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
(Capacity 104,091)
1987 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 18 USC + 7 –1 –08 –4 –0
No. 9 UCLA + 7 –1 –010 –2 –0
Washington 4 –3 –17 –4 –1
No. 20 Arizona State 3 –3 –17 –4 –1
Oregon 4 –4 –06 –5 –0
Stanford 4 –4 –05 –6 –0
Arizona 2 –3 –34 –4 –3
California 2 –3 –23 –6 –2
Washington State 1 –5 –13 –7 –1
Oregon State 0 –7 –02 –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
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 5San Diego State*No. 3
PPVW 47–1454,287
September 12at No. 2 Nebraska*No. 3
ESPNL 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. 11
ABCW 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. 7
ABCW 31–2370,754
November 7at Oregon StateNo. 7
W 52–1720,104
November 14WashingtonNo. 5
  • Rose Bowl
  • Pasadena, CA
ABCW 47–1470,332
November 21at USCNo. 5
ABCL 13–1792,516
December 25vs. Florida*No. 10
ABCW 20–1624,839
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1987 UCLA Bruins football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
CB 2 Darryl Henley Jr
S 3 James Washington 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.#NameClass
K 25 Alfredo Velasco So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Rankings
Further information: 1987 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
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

[3]

Game summaries

San Diego State
San Diego State at No. 3 UCLA
1 234Total
Aztecs 0 707 14
• No. 3 Bruins 14 17106 47
See also: 1987 San Diego State Aztecs football team

[4]

at No. 2 Nebraska
No. 3 UCLA at No. 2 Nebraska
1 234Total
No. 3 Bruins 7 3716 33
• No. 2 Cornhuskers 0 141414 42
See also: 1987 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

[5]

Fresno State
San Diego State at No. 13 UCLA
1 234Total
Bulldogs 0 000 0
• No. 13 Bruins 7 370 17
Scoring summary
1UCLAGaston Green 33-yard run (Alfredo Velasco kick)UCLA 7–0
2UCLAAlfredo Velasco 41-yard field goalUCLA 10–0
3UCLAFlipper Anderson 26-yard pass from Troy Aikman (Alfredo Velasco kick)UCLA 17–0
See also: 1987 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

[6]

Arizona
See also: 1987 Arizona Wildcats football team

[7]

at Stanford
See also: 1987 Stanford Cardinal football team

[8]

No. 16 Oregon
No. 16 Oregon at No. 9 UCLA
1 234Total
No. 16 Ducks 0 730 10
• No. 9 Bruins 7 10717 41
     
Scoring summary
1UCLABrown 1-yard pass from Aikman (Velasco kick)UCLA 7–0
2ORELoville 1-yard run (Dennis kick)Tied 7–7
UCLAAnderson 2-yard pass from Aikman (Velasco kick)UCLA 14–7
UCLAVelasco 35-yard field goalUCLA 17–7
3UCLAAustin 34-yard run (Velasco kick)UCLA 24–7
OREDennis 32-yard field goalUCLA 24–10
4UCLAVelasco 26-yard field goalUCLA 27–10
UCLAGreen 1-yard run (Velasco kick)UCLA 34–10
UCLAM. Turner 65-yard interception return (Velasco kick)UCLA 41–10

[9]

California
See also: 1987 California Golden Bears football team

[10]

at Arizona State
See also: 1987 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

[11]

at Oregon State
See also: 1987 Oregon State Beavers football team

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.[12]

Washington
Washington at No. 3 UCLA
1 234Total
Huskies 0 1400 14
• No. 5 Bruins 13 31714 47
See also: 1987 Washington Huskies football team

[13]

at USC
No. 5 UCLA at USC
1 234Total
No. 5 Bruins 7 330 13
• Trojans 0 0314 17
Scoring summary
1UCLAGaston Green 6-yard run (Alfredo Velasco kick)UCLA 7–0
2UCLAAlfredo Velasco 32-yard field goalUCLA 10–0
2UCLAAlfredo Velasco 38-yard field goalUCLA 13–0
3USCQuin Rodriguez 26-yard field goalUCLA 13–3
414:09USCRandy Tanner 6-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Quin Rodriguez kick)UCLA 13–10
47:59USCErik Affholter 33-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Quin Rodriguez kick)USC 17–13
See also: 1987 USC Trojans football team and Victory Bell (UCLA–USC)

USC clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl with the win.[14]

vs. Florida (Aloha Bowl)
No. 10 UCLA vs. Florida
1 234Total
• No. 10 Bruins 3 773 20
Gators 7 306 16
   
Scoring summary
1UCLAAlfredo Velasco 34-yard field goalUCLA 3–0
UFStacey Simmons 7-yard pass from Kerwin Bell (Robert McGinty kick)UF 7–3
2UFRobert McGinty 32-yard field goalUF 10–3
UCLABrian Brown 1-yard run (Alfredo Velasco kick)Tied 10–10
3UCLADanny Thompson 5-yard pass from Troy Aikman (Alfredo Velasco kick)UCLA 17–10
4UCLAAlfredo Velasco 32-yard field goalUCLA 20–10
UFAnthony Williams 14-yard pass from Kerwin Bell (kick blocked)UCLA 20–16
Main article: 1987 Aloha Bowl
See also: 1987 Florida Gators football team

[15]

1988 NFL Draft
Main article: 1988 NFL draft

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

PlayerPositionRoundPickFranchise
Gaston GreenRunning back114Los Angeles Rams
Ken Norton Jr.Linebacker241Dallas Cowboys
Flipper AndersonWide receiver246Los Angeles Rams
David RichardsGuard498San Diego Chargers
Dennis PriceDefensive back5131Los Angeles Raiders
James WashingtonDefensive back5137Los Angeles Rams
James PrimusRunning back9222Atlanta Falcons
Mel FarrRunning back9248Denver Broncos
Paco CraigWide receiver10254Detroit Lions
Ben HummelLinebacker12317Dallas Cowboys

[16]

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