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)		L 15–34	57,924	[10]
September 26	Missouri*		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN		W 20–17	41,145
October 3	Northwestern		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN		W 35–18	38,553
October 10	at No. 9 Ohio State		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 31–10	90,032
October 16	at Minnesota	No. 20	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN		W 18–17	60,340
October 24	No. 20 Michigan	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN		W 14–10	51,240
October 31	at Iowa	No. 11	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		L 21–29	67,700
November 7	Illinois	No. 18	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)		W 34–22	50,026
November 14	at No. 13 Michigan State	No. 16	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 3–27	76,411
November 21	Purdue	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)		W 35–14	51,951
January 2, 1988	vs. No. 17 Tennessee*		Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	Mizlou	L 22–27	58,737
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[11][12][13][14]}

Roster

1987 Indiana Hoosiers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 27 Ernie Jones G 75 Eric Moore QB 11 Dave Schnell RB 32 Anthony Thompson Jr	Defense 49 Larry Luther NG Pos. # Name Class LB 48 Van Waiters	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 12 Dan Stryzinski K 10 Pete Stoyanovich	Head coach Bill Mallory Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

1988 NFL draftees

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Eric Moore	Offensive guard	1	10	New York Giants
Van Waiters	Linebacker	3	77	Cleveland Browns
Ernie Jones	Wide receiver	7	179	Phoenix Cardinals
Eric Hickerson	Defensive back	10	259	New York Giants

^[15]

References

1. "Indiana has easy time in victory over Rice". The Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. September 13, 1987. p. 5C. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
2. "Kentucky blasts Indiana, 34–15". The Toledo Blade. Associated Press. September 20, 1987. p. D2. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
3. "Hoosiers take high road, low road to thump Wildcats". Rome News-Tribune. Associated Press. October 4, 1987. p. 9B. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
4. "After 36 years, Indiana finally beats Ohio State". The Gadsden Times. Associated Press. October 11, 1987. p. B5. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
5. "Schnell leads Indiana; Minnesota loses first". The Pittsburgh Press. Associated Press. October 17, 1987. p. C3. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
6. Alfano, Peter (October 25, 1987). "Historic day for surging Hoosiers". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
7. Barhnart, Tony (January 2, 1988). "Indiana has point to prove against Tennessee". The Miami News. p. 12B. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
8. "Tennessee, Indiana in the Peach Bowl". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. November 17, 1987. p. D4. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
9. "Tennessee overcomes mistakes for 27–22 victory in Peach Bowl". The Toledo Blade. Associated Press. January 3, 1988. p. E2. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
10. "Cats' Dooley passes IU crazy; Kentucky cruises to 34–15 win". The Kokomo Tribune. September 20, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "1987 Indiana Hoosiers Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
12. "1987 Football Schedule". Indiana University. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
13. "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). Indiana University. p. 16. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
14. "1987 Homecoming". Indiana Arbutus (yearboook). Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
15. "1988 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 26, 2013.