1987 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 1987 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 6–4–1 record.

1987 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1987 record	6–4–1 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Earle Bruce (9th season)
Defensive coordinator	Gary Blackney (3rd season)
MVP	Chris Spielman
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium (Capacity: 85,399)

1987 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Michigan State $	7	–	0	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 16 Iowa	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Indiana	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 19 Michigan	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
Illinois	2	–	5	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Northwestern	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
Wisconsin	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 12	12:30 p.m.	West Virginia*	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	RCM	W 24–3	88,272
September 19	1:30 p.m.	Oregon*	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 24–14	89,882
September 26	1:30 p.m.	at No. 4 LSU*	No. 7	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	CBS	T 13–13	79,263
October 3	3:30 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)	ABC	W 10–6	73,045
October 10	1:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		L 10–31	90,032
October 17	3:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 17	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	RCM	W 20–17	66,501
October 24	3:30 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 16	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	RCM	W 42–9	89,801
October 31	3:30 p.m.	No. 20 Michigan State	No. 15	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–13	89,915
November 7	2:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		L 24–26	63,195
November 14	1:30 p.m.	Iowa		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		L 27–29	90,090
November 21	12:00 p.m.	at Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (The Game)	ABC	W 23–20	106,031
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Personnel

1987 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Chris Boddie RB James Bryant WR Gary Clift OL Karl Coles RB George Cooper WR Tony Cupe TE Jeff Ellis QB Greg Frey TE Alex Higdon TE Jay Koch RB Bill Matlock OL Tim Moxley WR Bobby Olive QB Scott Powell RB Lance Price WR Everett Ross RB Carlos Snow Fr OL Joe Staysniak OL Jeff Uhlenhake RB Vince Workman (S) OL Greg Zackeroff	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB David Brown DL Ken Coleman DB Zack Dumas DL Ray Hollman DB Ray Jackson LB Eric Kumerow LB Michael McCray LB Fred Ridder DB Greg Rogan DL Mike Showalter LB Chris Spielman (C) LB John Sullivan DL Mike Sullivan DB William White (C)	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Matt Frantz P, QB Tom Tupa (C)	Head coach Earle Bruce Coordinators/assistant coaches Gary Blackney (DC) Bill Conley (ILB) Steve Devine (OL) Randy Hart (DL) Chuck Heater (DB) Tom Lichtenberg (QB/WR) Urban Meyer (WR) Bob Palcic (OL/TE) Fred Pagac (OLB) Leonard Willis (RB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

1988 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL Club
Eric Kumerow	1	16	Defensive End	Miami Dolphins
Chris Spielman	2	29	Linebacker	Detroit Lions
Alex Higdon	3	56	Tight End	Atlanta Falcons
Tom Tupa	3	68	Quarterback	Phoenix Cardinals
William White	4	85	Defensive Back	Detroit Lions
George Cooper	6	156	Running Back	Miami Dolphins
Ray Jackson	7	185	Defensive Back	Seattle Seahawks
Henry Brown	10	277	Tackle	Washington Redskins

Game summaries

West Virginia

1 2 3 4 Total West Virginia 0 0 3 0 3 • Ohio St 17 0 0 7 24 Date: September 12 Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH Game attendance: 88,272

Scoring summary Q1 OHST Frantz 47 yard field goal OHST 3–0 Q1 OHST Bryant 7 yard run (Frantz kick) OHST 10–0 Q1 OHST Ross 23 yard pass from Tupa (Frantz kick) OHST 17–0 Q3 WVU Baumann 27 yard field goal OHST 17–3 Q4 OHST White 29 yard interception return (Frantz kick) OHST 24–3

[1]

Oregon

Oregon Ducks at Ohio State Buckeyes

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oregon	0	0	0	14	14
Ohio St	0	3	14	7	24

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: September 19, 1987
• Game time: 1:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny, 74 °F (23 °C)
• Game attendance: 89,882
• Referee: Jerry Hendrickson
• Box Score

Game information

Second quarter OSU – Matt Frantz 34-yard field goal, 8:01. Ohio St 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 47 yards, 4:04. Third quarter OSU – Jay Koch 4-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 4:29. Ohio St 10–0. Drive: 14 plays, 88 yards, 6:23. OSU – George Cooper 19-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 3:15. Ohio St 17–0. Drive: 1 play, 19 yards, 0:09. 'Fourth quarter ORE – Joe Meerten 8-yard pass from Bill Musgrave (Kirk Dennis kick), 6:40. Ohio St 17–7. Drive: 2 plays, 8 yards, 0:13. OSU – Vince Workman 5-yard run (Matt Frantz kick), 3:17. Ohio St 24–7. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 3:23. ORE – Rod Green 7-yard pass from Bill Musgrave (Kirk Dennis kick), 1:47. Ohio St 24–14. Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 1:23. Top passers ORE – Bill Musgrave – 18/27, 205 yards, 2 TD OSU – Tom Tupa – 20/32, 234 yards, 2 TD Top rushers ORE – Latin Berry – 18 rushes, 33 yards OSU – Vince Workman – 27 rushes, 162 yards, TD Top receivers ORE – Terry Obee – 4 receptions, 63 yards OSU – Vince Workman – 5 receptions, 63 yards

LSU

1 2 3 4 Total Ohio St 3 0 3 7 13 LSU 7 3 0 3 13 Date: September 26 Location: Tiger Stadium

Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio St 7 3 0 0 10 Illinois 0 0 0 6 6 Date: October 3 Location: Memorial Stadium

Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total • Indiana 7 3 7 14 31 Ohio St 0 10 0 0 10 Date: October 10 Location: Ohio Stadium

Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total • Ohio St 7 10 0 3 20 Purdue 0 0 10 7 17 Date: October 17 Location: Ross-Ade Stadium

Minnesota

1 2 3 4 Total Minnesota 0 9 0 0 9 • Ohio St 7 7 14 14 42 Date: October 24 Location: Ohio Stadium

Michigan State

Michigan State Spartans at Ohio State Buckeyes

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan St	10	3	0	0	13
Ohio St	7	0	0	0	7

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: October 31, 1987
• Game time: 3:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny, 60 °F (16 °C)
• Game attendance: 89,915
• Referee: Ron Winter
• TV: ABC
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter OSU – Everett Ross 79-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 14:45. 'Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 1 play, 79 yards, 0:11. MSU – Bobby McAllister 15-yard run (John Langeloh kick), 4:37. Tie 7–7. Drive: 3 plays, 54 yards, 0:50. MSU – John Langeloh 40-yard field goal, 1:22. Michigan St 10–7. Drive: 4 plays, 13 yards, 1:48. Second quarter MSU – John Langeloh 20-yard field goal, 10:41. Michigan St 13–7. Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 4:10. Top passers MSU – Bobby McAllister – 4/12, 61 yards OSU – Tom Tupa – 8/15, 137 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers MSU – Bobby McAllister – 22 rushes, 83 yards, TD OSU – Carlos Snow – 8 rushes, 18 yards Top receivers MSU – Lorenzo White – 2 receptions, 21 yards OSU – Alex Higdon – 6 receptions, 54 yards

Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total Ohio St 14 10 0 0 24 • Wisconsin 7 6 10 3 26 Date: November 7 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total • Iowa 3 12 0 14 29 Ohio St 7 7 7 6 27 Date: November 14 Location: Ohio Stadium

Michigan

Ohio State Buckeyes (5–4–1) at Michigan Wolverines

	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	0	7	13	3	23
Michigan	7	6	7	0	20

at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Date: November 21, 1987
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, low 30s
• Game attendance: 106,031
• TV: ABC
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter MICH – Jamie Morris 1-yard run (Mike Gillette kick), 10:02. Michigan 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:43. Second quarter MICH – Mike Gillette 34-yard field goal, 14:57. Michigan 10–0. Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 4:13. MICH – Mike Gillette 19-yard field goal, 7:05. Michigan 13–0. Drive: 13 plays, 53 yards, 5:49. OSU – Everett Ross 61-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 1:36. Michigan 13–7. Drive: 10 plays, 61 yards, 4:08. Third quarter OSU – Carlos Snow 70-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 12:32. Ohio St 14–13. Drive: 1 play, 70 yards, 0:12. OSU – Tom Tupa 1-yard run (kick failed), 7:11. Ohio St 20–13. Drive: 3 plays, 19 yards, 1:05. MICH – Leroy Hoard 10-yard run (Mike Gillette kick), 1:14. Tie 20–20. Drive: 6 plays, 46 yards, 2:00. Fourth quarter OSU – Matt Frantz 26-yard field goal, 5:18. Ohio St 23–20. Drive: 15 plays, 77 yards. Top passers OSU – Tom Tupa – 18/26, 219 yards, 2 TD MICH – Demetrius Brown – 5/13, 79 yards, INT Top rushers OSU – Carlos Snow – 21 rushes, 67 yards MICH – Jamie Morris – 23 rushes, 130 yards, TD Top receivers OSU – Carlos Snow – 3 receptions, 82 yards, TD MICH – Jerod Bunch – 1 reception, 39 yards

Earle Bruce's final game as Ohio State head coach.[2]

References

1. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Sept 13.
2. "Ohio State sends Bruce out a winner." Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 22.

Win/Loss statistics

• Ohio State Historical Scores

Draft data

• Ohio State Drafted Players