1987 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1987 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–7–1 (2–5–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDwain Painter (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorHoward Tippett (1st season)
MVPDarryl Usher
CaptainMike Scully, Mike Piel, Darrick Brownlow
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1986
1988 →
1987 Big Ten Conference football standings
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 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth and final year under head coach Mike White, the Illini compiled a 3–7–1 record and finished in eighth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Scott Mohr with 1,436 passing yards, running back Keith Jones with 322 rushing yards, and Darryl Usher with 723 receiving yards.[2]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 5at North Carolina*
L 14–3440,000[3]
September 12No. 15 Arizona State*
L 7–2170,060
September 19East Carolina*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 20–1062,045[4]
October 3No. 9 Ohio State
L 6–1073,045
October 10at Purdue
L 3–959,483
October 17Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 16–1457,040
October 24at No. 14 Michigan State
T 14–1476,513
October 31Minnesota
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 27–1760,143
November 7at No. 18 Indiana
L 22–3450,026
November 14Michigan
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
L 14–1764,496
November 21at Northwestern
L 10–2827,104
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1987 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 2 Mike Bellamy Jr
RB 29 Howard Griffith Fr
TE 82 Frank Hartley So
C 66 Dave Harbour Sr
RB 36 Keith Jones Jr
FB 44 Jeff Markland Sr
QB 12 Brian Menkhausen So
TE 80 Chris Michel Jr
QB 14 Scott Mohr Jr
QB 10 Chris Ondrula Fr
WR 83 Gus Palma Fr
FB 20 Quintin Parker So
OT 78 Ed Pedersen Fr
RB 23 Luke Petraitis So
OT 70 Tom Schertz Sr
OT 68 Craig Schneider So
C 55 Mike Scully Sr
C 53 Tim Scully Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 96 Mel Agee Fr
LB 48 Darrick Brownlow Fr
DE 90 Scott Davis Sr
DT 95 Moe Gardner Fr
LB 57 Jason Guard So
NT 94 Jon Gustafson Fr
DB 25 Jerry Hamner Fr
DE 75 Mike Piel Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

References

  1. ^ "1987 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "1987 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "Punter's run sparks Tar Heels over Illinois". The Pantagraph. September 6, 1987. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Illini go to relief pitchers, win 20–10". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 20, 1987. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.