CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1987 Oklahoma State

10–⁠2 (5–⁠2 Big Eight), coached by Pat Jones, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma State in 1987, game by game: won vs. Tulsa 39–28; won at Houston 35–0; won at Wyoming 35–29; won vs. Louisiana 36–0; won vs. Colorado 42–17; lost vs. No. 2 Nebraska 0–35; won at Missouri 24–20; won vs. Kansas State 56–7; lost at No. 1 Oklahoma 10–29; won at Kansas 49–17; won vs. Iowa State 48–27; won vs. West Virginia 35–33+49−35Won 39–28 vs. Tulsa+11TulsaWon 35–0 at Houston+35HoustonWon 35–29 at Wyoming+6WyomingWon 36–0 vs. Louisiana+36LouisianaWon 42–17 vs. Colorado+25ColoradoLost 0–35 vs. No. 2 Nebraska-35No. 2 NebraskaWon 24–20 at Missouri+4MissouriWon 56–7 vs. Kansas State+49Kansas StateLost 10–29 at No. 1 Oklahoma-19No. 1 OklahomaWon 49–17 at Kansas+32KansasWon 48–27 vs. Iowa State+21Iowa StateWon 35–33 vs. West Virginia+2West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsTulsaW 39–⁠2854%
Sep 12atHoustonW 35–⁠063%
Sep 19atWyomingW 35–⁠2956%
Sep 26vsLouisianaW 36–⁠073%
Oct 10vsColoradoW 42–⁠1763%
Oct 17vs2NebraskaL 0–⁠3544%
Oct 24atMissouriW 24–⁠2059%
Oct 31vsKansas StateW 56–⁠791%
Nov 7at1OklahomaL 10–⁠2920%
Nov 14atKansasW 49–⁠1782%
Nov 21vsIowa StateW 48–⁠2785%
Dec 25Bowls & playoffvsWest VirginiaSun BowlW 35–⁠3357%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 35–⁠33 in the Sun Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 19
  2. Wk 7: 12
  3. Wk 8: 19
  4. Wk 9: 17
  5. Wk 10: 12
  6. Wk 11: 17
  7. Wk 12: 13
  8. Wk 13: 12
  9. Wk 14: 11
  10. Wk 15: 11
  11. Final: 11

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.

Led the nationBarry Sanders: kickoff return average (31.6)

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠2 3rd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 11
Points
409–⁠242
Coach
Pat Jones
Elo
1631 +111 this season
SP+ rating
16.0 No. 18 of 101; offense No. 6, defense No. 48
SRS
13.7 No. 17 of 104 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Larry Coker
Defensive coordinator
Louis Campbell

Drafted in 1988

The 1988 draft
Rd 2Thurman Thomas RBBuffalo Bills
Rd 4Ricky Shaw LBNew York Giants

All-Big Eight

2 first team, 8 second team

First team

Second team

  • Barry SandersRBAP-2
  • Doug MeachamDown linemenAP-2; UPI-2
  • Ricky ShawDEAP-2; UPI-2
  • David BaileyDown linemanAP-2; UPI-2
  • Sim Drain IIILBUPI-2
  • Rod SmithDBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Melvin GilliamDBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Cary CooperPUPI-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 Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠011–⁠13
Nebraska6–⁠110–⁠26
Oklahoma State5–⁠210–⁠211
Colorado4–⁠37–⁠4
Missouri3–⁠45–⁠6
Iowa State2–⁠53–⁠8
Kansas0–⁠6–⁠11–⁠9–⁠1
Kansas State0–⁠6–⁠10–⁠10–⁠1

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