1987 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1987 Purdue Boilermakers football
1987 Purdue Boilermakers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	3–7–1 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Fred Akers (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Bob Stanley (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Phil Bennett (1st season)
MVP	Anthony Hardy
Captain	Mike Connors, Anthony Hardy, Fred Strickland
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium
	Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

The 1987 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Fred Akers, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 3–7–1 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 12	at No. 12 Washington*	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 10–28	70,492
September 19	Louisville*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	T 22–22	63,125
September 26	No. 8 Notre Dame*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 20–44	68,526
October 3	at Minnesota	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	L 19–21	49,376
October 10	Illinois	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	W 9–3	59,483
October 17	No. 17 Ohio State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 17–20	66,501
October 24	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 14–38	67,700
October 31	Wisconsin	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 49–14	60,267
November 7	at No. 15 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 3–45	76,933
November 14	Northwestern	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 20–15	50,468
November 21	at No. 20 Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	L 14–35	51,951
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1]

Personnel

1987 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	Name	Class
QB	Doug Downing
RB	James Medlock
WR	Calvin Williams	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Jonathan Briggs
P, QB		Shawn McCarthy	So

Head coach

Fred Akers

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Preseason

Jeff George transferred following the hiring of Fred Akers as head coach, who had recently been fired from Texas.

Game summaries

At Washington

Louisville

James Medlock 25 rushes, 126 yards

Notre Dame

At Minnesota

Illinois

James Medlock 33 rushes, 131 yards

Ohio State

#17 Ohio State Buckeyes (3–1–1) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–3–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	7	10	0	3	20
Purdue	0	0	10	7	17

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

Date: October 17, 1987
Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Overcast, 53 °F (12 °C)
Game attendance: 66,501
Referee: John Nealon
TV: Raycom
Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ohio St	Passing	Tom Tupa	8/16, 174 Yds, TD
	Rushing	James Bryant	23 Rush, 77 Yds
	Receiving	Vince Workman	4 Rec, 88 Yds, TD
Purdue	Passing	Doug Downing	20/26, 218 Yds, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	James Medlock	17 Rush, 44 Yds
	Receiving	Calvin Williams	8 Rec, 107 Yds, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	OSU	PU
1	5:30	9	66	4:10	Ohio St	Vince Workman 36-yard touchdown reception from Tom Tupa, Matt Frantz kick good	7	0
2	4:45	2	9	0:42	Ohio St	Tom Tupa 6-yard touchdown run, Matt Frantz kick good	14	0
2	0:22	8	47	1:25	Ohio St	18-yard field goal by Matt Frantz	17	0
3	6:33	13	65	6:44	Purdue	25-yard field goal by Jonathan Briggs	17	3
3	1:00	7	74	1:32	Purdue	Calvin Williams 10-yard touchdown reception from Doug Downing, Jonathan Briggs kick good	17	10
4	13:09	3	38	0:57	Purdue	Calvin Williams 30-yard touchdown reception from Doug Downing, Jonathan Briggs kick good	17	17
4	3:10	6	35	3:13	Ohio St	50-yard field goal by Matt Frantz	20	17
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							20	17

At Iowa

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers at Purdue Boilermakers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wisconsin	0	7	7	0	14
Purdue	14	14	0	21	49

at Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana

Date: October 31
Game attendance: 60,267
^[2]

Game information

PUR - Myles 4 yard run (Briggs kick)
PUR - Moore 34 yard pass from McCarthy (Briggs kick)
PUR - Myles 2 yard run (Briggs kick)
WIS - Bestor 17 yard pass from Keyes (Gregoire kick)
PUR - Hardy 37 yard pass from Mascheck (Briggs kick)
WIS - Artley 2 yard run (Gregoire kick)
PUR - Hardy 42 yard pass from McCarthy (Briggs kick)
PUR - C. Williams 9 yard pass from McCarthy (Briggs kick)
PUR - Myles 4 yard run (Briggs kick)

Purdue

Shawn McCarthy 20/31, 333 yards

At Michigan State

Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	0	6	9	0	15
Purdue	14	3	0	3	20

^[3]

At Indiana

References

^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 91. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 01. Retrieved 2019-Apr-10.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 15. Retrieved 2019-Jan-06.

[1] "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 91. Retrieved February 3, 2023.

[2] Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 01. Retrieved 2019-Apr-10.

[3] Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 15. Retrieved 2019-Jan-06.

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