1987 Florida State Seminoles football team

American college football season

1987 Florida State Seminoles football

National champion (Berryman) Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 31–28 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	11–1
Head coach	Bobby Bowden (12th season)
Offensive coordinator	Wayne McDuffie (5th season)
Offensive scheme	No-huddle spread
Defensive coordinator	Mickey Andrews (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Doak Campbell Stadium
Seasons← 1986 1988 →

1987 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Miami (FL)		–		–		12	–	0	–	0
No. 4 Syracuse		–		–		11	–	0	–	1
No. 2 Florida State		–		–		11	–	1	–	0
No. 15 South Carolina		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
No. 17 Notre Dame		–		–		8	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–		6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–		5	–	5	–	1
Northern Illinois		–		–		5	–	5	–	1
West Virginia		–		–		6	–	6	–	0
Tulane		–		–		6	–	6	–	0
Army		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Boston College		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Akron		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–		3	–	7	–	1
Temple		–		–		3	–	8	–	0
Tulsa		–		–		3	–	8	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–		2	–	9	–	0
Navy		–		–		2	–	9	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1987 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium. The team was selected national champion by Berryman.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	7:00 p.m.	Texas Tech	No. 8	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL		W 40–16	52,893
September 12	7:00 p.m.	at East Carolina	No. 8	Ficklen Memorial Stadium Greenville, NC		W 44–3	33,937
September 19	7:00 p.m.	Memphis State	No. 7	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL		W 41–24	50,191
September 26	1:00 p.m.	at Michigan State	No. 6	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 31–3	76,887
October 3	2:30 p.m.	No. 3 Miami (FL)	No. 4	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 25–26	62,561
October 10	2:00 p.m.	at Southern Miss	No. 6	M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS		W 61–10	25,853
October 17	7:00 p.m.	Louisville	No. 4	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL		W 32–9	53,114
October 31	3:00 p.m.	Tulane	No. 4	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL		W 73–14	53,210
November 7	2:30 p.m.	at No. 6 Auburn	No. 4	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	CBS	W 34–6	85,170
November 14	2:00 p.m.	Furman	No. 4	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL		W 41–10	50,087
November 28	12:00 p.m.	at Florida	No. 3	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 28–14	74,613
January 1	1:30 p.m.	vs. No. 5 Nebraska	No. 3	Mountain American Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	W 31–28	72,112
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1987 Florida State Seminoles football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`8`	Terry Anthony	So
G	`61`	Jim Bekas	Fr
FB	`22`	Edgar Bennett	Fr
OT	`50`	John Brown	So
TB	`13`	Dexter Carter	So
TE	`85`	Pat Carter	Sr
WR	`29`	Lawrence Dawsey	Fr
WR	`1`	Scott DiMare	So
OT	`69`	Joey Ionata	Jr
OT	`73`	Anthony Johnson	Jr
QB	`14`	Brad Johnson	Fr
TE	`45`	Reggie Johnson	Fr
TB	`10`	Brady Jones	So
RB	`33`	Sammie Smith	So
QB	`11`	Casey Weldon	Fr
TE	`87`	Gaylon White	Sr
WR	`23`	Pat White	So
WR	`82`	Randy White	Sr
QB	`4`	Peter Tom Willis	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`6`	LeRoy Butler	So
LB	`47`	Kevin Grant	So
FS	`21`	John Hadley	Jr
LB	`53`	Odell Haggins	So
DB	`22`	Kenny Kitchens	Jr
CB	`32`	Martin Mayhew	Sr
LB	`38`	Paul McGowan	Sr
FS	`40`	Greg Newell	Sr
DT	`74`	Henry Ostaszewski	Fr
DT	`75`	Joe Ostaszewski	Fr
LB	`48`	David Palmer	Sr
CB	`2`	Deion Sanders	Jr
LB	`93`	Shelton Thompson	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`18`	Derek Schmidt	Sr
P	`12`	Rick Tuten	Sr

Head coach

Bobby Bowden

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Wayne McDuffie (Offensive coordinator)
Mickey Andrews (Defensive coordinator)
Skip Holtz (Graduate assistant)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Rankings

Further information: 1987 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	8	8	7	6	4	6	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	2
Coaches	14	11	7	8	4	8	7	5	5	4	4	4	3	3	3	2

Game summaries

Texas Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Raiders	13	3	0	0	16
• Seminoles	13	17	7	3	40

Date: September 5
Location: Doak Campbell Stadium
Game attendance: 52,893

At East Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Seminoles	3	13	14	14	44
Pirates	0	3	0	0	3

Date: September 12
Location: Ficklen Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 33,937

Memphis State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	10	7	7	24
• Seminoles	21	3	7	10	41

Date: September 19
Location: Doak Campbell Stadium
Game attendance: 50,191

At Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Seminoles	0	7	10	14	31
Spartans	0	3	0	0	3

Date: September 26
Location: Spartan Stadium
East Lansing, MI
Game attendance: 76,887

Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Hurricanes	3	0	8	15	26
No. 4 Seminoles	0	10	9	6	25

Date: October 3
Location: Doak Campbell Stadium,
Tallahassee, Florida
Game attendance: 62,561
Game weather: 78 °F (26 °C), Sunny, Wind N 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h)
TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger, Pat Haden, and John Dockery

Scoring summary

1	2:58	Miami	Greg Cox 29-yard field goal	Miami 3–0

2		FSU	D. Williams 1-yard run (Schmidt kick)	FSU 7–3

2	2:37	FSU	Derek Schmidt 36-yard field goal	FSU 10–3

3	7:50	FSU	Williams blocked punt return (kick failed)	FSU 16–3

3	2:37	FSU	Derek Schmidt 25-yard field goal	FSU 19–3

3		Miami	Bratton 49-yard pass from Walsh (Brian Blades pass from Walsh)	FSU 19–11

4		Miami	Irvin 26-yard pass from Walsh (Williams pass from Walsh)	Tied 19–19

4	2:22	Miami	Irvin 73-yard pass from Walsh (Cox kick)	Miami 26–19

4	0:42	FSU	Lewis 18-yard pass from McManus (pass failed)	Miami 26–25

At Southern Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Seminoles	21	10	14	16	61
Golden Eagles	7	3	0	0	10

Date: October 10
Location: M. M. Roberts Stadium
Game attendance: 25,853

Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	3	0	0	6	9
• Seminoles	6	12	7	7	32

Date: October 17
Location: Doak Campbell Stadium
Game attendance: 53,114

Tulane

	1	2	3	4	Total
Green Wave	7	0	0	7	14
• Seminoles	7	31	28	7	73

Date: October 31
Location: Doak Campbell Stadium
Game attendance: 53,210

At Auburn

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Seminoles	14	13	0	7	34
Tigers	0	3	3	0	6

Date: November 7
Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium
Game attendance: 85,170

Furman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Paladins	7	0	0	3	10
• Seminoles	10	10	7	14	41

Date: November 14
Location: Doak Campbell Stadium
Game attendance: 50,087

At Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Seminoles	3	6	11	8	28
Gators	7	7	0	0	14

Date: November 28
Location: Florida Field
Game attendance: 74,613

Scoring summary

Q1	10:10	FSU	Schmidt 26 yard field goal	FSU 3–0

Q1	2:21	FLA	E. Smith 5 yard run (McGinty kick)	FLA 7–3

Q2	14:55	FLA	E. Smith 4 yard run (McGinty kick)	FLA 14–3

Q2	2:44	FSU	Schmidt 23 yard field goal	FLA 14–6

Q2	0:00	FSU	Schmidt 53 yard field goal	FLA 14–9

Q3	10:59	FSU	Schmidt 37 yard field goal	FLA 14–12

Q3	4:50	FSU	D. Williams 1 yard run (Bennett run)	FSU 20–14

Q4	10:36	FSU	D. Williams 1 yard run (Gainer pass from McManus)	FSU 28–14

Vs. Nebraska (Fiesta Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Cornhuskers	14	0	14	0	28
• No. 3 Seminoles	0	21	3	7	31

Date: January 1
Location: Sun Devil Stadium
Game attendance: 72,112

Scoring summary

1	Neb	Keith Jones 3-yard run (Chris Drennan kick)	Neb 7–0

1	Neb	Dana Brinson 52-yard punt return (Drennan kick)	Neb 14–0

2	FSU	Herb Gainer 10-yard pass from Danny McManus (Derek Schmidt kick)	Neb 14–7

2	FSU	Dayne Williams 4-yard run (Schmidt kick)	Tied 14–14

2	FSU	Gainer 25-yard pass from McManus (Schmidt kick)	FSU 21–14

3	Neb	Steve Taylor 2-yard run (Drennan kick)	Tied 21–21

3	FSU	Schmidt 32-yard field goal	FSU 24–21

3	Neb	Tyreese Knox 4-yard run (Drennan kick)	Neb 28–24

4	FSU	Ronald Lewis 15-yard pass from McManus (Schmidt kick)	FSU 31–28

References

2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). The National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 114–115. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
"Rockabye-bye, Sammie". Tallahassee Democrat. September 13, 1987. Retrieved March 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"S. Miss. falls into FSU's trap, 61–10". The Miami Herald. October 11, 1987. Retrieved March 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"FSU rips Tulane by 73–14". The Palm Beach Post. November 1, 1987. Retrieved February 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
"Auburn falls flat on the Plain". The Columbus Ledger. November 8, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Big plays let FSU loose in 41–10 rout of Furman". Fort Lauderdale News. November 15, 1987. Retrieved September 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
"No. 3 Florida State ends Florida's 6-year hex, 28–14". The Baltimore Sun. November 29, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Florida State Football - 1987 Year In Review". Nolefan.org. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.
NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2018-Feb-04.

v t e Florida State Seminoles football
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Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Florida Cup Clemson Florida Miami Virginia
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