1987 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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1987 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 17
Record8–4
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorFoge Fazio (2nd season)
Captains
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass)
Seasons
← 1986
1988 →
1987 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Miami (FL)       12 0 0
No. 4 Syracuse       11 0 1
No. 2 Florida State       11 1 0
No. 15 South Carolina       8 4 0
Pittsburgh       8 4 0
Penn State       8 4 0
No. 17 Notre Dame       8 4 0
Southern Miss       6 5 0
Rutgers       6 5 0
Southwestern Louisiana       6 5 0
Memphis State       5 5 1
Northern Illinois       5 5 1
West Virginia       6 6 0
Tulane       6 6 0
Army       5 6 0
Boston College       5 6 0
East Carolina       5 6 0
Akron       4 7 0
Cincinnati       4 7 0
Louisville       3 7 1
Temple       3 8 0
Tulsa       3 8 0
Virginia Tech       2 9 0
Navy       2 9 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1987 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. Tony Rice became the starting quarterback for Notre Dame following an injury to Terry Andrysiak. The Irish would finish the season 8–4 and earn a berth to the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Schedule[edit]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 123:30 p.m.at No. 9 MichiganNo. 16ABCW 26–7106,098
September 197:45 p.m.No. 17 Michigan StateNo. 9ESPNW 31–859,075
September 2612:00 p.m.at PurdueNo. 8W 44–2068,528
October 107:00 p.m.at PittsburghNo. 4ESPNL 22–3056,400
October 173:30 p.m.at Air ForceNo. 11W 35–1451,112
October 242:30 p.m.USCNo. 10
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
CBSW 26–1559,075
October 3112:00 p.m.NavyNo. 9
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)
W 56–1359,075
November 712:00 p.m.Boston CollegeNo. 9
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN (Holy War)
W 32–2559,075
November 142:30 p.m.No. 10 AlabamaNo. 7
  • Notre Dame Stadium
  • Notre Dame, IN
CBSW 37–659,075[1]
November 2112:00 p.m.at Penn StateNo. 7CBSL 20–2184,000
November 283:30 p.m.at No. 2 Miami (FL)No. 10CBSL 0–2476,640
January 1, 19881:30 p.m.vs. No. 13 Texas A&MNo. 12CBSL 10–3573,006

Game summaries[edit]

At Michigan[edit]

#16 Notre Dame at #9 Michigan
1 234Total
• Notre Dame 10 079 26
Michigan 0 070 7

Terry Andrysiak completed 11 of 15 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown while Notre Dame converted four of Michigan's seven turnovers into scores.

[2]

Michigan State[edit]

1 234Total
Michigan St 0 008 8
• Notre Dame 19 570 31

Purdue[edit]

1 234Total
• Notre Dame 10 71413 44
Purdue 0 1730 20

[3]

Pittsburgh[edit]

Air Force[edit]

1 234Total
• Notre Dame 14 0147 35
Air Force 0 707 14

[4]

USC[edit]

1 234Total
USC 7 008 15
• Notre Dame 3 1760 26

[5]

Navy[edit]

1 234Total
Navy 0 607 13
• Notre Dame 14 21147 56

[6]

Boston College[edit]

1 234Total
Boston College 7 1080 25
• Notre Dame 6 01214 32
  • ND: Mark Green 152 Rush Yds
  • ND: Tim Brown 294 all-purpose Yds

[7]

Alabama[edit]

1 234Total
Alabama 3 300 6
• Notre Dame 3 17314 37

[8]

Penn State[edit]

Miami (FL)[edit]

Cotton Bowl[edit]

Personnel[edit]

1987 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 80 Steve Alaniz Jr
OT 72 Joe Allen
QB 2 Terry Andrysiak Sr
RB 39 Braxston Banks
QB 8 Steve Belles Jr
WR 81 Tim Brown Sr
QB 17 Kent Graham Fr
QB 11 Pete Graham Jr
RB 24 Mark Green Jr
OT 66 Andy Heck Jr
C 51 Chuck Lanza
QB 9 Tony Rice So
RB 12 Ricky Watters Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 90 Jeff Alm So
LB 47 Ned Bolcar So
DT 67 Bob Dahl Fr
SS 26 Greg Davis
SS 13 Pat Eilers Jr
LB 48 Cedric Figaro Sr
DE 92 Bryan Flannery
CB 32 D’Juan Francisco Jr
LB 36 Donn Grimm
DE 38 Darrell Gordon Jr
LB 7 Andre Jones Fr
LB 37 Scott Kowalkowski Fr
CB 1 Todd Lyght Fr
LB 34 Wes Pritchett Jr
LB 40 Tim Ryan Fr
FS 15 Pat Terrell So
CB 5 Brandy Wells Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL[edit]

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Tim Brown Wide Receiver 1 6 Los Angeles Raiders
Tom Redehr Tackle 3 69 New England Patriots
Chuck Lanza Center 3 70 Pittsburgh Steelers
Cedric Figaro Linebacker 6 152 San Diego Chargers
Brandy Wells Defensive Back 9 226 Cincinnati Bengals

[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Irish leave 'Bama bloodied, battered". The South Bend Tribune. November 15, 1987. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Notre Dame accepts Michigan's charity." Gainesville Sun. 1987 Sept 13.
  3. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Sept 28.
  4. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 18.
  5. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 25.
  6. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 1.
  7. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 8.
  8. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 15.
  9. ^ "1988 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.