1987 Navy Midshipmen football team

1987 Navy Midshipmen football
Conference	Independent
Record	2–9
Head coach	Elliott Uzelac (1st season)
MVP	Matt Felt
Captains	Mike Musser Chuck Smith
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1986 1988  →

1987 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	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 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Elliott Uzelac. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		William & Mary	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		L 12–27		[2]
September 19		Lehigh	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		L 9–24	25,047	[3]
September 26		North Carolina	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		L 14–45	23,636	[4]
October 3	1:00 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		L 11–31	35,000	[5]
October 10		Air Force	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)		L 13–23	35,622	[6]
October 17		at Penn	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA		W 38–28	16,809	[7]
October 24	12:00 p.m.	Pittsburgh	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	JPS	L 6–10	29,167	[8]
October 31	12:00 p.m.	at Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		L 13–56	59,075	[9]
November 7		Syracuse	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		L 10–34	26,614	[10]
November 14		at Delaware	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE		W 31–22	23,100	[11]
December 5	2:00 p.m.	vs. Army	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)		L 3–17	68,000	[12]
Homecoming All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Army

See also: 1987 Army Cadets football team

Army Cadets (4–6) vs. Navy Midshipmen (2–8)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy	0	0	0	3	3
Army	3	0	0	14	17

at Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: December 5
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EDT
• Game attendance: 68,000
• ^[13]

Game information
Navy Alton Grizzard 3/5, 59 Yds 17 Rush, 53 Yds Don Hughes 2 Rec, 49 Yds Army Tory Crawford 2/4, 22 Yds Mike Mayweather 25 Rush, 119 Yds Andy Peterson 1 Rec, 11 Yds Ben Barnett 1 Rec, 11 Yds

Starting offensive lineman Matt Felt and Joe Brennan were held out of the game due to what head coach Elliot Uzelac called "an administrative matter not related to football".

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NAVY ARMY 1 Army 40-yard field goal by Bit Rambusch 0 3 4 Army Andy Peterson 1-yard touchdown run, Bit Rambusch kick good 0 10 4 5:01 Navy 30-yard field goal by Ted Fundoukas 3 10 4 Army Tory Crawford 7-yard touchdown run, Bit Rambusch kick good 3 17 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 3 17

Roster

1987 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 69 Bruce Bennett Sr RB James Bradley G Joe Brennan OT Tim Brunn C 53 Matt Felt Sr QB 16 Alton Grizzard Fr RB Don Holl WR 91 Don Hughes Sr WR Jon Neumann RB 38 Chuck Smith (C) Sr WR 2 Clay Stackhouse TE 87 Kevin Voss Jr RB Joe Vitelli	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 4 Jim Chatfield DB 22 Paul Day Jr DL 82 Ron Jones Jr DL David Lowe DB Curtis Irby DB Bart LaRocca DB Mike Milo DL 64 Mike Musser (C) Sr LB Mark Pimpo LB Ray Worthington	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 99 Ted Fundoukas Jr	Head coach Elliot Uzelac Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 195. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
2. "Indians ruin opener for new Navy coach". The Roanoke Times. September 13, 1987. Retrieved May 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. Free, Bill (September 20, 1987). "Lehigh Continues Navy's Woes, 24–9". The Baltimore Sun . Baltimore, Md. p. 18C – via Newspapers.com.
4. "UNC unleashes running game, spanks outclassed Midshipmen". The State. September 27, 1987. Retrieved February 2, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Hokies capture first win, 31–11". The Danville Register. October 4, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Falcons plod past Middies". Daily Press. October 10, 1987. Retrieved May 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. Pucin, Diane (October 18, 1987). "QB Rushes for 225 Yards as Navy Downs Penn, 38–28". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. p. 9-D – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Pittsburgh scores early, then holds off stingy Navy, 10–6". York Daily Record. October 25, 1987. Retrieved May 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Same song, 24th verse: Notre Dame wallops Navy, 56–13". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 1, 1987. Retrieved May 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "McPherson leads Syracuse to 34–10 romp over Navy". St. Petersburg Times. November 8, 1987. Retrieved May 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Middies KO Delaware's 2-game jinx as Grizzard, Holl pace 31–22 victory". The Baltimore Sun. November 15, 1987. Retrieved May 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Cadets run through the Middies, 17–3". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 6, 1987. Retrieved May 8, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Dec 06. Retrieved 2019-Jan-27.