CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1987 Texas A&M

10–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Jackie Sherrill, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas A&M in 1987, game by game: lost vs. No. 6 LSU 3–17; won vs. No. 10 Washington 29–12; won at Southern Miss 27–14; lost at Texas Tech 21–27; won vs. Houston 22–17; won at Baylor 34–10; won at Rice 34–21; won vs. Louisiana Tech 32–3; won vs. No. 20 Arkansas 14–0; won at TCU 42–24; won vs. Texas 20–13; won vs. No. 12 Notre Dame 35–10+29−14Lost 3–17 vs. No. 6 LSU-14No. 6 LSUWon 29–12 vs. No. 10 Washington+17No. 10 WashingtonWon 27–14 at Southern Miss+13Southern MissLost 21–27 at Texas Tech-6Texas TechWon 22–17 vs. Houston+5HoustonWon 34–10 at Baylor+24BaylorWon 34–21 at Rice+13RiceWon 32–3 vs. Louisiana Tech+29Louisiana TechWon 14–0 vs. No. 20 Arkansas+14No. 20 ArkansasWon 42–24 at TCU+18TCUWon 20–13 vs. Texas+7TexasWon 35–10 vs. No. 12 Notre Dame+25No. 12 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vs6LSUL 3–⁠1756%
Sep 19vs10WashingtonW 29–⁠1250%
Sep 26atSouthern MissW 27–⁠1459%
Oct 3atTexas TechL 21–⁠2759%
Oct 10vsHoustonW 22–⁠1785%
Oct 17atBaylorW 34–⁠1037%
Oct 24atRiceW 34–⁠2182%
Oct 31vsLouisiana TechW 32–⁠388%
Nov 14vs20ArkansasW 14–⁠059%
Nov 21atTCUW 42–⁠2469%
Nov 26vsTexasW 20–⁠1378%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs12Notre DameCotton BowlW 35–⁠1052%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 35–⁠10 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; Southwest Conference champions.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 4: 16
  3. Wk 5: 15
  4. Wk 10: 20
  5. Wk 11: 19
  6. Wk 12: 16
  7. Wk 13: 15
  8. Wk 14: 15
  9. Wk 15: 13
  10. Final: 10

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.

Southwest Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanJohn Roper, LB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 10
Points
313–⁠168
Coach
Jackie Sherrill
Elo
1745 +136 this season
SP+ rating
19.5 No. 13 of 101; offense No. 25, defense No. 7
SRS
15.0 No. 14 of 104 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Lynn Amedee
Defensive coordinator
R.C. Slocum
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1988

The 1988 draft
Rd 3Keith Woodside RBGreen Bay Packers

All-Southwest Conference

9 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • Rod HarrisWRAP-1
  • Matt WilsonCAP-1
  • Louis CheekOTAP-1
  • Sammy O’BrientDLAP-1
  • John RoperLBAP-1
  • Kip CorringtonSecondaryAP-1
  • Scott SlaterPlace-kickersAP-1
  • Jackie SherrillMiscellaneousAP
  • Darren LewisMiscellaneousAP

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 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas A&M6–⁠110–⁠210
Arkansas5–⁠29–⁠4
Texas5–⁠27–⁠5
Texas Tech3–⁠3–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
Baylor3–⁠46–⁠5
TCU3–⁠45–⁠6
Houston2–⁠4–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Rice0–⁠72–⁠9

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