1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Last updated

1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 27–32 vs. Texas
ConferenceIndependent
Record8–4
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Dickens (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple pro-style [1]
Defensive coordinator John Fox (2nd season)
Base defense 4–3 [1]
Home stadium Pitt Stadium
Seasons
  1986
1988  
1987 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Syracuse $ 5 0 011 0 1
Penn State 4 2 08 4 0
Pittsburgh 3 3 08 4 0
West Virginia 2 3 06 6 0
Rutgers 2 4 06 5 0
Boston College 2 4 05 6 0
Temple 1 3 03 8 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1987 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW 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 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh as an independent during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Contents

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 27:30 p.m.at BYU ESPN W 27–1764,374
September 121:30 p.m. NC State No. 18W 34–043,165 [2]
September 191:30 p.m. Temple No. 16
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
L 21–2445,387
September 2612:00 p.m.at West Virginia JP Sports W 6–365,079 [3]
October 31:30 p.m. Boston College
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
L 10–1346,238
October 107:30 p.m.No. 4 Notre Dame
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ESPNW 30–2256,400
October 2412:00 p.m.at Navy JP SportsW 10–629,167
October 313:30 p.m.No. 8 Syracuse Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
CBS L 10–2452,714
November 712:00 p.m.at Rutgers W 17–025,444
November 147:30 p.m.No. 15 Penn State
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ESPNW 10–056,500
November 211:30 p.m. Kent State No. 19
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 28–535,472
December 317:00 p.m.vs. Texas No. 19 Mizlou L 27–3233,122

[4] [5]

Game summaries

Notre Dame

1234Total
Notre Dame0071522
Pittsburgh14130330

[6]

Roster

1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
C 55Bryan SchochFr
G 73Bill CherpakSo
QB 15Darnell DickersonFr
QB 11Sal GenillaSr
FB 34 Craig Heyward Jr
OT 62Roman MatuszSo
C 61Ed MillerSr
OT 71 Tom Ricketts Jr
G 77 Mark Stepnoski Jr
WR 30Michael StewartSr
WR 2Reggie WilliamsSo
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DE 89 Jon Carter Sr
LB 44 Jeff Christy Fr
LB 26Ezekial GadsonSr
DE 92 Burt Grossman Jr
CB 7 Quintin Jones Sr
FS 1 Billy Owens Sr
DT 67Jim QuinnSo
CB 6 Gary Richard Sr
DT 98 Tony Siragusa Jr
DE 93 Marc Spindler Fr
LB 51Jerry WallSr
FS 43Troy WashingtonSo
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Coaching staff

1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
Coaching staff
  • Mike Gottfried – Head coach
  • Jack Harbaugh – Assistant head coach
  • Mike Dickens – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
  • John Fox – Defensive coordinator/secondary
  • Tommie Liggins – Run coordinator/running backs
  • Steve Coury – Wide receivers
  • Frank D'Alonzo – Defensive line
  • Bill Meyers – Offensive line
  • Scott O'Brien – Special teams
  • Sal Sunseri – Linebackers
 Support staff
  • Alex Kramer – Administrative assistant
  • Bud Ratliff – Recruiting doordinator
  • Rick Denstorff – Graduate assistant
  • Bill D'Ottavio – Graduate assistant
  • John Harbaugh – Graduate assistant
  • Larry Petroff – Graduate assistant
  • Donnie Roberts – Graduate assistant
 Strength and conditioning staff
  • Buddy Morris – Weight and strength coordinator
  • Ray Oliver – Assistant Strength

[7] [8]

Team players drafted into the NFL

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Craig Heyward Running back124 New Orleans Saints
Quintin Jones Defensive back248 Houston Oilers
Jon Carter Defensive end5118 New York Giants
Ezekial GadsonDefensive back5123 Buffalo Bills
Gary Richard Defensive back7173 Green Bay Packers
Billy Owens Defensive back10263 Dallas Cowboys
Ed MillerCenter11285 San Diego Chargers

[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Quick Facts About Pitt". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. p. 2. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  2. "Pitt routs winless 'Pack". The Greenville News. September 13, 1987. Retrieved February 2, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Pittsburgh tops West Virginia by field goal". The Charlotte Observer. September 27, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Table of Contents". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. p. 1. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  5. "1987 Review". Pitt Football 1988. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1988. pp. 59–68. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  6. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 11. Retrieved 2014-Dec-28.
  7. "Coaches". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. pp. 5–14. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  8. "Coaches". Pitt Football 1988. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1988. pp. 13–14. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  9. "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved January 8, 2012.