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1987 Michigan

8–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Bo Schembechler, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1987, game by game: lost vs. No. 16 Notre Dame 7–26; won vs. Washington State 44–18; won vs. Long Beach State 49–0; won vs. Wisconsin 49–0; lost at Michigan State 11–17; won vs. Iowa 37–10; lost at No. 15 Indiana 10–14; won vs. Northwestern 29–6; won at Minnesota 30–20; won at Illinois 17–14; lost vs. Ohio State 20–23; won vs. Alabama 28–24+49−19Lost 7–26 vs. No. 16 Notre Dame-19No. 16 Notre DameWon 44–18 vs. Washington State+26Washington StateWon 49–0 vs. Long Beach State+49Long Beach StateWon 49–0 vs. Wisconsin+49WisconsinLost 11–17 at Michigan State-6Michigan StateWon 37–10 vs. Iowa+27IowaLost 10–14 at No. 15 Indiana-4No. 15 IndianaWon 29–6 vs. Northwestern+23NorthwesternWon 30–20 at Minnesota+10MinnesotaWon 17–14 at Illinois+3IllinoisLost 20–23 vs. Ohio State-3Ohio StateWon 28–24 vs. Alabama+4Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vs16Notre DameL 7–⁠2669%
Sep 19vsWashington StateW 44–⁠1871%
Sep 26vsLong Beach StateW 49–⁠079%
Oct 3vsWisconsinW 49–⁠079%
Oct 10atMichigan StateL 11–⁠1758%
Oct 17vsIowaW 37–⁠1060%
Oct 24at15IndianaL 10–⁠1456%
Oct 31vsNorthwesternW 29–⁠688%
Nov 7atMinnesotaW 30–⁠2061%
Nov 14atIllinoisW 17–⁠1471%
Nov 21vsOhio StateL 20–⁠2368%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsAlabamaHall of Fame BowlW 28–⁠2448%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Alabama 28–⁠24 in the Hall of Fame Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 66th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 19
  4. Wk 4: 14
  5. Wk 5: 12
  6. Wk 6: 12
  7. Wk 8: 20
  8. Final: 19

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.

Consensus All-AmericanJumbo Elliott, OT

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 7
Points
331–⁠172
Coach
Bo Schembechler
Elo
1672 +17 this season
SP+ rating
16.3 No. 17 of 101; offense No. 28, defense No. 17
SRS
12.6 No. 20 of 104 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gary Moeller
Defensive coordinator
Lloyd Carr
Captains
Doug Mallory and Jamie Morris
Most valuable player
Jamie Morris

Drafted in 1988

The 1988 draft
Rd 2John Elliot OTNew York Giants
Rd 4Monte Robbins PTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 4Jamie Morris RBWashington Redskins

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Doug MalloryDBAP-2; UPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1987 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1987 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan State7–⁠0–⁠19–⁠2–⁠18
Iowa6–⁠210–⁠316
Indiana6–⁠28–⁠4
Michigan5–⁠38–⁠419
Ohio State4–⁠46–⁠4–⁠1
Minnesota3–⁠56–⁠5
Purdue3–⁠53–⁠7–⁠1
Illinois2–⁠5–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Northwestern2–⁠62–⁠8–⁠1
Wisconsin1–⁠73–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.