1987 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

The 1987 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented the Oklahoma State University in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A college football season. The Cowboys finished the regular season with a 9–2 record.[1] Thurman Thomas was in his senior year for the Cowboys. In his career at Oklahoma State, Thomas had 897 rushes for 4,595 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 21 100-yard rushing games. He was also a Heisman Trophy candidate and a first team selection on the College Football All-America Team in 1987. In the 1987 Sun Bowl, Thomas ran for 157 yards and four touchdowns in the 35–33 victory over West Virginia, keeping Barry Sanders on the sidelines for the majority of the game. Thomas left OSU as the school's all-time leading rusher and his number 34 is one of only three jerseys retired at Oklahoma State. Sanders replaced Thomas as starter the next year in 1988.

1987 Oklahoma State Cowboys football
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 35–33 vs. West Virginia
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 11
Record10–2 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorLarry Coker (5th season)
Home stadiumLewis Field (capacity: 50,440)
1987 Big Eight Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Oklahoma $ 7 –0 –011 –1 –0
No. 6 Nebraska 6 –1 –010 –2 –0
No. 11 Oklahoma State 5 –2 –010 –2 –0
Colorado 4 –3 –07 –4 –0
Missouri 3 –4 –05 –6 –0
Iowa State 2 –5 –03 –8 –0
Kansas 0 –6 –11 –9 –1
Kansas State 0 –6 –10 –10 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 5Tulsa*
W 39–2846,700
September 12at Houston*
W 35–016,285
September 19at Wyoming*
W 35–2920,852
September 26Southwestern Louisiana*
  • Lewis Field
  • Stillwater, OK
W 36–044,100
October 10ColoradoNo. 19
  • Lewis Field
  • Stillwater, OK
W 42–1742,800
October 17No. 2 NebraskaNo. 12
  • Lewis Field
  • Stillwater, OK
CBSL 0–3550,440
October 24at MissouriNo. 19
W 24–2037,638
October 31Kansas StatedaggerNo. 12
  • Lewis Field
  • Stillwater, OK
W 56–740,150
November 7at No. 1 OklahomaNo. 12
L 10–2975,004
November 14at KansasNo. 17
W 49–1718,200–18,500
November 21Iowa StateNo. 13
  • Lewis Field
  • Stillwater, OK
W 48–2733,400
December 25vs. West Virginia*No. 11
CBSW 35–3343,240
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel
1987 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 11 Hart Lee Dykes Jr
QB 12 Mike Gundy So
RB 21 Barry Sanders So
RB 34 Thurman Thomas Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 53 Sim Drain III So
LB Ricky Shaw Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured Injured
    • Redshirt Redshirt

    Game summaries

    Colorado
    1 2 3 4 Total
    Colorado 0 10 7 0 17
    Oklahoma St 14 0 14 14 42
    • OSU - Sanders 4 Run (Blanchard kick)
    • OSU - Dykes 18 Gundy (Blanchard kick)
    • COL - Simmons 7 Run (Hannah kick)
    • COL - Hannah 32 FG
    • OSU - Williams 16 Gundy (Blanchard kick)
    • OSU - Thomas 5 Run (Blanchard kick)
    • COL - Bieniemy 6 Run (Hannah kick)
    • OSU - Limbrick 3 Run (Blanchard kick)
    • OSU - Sanders 73 punt return (Blanchard kick)
    • Passing: COL Aunese 5/11, 90 Yds, INT, OSU Gundy 21/28, 257 Yds, 2 TD, INT
    • Rushing: COL Flannagan 9/52, OSU Thomas 23/110
    • Receiving: COL Carl 3/61, OSU Dykes 8/114, TD

    [2]

    After the season

    The 1988 NFL Draft was held on April 24–25, 1988. The following Cowboys were selected.[3]

    Round Pick Player Position NFL club
    240Thurman ThomasRunning backBuffalo Bills
    492Ricky ShawLinebackerNew York Giants

    Awards and honors
    • Thurman Thomas, Heisman Trophy finalist
    • Thurman Thomas, All-America selection

    References
    1. "1987 Oklahoma State Cowboys Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
    2. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 11. Retrieved 2019-Jan-07.
    3. "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
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