1987 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

1987 Georgia Southern Eagles football
1987 Georgia Southern Eagles football
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 0–19 at Appalachian State
Conference	Independent
Record	9–4
Head coach	Erk Russell (6th season);
Home stadium	Paulson Stadium
	Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

1987 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 6 Georgia Southern ^		–		9	–	4	–	0
No. 8 James Madison ^		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 12 Arkansas State ^		–		8	–	4	–	1
No. 11 Western Kentucky ^		–		7	–	4	–	0
Villanova		–		6	–	4	–	0
Northeastern		–		6	–	5	–	0
Nicholls State		–		5	–	5	–	1
William & Mary		–		5	–	6	–	0
Towson		–		4	–	6	–	0
Tennessee State		–		3	–	7	–	1
Lamar		–		3	–	8	–	0
Louisiana Tech		–		3	–	8	–	0

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1987 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented the Georgia Southern Eagles of Georgia Southern College (now known as Georgia Southern University) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The team was coached by Erk Russell, in his sixth year as head coach for the Eagles.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Catawba	No. 1	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 27–0	9,128
September 12	vs. Florida A&M	No. 1	Gator Bowl Jacksonville, FL	L 14–17	17,268
September 19	No. 5 Middle Tennessee		Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 17–13	4,527
September 26	at East Carolina	No. 10	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC	L 13–16	27,411	^[1]
October 3	No. 8 (D-II) UCF	No. 13	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 34–32	15,540
October 10	vs. Bethune–Cookman	No. T–7	Gator Bowl Jacksonville, FL	W 14–13	5,100
October 17	at No. T–6 Northeast Louisiana	No. 8	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	L 17–26	17,231
October 24	at No. 8 Western Carolina	No. 20	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	W 37–16	13,460
October 31	No. 7 Western Kentucky	No. 13	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 23–20	13,066
November 7	No. 3 James Madison	No. 12	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 26–7	16,734	^[2]
November 21	at South Carolina State	No. 6	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	W 30–13	10,048
November 28	No. 13 Maine	No. 6	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 31–28 ^OT	9,440
December 5	at No. 2 Appalachian State*	No. 6	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 0–19	9,229	^[3]
*Non-conference game Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^ "Ga. Southern loses another one to East Carolina 16–13". The Atlanta Constitution. September 27, 1987. Retrieved March 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "63-yard FG inspires Eagles". The Atlanta Constitution. November 8, 1987. Retrieved October 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Appalachian State grounds Eagles 19–0". The Atlanta Constitution. December 6, 1987. Retrieved November 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1987 Football Schedule". CFBDataWarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2017.