1987 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1987 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 12th year under head coach Terry Donahue, the Bruins compiled a 10–2 record (7–1 Pac-10), finished in a tie for first place in the Pacific-10 Conference, and were ranked #9 in the final AP Poll. The team's sole losses were against #2-ranked Nebraska (33-42) and USC (13-17). The Bruins went on to defeat Florida in the 1987 Aloha Bowl.[1]

1987 UCLA Bruins football
Pac-10 co-champion
Aloha Bowl, W 20–16 vs. Florida
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 9
Record10–2 (7–1 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorSteve Axman (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinatorBob Field (6th season)
Co-defensive coordinatorTom Hayes (6th season)
Home stadiumRose Bowl
Seasons
← 1986
1988 →
1987 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 18 USC + 7 1 0 8 4 0
No. 9 UCLA + 7 1 0 10 2 0
Washington 4 3 1 7 4 1
No. 20 Arizona State 3 3 1 7 4 1
Oregon 4 4 0 6 5 0
Stanford 4 4 0 5 6 0
Arizona 2 3 3 4 4 3
California 2 3 2 3 6 2
Washington State 1 5 1 3 7 1
Oregon State 0 7 0 2 9 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

UCLA's offensive leaders in 1987 were quarterback Troy Aikman with 2,527 passing yards, running back Gaston Green with 1,098 rushing yards, and wide receiver Flipper Anderson with 903 receiving yards.[2]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 5San Diego State*No. 3PPVW 47–1454,287
September 12at No. 2 Nebraska*No. 3ESPNL 33–4276,313
September 19Fresno State*No. 13
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA
W 17–049,264
September 26ArizonaNo. 13
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA
W 34–2455,823
October 3at StanfordNo. 11ABCW 49–057,500
October 17No. 16 OregonNo. 9
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA
PPVW 41–1053,320
October 24CaliforniaNo. 8
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA
ABCW 42–1851,107
October 31at Arizona StateNo. 7ABCW 31–2370,754
November 7at Oregon StateNo. 7W 52–1720,104
November 14WashingtonNo. 5
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA
ABCW 47–1470,332
November 21at USCNo. 5ABCL 13–1792,516
December 25vs. Florida*No. 10ABCW 20–1624,839[3]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

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1987 UCLA Bruins football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 8 Troy Aikman Jr
WR 83 Flipper Anderson Sr
TE 81 Charles Arbuckle So
RB 21 Eric Ball Jr
QB Ron Caragher So
WR 9 Mike Farr So
RB 44 Gaston Green Sr
WR 4 Reggie Moore Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
CB 2 Darryl Henley Jr
S 3 James Washington Sr
LB Ben Hummel Sr
DB 31 Carnell Lake Jr
LB 41 Ken Norton Jr. Sr
DB 23 Jeff O'Flannagan
DB 23 Marcus Turner Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 25 Alfredo Velasco So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

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

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP3 (1)3 (1)131311119877551110109
Coaches43 (1)15 т13111198775510111011

[4]

Game summaries

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San Diego State

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San Diego State at No. 3 UCLA
1 234Total
Aztecs 0 707 14
No. 3 Bruins 14 17106 47

[5]

at No. 2 Nebraska

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No. 3 UCLA at No. 2 Nebraska
1 234Total
No. 3 Bruins 7 3716 33
No. 2 Cornhuskers 0 141414 42

[6]

Fresno State

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San Diego State at No. 13 UCLA
1 234Total
Bulldogs 0 000 0
No. 13 Bruins 7 370 17

[7]

Arizona

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[8]

at Stanford

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[9]

No. 16 Oregon

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No. 16 Oregon at No. 9 UCLA
1 234Total
No. 16 Ducks 0 730 10
No. 9 Bruins 7 10717 41
     

[10]

California

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[11]

at Arizona State

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[12]

at Oregon State

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UCLA had 618 yards of total offense, evenly split with 315 yards passing and 303 yards rushing. Flipper Anderson caught 7 passes for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns in the blowout win over the Beavers.[13]

Washington

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Washington at No. 3 UCLA
1 234Total
Huskies 0 1400 14
No. 5 Bruins 13 31714 47

[14]

at USC

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No. 5 UCLA at USC
1 234Total
No. 5 Bruins 7 330 13
Trojans 0 0314 17

USC clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl with the win.[15]

vs. Florida (Aloha Bowl)

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No. 10 UCLA vs. Florida
1 234Total
No. 10 Bruins 3 773 20
Gators 7 306 16
   

[16]

1988 NFL Draft

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

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Gaston Green Running back 1 14 Los Angeles Rams
Ken Norton Jr. Linebacker 2 41 Dallas Cowboys
Flipper Anderson Wide receiver 2 46 Los Angeles Rams
David Richards Guard 4 98 San Diego Chargers
Dennis Price Defensive back 5 131 Los Angeles Raiders
James Washington Defensive back 5 137 Los Angeles Rams
James Primus Running back 9 222 Atlanta Falcons
Mel Farr Running back 9 248 Denver Broncos
Paco Craig Wide receiver 10 254 Detroit Lions
Ben Hummel Linebacker 12 317 Dallas Cowboys

[17]

References

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  1. ^ "1987 UCLA Bruins Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "1987 UCLA Bruins Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "UCLA bowls over Florida, 20–16". The Honolulu Advertiser. December 26, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "UCLA 1987 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "In Aikman Debut, Bruins Leave Aztecs in Ruins". The Los Angeles Times. September 6, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "Nebraska Air Show Taylor-Made to Beat UCLA". The Los Angeles Times. September 13, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  7. ^ "Fresno State Makes UCLA Work for a 17-0 Victory". The Los Angeles Times. September 20, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "UCLA 34, Arizona 24". Santa Cruz Sentinel. September 27, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "USC, UCLA Go Similar Routes in Their Routs". The Los Angeles Times. October 4, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  10. ^ "Trojans Stay in Run for Roses as Bruins Sneak Into the Lead". The Los Angeles Times. October 18, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  11. ^ "Green Scores Three Touchdowns to Lead UCLA Over Cal, 42-18". The Los Angeles Times. October 25, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  12. ^ "UCLA Throws Arizona State for 31-23 Loss". The Los Angeles Times. November 1, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  13. ^ "Flipper Puts On Show for Bruins, but He Calls It Another Day at Office". The Los Angeles Times. November 8, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "UCLA Rolls Into Showdown With 47-14 Win". The Los Angeles Times. November 15, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  15. ^ "Trojans Go for Juggler, Beat UCLA, 17-13". The Los Angeles Times. November 22, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  16. ^ "Bruins Give Donahue a Nice Christmas Gift". The Los Angeles Times. December 26, 1987. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  17. ^ "1988 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.