CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1987 Florida State

11–⁠1, coached by Bobby Bowden, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 1987, game by game: won vs. Texas Tech 40–16; won at East Carolina 44–3; won vs. Memphis 41–24; won at Michigan State 31–3; lost vs. No. 3 Miami 25–26; won at Southern Miss 61–10; won vs. Louisville 32–9; won vs. Tulane 73–14; won at No. 6 Auburn 34–6; won vs. Furman 41–10; won at Florida 28–14; won vs. No. 5 Nebraska 31–28+59−1Won 40–16 vs. Texas Tech+24Texas TechWon 44–3 at East Carolina+41East CarolinaWon 41–24 vs. Memphis+17MemphisWon 31–3 at Michigan State+28Michigan StateLost 25–26 vs. No. 3 Miami-1No. 3 MiamiWon 61–10 at Southern Miss+51Southern MissWon 32–9 vs. Louisville+23LouisvilleWon 73–14 vs. Tulane+59TulaneWon 34–6 at No. 6 Auburn+28No. 6 AuburnWon 41–10 vs. Furman+31FurmanWon 28–14 at Florida+14FloridaWon 31–28 vs. No. 5 Nebraska+3No. 5 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsTexas TechW 40–⁠1669%
Sep 12atEast CarolinaW 44–⁠368%
Sep 19vsMemphisW 41–⁠2488%
Sep 26atMichigan StateW 31–⁠356%
Oct 3vs3MiamiL 25–⁠2647%
Oct 10atSouthern MissW 61–⁠1066%
Oct 17vsLouisvilleW 32–⁠993%
Oct 31vsTulaneW 73–⁠1485%
Nov 7at6AuburnW 34–⁠637%
Nov 14vsFurmanW 41–⁠1093%
Nov 28atFloridaW 28–⁠1460%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5NebraskaFiesta BowlW 31–⁠2852%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 31–⁠28 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 4
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 4
  11. Wk 11: 4
  12. Wk 12: 4
  13. Wk 13: 3
  14. Wk 14: 3
  15. Wk 15: 3
  16. Final: 2

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1987.

Butkus AwardPaul McGowan, LB

Consensus All-AmericanDeion Sanders, DB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
481–⁠163
Coach
Bobby Bowden
Elo
1792 +194 this season
SP+ rating
34.7 No. 1 of 101; offense No. 1, defense No. 8
SRS
30.5 No. 1 of 104 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Wayne McDuffie
Defensive coordinator
Mickey Andrews
Captains
Danny McManus, Paul McGowan, Marty Riggs and Pat Carter
Offense
I formation, Pro set
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1988

The 1988 draft
Rd 2Pat Carter TEDetroit Lions