CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1987 Tennessee

10–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Johnny Majors, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1987, game by game: won vs. Iowa 23–22; won vs. Colorado State 49–3; won at Mississippi State 38–10; tied vs. No. 3 Auburn 20–20; won vs. California 38–12; lost at Alabama 22–41; won vs. Georgia Tech 29–15; lost at Boston College 18–20; won vs. Louisville 41–10; won vs. Ole Miss 55–13; won at Kentucky 24–22; won vs. Vanderbilt 38–36; won vs. Indiana 27–22+46−19Won 23–22 vs. Iowa+1IowaWon 49–3 vs. Colorado State+46Colorado StateWon 38–10 at Mississippi State+28Mississippi Sta…Tied 20–20 vs. No. 3 Auburn0No. 3 AuburnWon 38–12 vs. California+26CaliforniaLost 22–41 at Alabama-19AlabamaWon 29–15 vs. Georgia Tech+14Georgia TechLost 18–20 at Boston College-2Boston CollegeWon 41–10 vs. Louisville+31LouisvilleWon 55–13 vs. Ole Miss+42Ole MissWon 24–22 at Kentucky+2KentuckyWon 38–36 vs. Vanderbilt+2VanderbiltWon 27–22 vs. Indiana+5Indiana
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsIowaW 23–⁠2250%
Sep 5vsColorado StateW 49–⁠371%
Sep 12atMississippi StateW 38–⁠1058%
Sep 26vs3AuburnT 20–⁠2054%
Oct 3vsCaliforniaW 38–⁠1285%
Oct 17atAlabamaL 22–⁠4142%
Oct 24vsGeorgia TechW 29–⁠1577%
Oct 31atBoston CollegeL 18–⁠2059%
Nov 7vsLouisvilleW 41–⁠1089%
Nov 14vsOle MissW 55–⁠1379%
Nov 21atKentuckyW 24–⁠2263%
Nov 28vsVanderbiltW 38–⁠3684%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsIndianaPeach BowlW 27–⁠2263%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Indiana 27–⁠22 in the Peach Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 44th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 10
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 7: 8
  8. Wk 8: 13
  9. Wk 9: 13
  10. Wk 10: 19
  11. Wk 11: 18
  12. Wk 12: 15
  13. Wk 13: 16
  14. Wk 14: 16
  15. Wk 15: 17
  16. Final: 14

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.

Record
10–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 8
Points
422–⁠246
Coach
Johnny Majors
Elo
1674 +81 this season
SP+ rating
13.8 No. 19 of 101; offense No. 13, defense No. 40
SRS
14.0 No. 16 of 104 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Walt Harris
Defensive coordinator
Ken Donahue
Captains
Harry Galbreath and Kelly Ziegler

Drafted in 1988

The 1988 draft
Rd 1Terry McDaniel DBLos Angeles Raiders
Rd 1Anthony Miller WRSan Diego Chargers
Rd 4John Bruhin OGTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 5William Howard RBTampa Bay Buccaneers

All-SEC

2 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

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

1987 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Auburn5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠1–⁠27
LSU5–⁠110–⁠1–⁠15
Tennessee4–⁠1–⁠110–⁠2–⁠114
Georgia4–⁠29–⁠313
Alabama4–⁠27–⁠5
Florida3–⁠36–⁠6
Kentucky1–⁠55–⁠6
Mississippi State1–⁠54–⁠7
Vanderbilt1–⁠54–⁠7
Ole Miss1–⁠53–⁠8

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