1987 BYU Cougars football team

American college football season

1987 BYU Cougars football
All-American Bowl, L 16–22 vs. Virginia
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	9–4 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach	LaVell Edwards (16th season)
Offensive coordinator	Roger French (7th season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Dick Felt (13th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Cougar Stadium
Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

1987 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Wyoming $	8	–	0	–	0	10	–	3	–	0
BYU	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	4	–	0
Air Force	6	–	2	–	0	9	–	4	–	0
UTEP	5	–	3	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
San Diego State	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	7	–	0
Hawaii	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	7	–	0
Utah	2	–	6	–	0	5	–	7	–	0
Colorado State	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	11	–	0
New Mexico	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

$ – Conference champion

The 1987 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season.^[1] The Cougars were led by 16th-year head coach LaVell Edwards and played their home games at Cougar Stadium in Provo, Utah. The team competed as members of the Western Athletic Conference, finishing in second with a record of 9–4 (7–1 WAC). BYU was invited to the All-American Bowl, where they were defeated by Virginia. The Cougars also participated in a rare college football game played outside the United States, in a regular season finale against Colorado State played in Melbourne, Australia. The game was promoted as the "Melbourne Bowl" but was met with weak enthusiasm in Australia.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	Pittsburgh*	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 17–27	64,274
September 12	at Texas*	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	W 22–17	65,102
September 19	at TCU*	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	L 12–33	22,615
September 26	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	W 45–25	22,286
October 2	Utah State*	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (rivalry)	W 45–24	65,729
October 10	Wyoming	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 27–29	65,921
October 24	at Hawaii	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	W 16–14	46,843
October 31	Air Force	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 24–13	65,384
November 7	San Diego State	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	W 38–21	64,341
November 14	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	W 37–24	47,910
November 21	Utah	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (Holy War)	W 21–18	65,686
December 4	vs. Colorado State	Princes Park Melbourne, Australia (Melbourne Bowl)	W 30–26	7,652	^[2]
December 22	vs. Virginia*	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (All-American Bowl)	L 16–22	37,000	^[3]
*Non-conference game

^[4]

Game summaries

At Texas

BYU Cougars (0–1) at Texas Longhorns (0–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU	0	14	8	0	22
Texas	7	3	0	7	17

at Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas

Date: September 12, 1987
Game time: 7:00 p.m.
Game weather: Clear, 87 °F (31 °C)
Game attendance: 65,102
Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter

UT – Bret Stafford 1-yard run (Wayne Clements kick), 8:43. Texas 7–0.

Second quarter

BYU – David Miles 21-yard pass from Bob Jensen (Leonard Chitty kick), 14:54. Tie 7–7.
BYU – Chuck Cutler 27-yard pass from Bob Jensen (Leonard Chitty kick), 1:38. BYU 14–7.
UT – Wayne Clements 46-yard field goal, 0:00. BYU 14–10.

Third quarter

BYU – Safety, Richard Hobbs blocked punt through end zone, 13:13. BYU 16–10.
BYU – Leonard Chitty 33-yard field goal, 4:26. BYU 19–10.
BYU – Leonard Chitty 33-yard field goal, 2:25. BYU 22–10.

Fourth quarter

UT – Darron Norris 3-yard run (Wayne Clements kick), 1:06. BYU 22–17.

Top passers

BYU – Bob Jensen – 16/35, 199 yards, 2 TD, INT
UT – Bret Stafford – 12/26, 107 yards, 3 INT

Top rushers

BYU – Peter Tuipulotu – 6 rushes, 16 yards
UT – Darron Norris – 8 rushes, 85 yards, TD

Top receivers

BYU – Chuck Cutler – 5 receptions, 70 yards, TD
UT – Tony Jones – 5 receptions, 61 yards

External videos
Game highlights

Air Force

Air Force Falcons (6–2) at BYU Cougars (4–3)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	10	0	3	0	13
BYU	0	14	10	0	24

at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

Date: October 31, 1987
Game attendance: 65,384
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

AFA – Steve Yarborough 32-yard field goal. Air Force 3–0.
AFA – Anthony Roberson 3-yard run (Steve Yarborough kick). Air Force 10–0.

Second quarter

BYU – Mike O'Brien 3-yard run (Leonard Chitty kick). Air Force 10–7.
BYU – Fred Whittingham 5-yard pass from Sean Covey (Leonard Chitty kick). BYU 14–10.

Third quarter

BYU – Leonard Chitty 26-yard field goal. BYU 17–10.
BYU – Mike O'Brien 2-yard run (Leonard Chitty kick). BYU 24–10.
AFA – Steve Yarborough 32-yard field goal. BYU 24–13.

Fourth quarter

No scoring

Top passers

AFA – Dee Dowis – 2/7, 25 yards, 3 INT
BYU – Sean Covey – 18/29, 294 yards, TD

Top rushers

AFA – Quinton Roberts – 15 rushes, 85 yards
BYU – Mike O'Brien – 16 rushes, 73 yards, 2 TD

Top receivers

AFA – Tyler Barth – 1 reception, 13 yards
BYU – Rich Zayas – 3 receptions, 118 yards

External videos
BYU highlights

Personnel

1987 BYU Cougars football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB		Matt Bellini
QB	`10`	Sean Covey	Jr
WR		Chuck Cutler
QB		Bob Jensen
WR		David Miles
RB		Thor Salanoa
RB		Peter Tuipulotu
FB		Fred Whittingham

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB		Richard Hobbs

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Leonard Chitty

Head coach

LaVell Edwards

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "1987 Brigham Young Cougars Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Only 7,652 Fans Turn Out Down Under To See BYU Edge Colorado State, 30-26". Los Angeles Times. December 5, 1987.
^ "Cavaliers pass big test". Birmingham Post-Herald. December 23, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1988 BYU Football Media Guide" (PDF). byucougars.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.

v t e BYU Cougars football
Venues	LaVell Edwards Stadium (1964–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Utah: Holy War (Beehive Boot) Utah State (Beehive Boot, The Old Wagon Wheel)
Culture & lore	Cosmo the Cougar "The Cougar Song" BYU Cougar Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
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National championship seasons in bold