1987 BYU Cougars football team

1987 BYU Cougars football
All-American Bowl, L 16–22 vs. Virginia
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	9–4 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach	LaVell Edwards (16th season)
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium
Seasons ←  1986 1988  →

1987 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Wyoming $	8	–	0	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
BYU	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	4	–	0
Air Force	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	4	–	0
UTEP	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
San Diego State	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Hawaii	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Utah	2	–	6	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Colorado State	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	11	–	0
New Mexico	0	–	8	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1987 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. ^[1] The Cougars were led by 16th-year head coach LaVell Edwards and played their home games at Cougar Stadium in Provo, Utah. The team competed as members of the Western Athletic Conference, finishing in second with a record of 9–4 (7–1 WAC). BYU was invited to the All-American Bowl, where they were defeated by Virginia. The Cougars also participated in a rare college football game played outside the United States, in a regular season finale against Colorado State played in Melbourne, Australia. The game was promoted as the "Melbourne Bowl" but was met with weak enthusiasm in Australia. ^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 2	Pittsburgh *	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 17–27
September 12	at Texas *	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	W 22–17
September 19	at TCU *	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	L 12–33
September 26	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	W 45–25
October 2	Utah State *	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (rivalry)	W 45–24
October 10	Wyoming	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 27–29
October 24	at Hawaii	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	W 16–14
October 31	Air Force	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 24–13
November 7	San Diego State	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 38–21
November 14	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	W 37–24
November 21	Utah	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (Holy War)	W 21–18
December 4	vs. Colorado State	Princes Park Melbourne, Australia (Melbourne Bowl)	W 30–26	7,652 [2]
December 22	vs. Virginia *	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (All-American Bowl)	L 16–22
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1987 BYU Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Matt Bellini QB 10 Sean Covey Jr WR Chuck Cutler QB Bob Jensen WR David Miles RB Thor Salanoa RB Peter Tuipulotu FB Fred Whittingham	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Richard Hobbs	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Leonard Chitty	Head coach LaVell Edwards Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season summary

at Texas

BYU Cougars (0–1) at Texas Longhorns (0–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU	0	14	8	0	22
Texas	7	3	0	7	17

at Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

• Date: September 12, 1987
• Game time: 7:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Clear, 87 °F (31 °C)
• Game attendance: 65,102
• Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter UT – Bret Stafford 1-yard run (Wayne Clements kick), 8:43. Texas 7–0. Second quarter BYU – David Miles 21-yard pass from Bob Jensen (Leonard Chitty kick), 14:54. Tie 7–7. BYU – Chuck Cutler 27-yard pass from Bob Jensen (Leonard Chitty kick), 1:38. BYU 14–7. UT – Wayne Clements 46-yard field goal, 0:00. BYU 14–10. Third quarter BYU – Safety, Richard Hobbs blocked punt through end zone, 13:13. BYU 16–10. BYU – Leonard Chitty 33-yard field goal, 4:26. BYU 19–10. BYU – Leonard Chitty 33-yard field goal, 2:25. BYU 22–10. Fourth quarter UT – Darron Norris 3-yard run (Wayne Clements kick), 1:06. BYU 22–17. Top passers BYU – Bob Jensen – 16/35, 199 yards, 2 TD, INT UT – Bret Stafford – 12/26, 107 yards, 3 INT Top rushers BYU – Peter Tuipulotu – 6 rushes, 16 yards UT – Darron Norris – 8 rushes, 85 yards, TD Top receivers BYU – Chuck Cutler – 5 receptions, 70 yards, TD UT – Tony Jones – 5 receptions, 61 yards

External video
Game highlights

Air Force

Air Force Falcons (6–2) at BYU Cougars (4–3)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	10	0	3	0	13
BYU	0	14	10	0	24

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

• Date: October 31, 1987
• Game attendance: 65,384
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter AFA – Steve Yarborough 32-yard field goal. Air Force 3–0. AFA – Anthony Roberson 3-yard run (Steve Yarborough kick). Air Force 10–0. Second quarter BYU – Mike O'Brien 3-yard run (Leonard Chitty kick). Air Force 10–7. BYU – Fred Whittingham 5-yard pass from Sean Covey (Leonard Chitty kick). BYU 14–10. Third quarter BYU – Leonard Chitty 26-yard field goal. BYU 17–10. BYU – Mike O'Brien 2-yard run (Leonard Chitty kick). BYU 24–10. AFA – Steve Yarborough 32-yard field goal. BYU 24–13. Fourth quarter No scoring Top passers AFA – Dee Dowis – 2/7, 25 yards, 3 INT BYU – Sean Covey – 18/29, 294 yards, TD Top rushers AFA – Quinton Roberts – 15 rushes, 85 yards BYU – Mike O'Brien – 16 rushes, 73 yards, 2 TD Top receivers AFA – Tyler Barth – 1 reception, 13 yards BYU – Rich Zayas – 3 receptions, 118 yards

External video
BYU highlights

References

1. "1987 Brigham Young Cougars Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
2. "Only 7,652 Fans Turn Out Down Under To See BYU Edge Colorado State, 30-26". Los Angeles Times. December 5, 1987.