The 1987 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season . In their first season under head coach Dennis Erickson , the Cougars compiled a 3–7–1 record (1–5–1 in Pac-10, ninth), and were outscored 356 to 238.[ 1] [ 2] Home games were played on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington .
The team's statistical leaders included Timm Rosenbach with 2,446 passing yards, Richard Calvin with 822 rushing yards, and Steve Broussard with 701 receiving yards.[ 3]
After nine years as WSU head coach, Jim Walden departed for Iowa State in the Big Eight Conference in late 1986 ,[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] and was succeeded by Erickson, who returned to the Palouse in January 1987 after just one season at Wyoming ; he had led neighboring Idaho for the previous four years.[ 7] [ 8] [ 9] Wyoming visited Pullman in the second week of the season, a fifteen-point Cougar victory.[ 10] [ 11] [ 12]
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 5 Fresno State * W 41–2422,971
September 12 Wyoming * Martin Stadium Pullman, WA W 43–2824,151 [ 10] [ 11] [ 12]
September 19 at No. 19 Michigan * L 18–44103,521
September 26 at Colorado * L 17–2643,527
October 10 Stanford Martin Stadium Pullman, WA L 7–4431,538
October 17 at Arizona State L 7–3870,341
October 24 Arizona Martin Stadium Pullman, WA W 45–2822,269
October 31 at USC L 7–4224,834
November 14 Oregon Martin Stadium Pullman, WA L 17–3114,089
November 21 at Washington L 19–3474,038
November 28 vs. California T 17–1754,000 [ 13]
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1987 Washington State Cougars football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
DE
87
Marvin Adams
Sr
LB
55
Tuineau Alipate
Jr
DE
76
Ivan Cook
Jr
DT
97
Tim Downing
So
LB
57
Brian Forde
Sr
DE
96
Randy Gray
So
CB
41
James Hasty
Sr
DE
93
Chris Hiller
Sr
SS
19
Artie Holmes
Jr
CB
18
Shawn Landrum
Jr
DB
10
Jay Languein
So
SS
42
Ron Lee
Jr
LB
40
Maury Metcalf
Jr
DB
37
Roosevelt Noble
So
DT
75
Tony Savage
So
LB
21
Neti Ulaga'ono
FS
29
Vernon Todd
Jr
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
PK
4
Kevin Adams
Sr
P
45
Rob Myers
So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
[ 14] [ 15]
^ "1987 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016 .
^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF) . WSUCougars.com . Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016 .
^ "1987 Washington State Cougars Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016 .
^ "Walden denies seeking job" . Spokane Chronicle . (Washington). November 21, 1986. p. 21.
^ Devlin, Vince (December 16, 1986). "It's official: Walden's gone" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. B1.
^ Condotta, Bob (December 15, 1986). "Iowa State hires WSU's Walden" . Idahonian . (Moscow). p. 1.
^ Grummert, Dale (January 8, 1987). "Erickson sets lofty goals for Cougars" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. C1.
^ Condotta, Bob (January 7, 1987). "Denny's dream comes true" . Idahonian . (Moscow). p. 1.
^ Weaver, Dan (January 8, 1987). "Erickson followed his heart to WSU" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
^ a b Jacobson, Bryan (September 12, 1987). "Cougs, Cowboys are carbon copy" . Idahonian . (Moscow). p. 1D.
^ a b "WSU deals Cowboys 43-28 loss" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. September 13, 1987. p. 6B.
^ a b Jacobson, Bryan (September 14, 1987). "Tough week for WSU's Erickson" . Idahonian . (Moscow). p. 1B.
^ "Field goal lifts California to 17–17 tie with Cougars" . The Olympian . November 29, 1987. Retrieved January 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Oregon outlook: matchups" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). November 14, 1987. p. 4C.
^ "Cougar roster" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). November 21, 1987. p. B2.
^ "WSU's Hasty taken by Jets in 3rd round" . Idahonian . (Moscow). staff and wire reports. April 25, 1988. p. 3B.
^ "New Orleans takes Forde in 7th" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). staff and wire reports. April 26, 1988. p. C3.