1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football
1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 27–32 vs. Texas
Conference	Independent
Record	8–4
Head coach	Mike Gottfried (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Mike Dickens (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple pro-style
Defensive coordinator	John Fox (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium
	Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

1987 Major eastern college football independents records
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Syracuse $	5	–	0	–	0	11	–	0	–	1
Penn State	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Pittsburgh	3	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
West Virginia	2	–	3	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Rutgers	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Boston College	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Temple	1	–	3	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

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 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh as an independent during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	7:30 p.m.	at BYU		Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	ESPN	W 27–17	64,374
September 12	1:30 p.m.	NC State	No. 18	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 34–0	43,165	^[2]
September 19	1:30 p.m.	Temple	No. 16	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		L 21–24	45,387
September 26	12:00 p.m.	at West Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)	JP Sports	W 6–3	65,079	^[3]
October 3	1:30 p.m.	Boston College		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		L 10–13	46,238
October 10	7:30 p.m.	No. 4 Notre Dame		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 30–22	56,400
October 24	12:00 p.m.	at Navy		Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	JP Sports	W 10–6	29,167
October 31	3:30 p.m.	No. 8 Syracuse		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	CBS	L 10–24	52,714
November 7	12:00 p.m.	at Rutgers		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ		W 17–0	25,444
November 14	7:30 p.m.	No. 15 Penn State		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 10–0	56,500
November 21	1:30 p.m.	Kent State	No. 19	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 28–5	35,472
December 31	7:00 p.m.	vs. Texas	No. 19	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)	Mizlou	L 27–32	33,122
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[4]^[5]

Game summaries

Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	0	0	7	15	22
• Pittsburgh	14	13	0	3	30

Date: October 10
Location: Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game attendance: 56,400

Craig Heyward 42 Rush, 132 Yds

^[6]

Roster

1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
C	`55`	Bryan Schoch	Fr
G	`73`	Bill Cherpak	So
QB	`15`	Darnell Dickerson	Fr
QB	`11`	Sal Genilla	Sr
FB	`34`	Craig Heyward	Jr
OT	`62`	Roman Matusz	So
C	`61`	Ed Miller	Sr
OT	`71`	Tom Ricketts	Jr
G	`77`	Mark Stepnoski	Jr
WR	`30`	Michael Stewart	Sr
WR	`2`	Reggie Williams	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DE	`89`	Jon Carter	Sr
LB	`44`	Jeff Christy	Fr
LB	`26`	Ezekial Gadson	Sr
DE	`92`	Burt Grossman	Jr
CB	`7`	Quintin Jones	Sr
FS	`1`	Billy Owens	Sr
DT	`67`	Jim Quinn	So
CB	`6`	Gary Richard	Sr
DT	`98`	Tony Siragusa	Jr
DE	`93`	Marc Spindler	Fr
LB	`51`	Jerry Wall	Sr
FS	`43`	Troy Washington	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Mike Gottfried

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Coaching staff

1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff

	Coaching staff Mike Gottfried – Head coach Jack Harbaugh – Assistant head coach Mike Dickens – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks John Fox – Defensive coordinator/secondary Tommie Liggins – Run coordinator/running backs Steve Coury – Wide receivers Frank D'Alonzo – Defensive line Bill Meyers – Offensive line Scott O'Brien – Special teams Sal Sunseri – Linebackers			Support staff Alex Kramer – Administrative assistant Bud Ratliff – Recruiting doordinator Rick Denstorff – Graduate assistant Bill D'Ottavio – Graduate assistant John Harbaugh – Graduate assistant Larry Petroff – Graduate assistant Donnie Roberts – Graduate assistant			Strength and conditioning staff Buddy Morris – Weight and strength coordinator Ray Oliver – Assistant Strength

^[7] ^[8]

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Craig Heyward	Running back	1	24	New Orleans Saints
Quintin Jones	Defensive back	2	48	Houston Oilers
Jon Carter	Defensive end	5	118	New York Giants
Ezekial Gadson	Defensive back	5	123	Buffalo Bills
Gary Richard	Defensive back	7	173	Green Bay Packers
Billy Owens	Defensive back	10	263	Dallas Cowboys
Ed Miller	Center	11	285	San Diego Chargers

^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b "Quick Facts About Pitt". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. p. 2. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
^ "Pitt routs winless 'Pack". The Greenville News. September 13, 1987. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Pittsburgh tops West Virginia by field goal". The Charlotte Observer. September 27, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Table of Contents". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. p. 1. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
^ "1987 Review". Pitt Football 1988. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1988. pp. 59–68. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 11. Retrieved 2014-Dec-28.
^ "Coaches". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. pp. 5–14. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
^ "Coaches". Pitt Football 1988. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1988. pp. 13–14. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
^ "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012.

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[quick_facts-1] "Quick Facts About Pitt". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. p. 2. Retrieved January 8, 2012.

[2] "Pitt routs winless 'Pack". The Greenville News. September 13, 1987. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Pittsburgh tops West Virginia by field goal". The Charlotte Observer. September 27, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Table of Contents". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. p. 1. Retrieved January 8, 2012.

[5] "1987 Review". Pitt Football 1988. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1988. pp. 59–68. Retrieved January 8, 2012.

[6] Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 11. Retrieved 2014-Dec-28.

[7] "Coaches". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. pp. 5–14. Retrieved January 6, 2012.

[8] "Coaches". Pitt Football 1988. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1988. pp. 13–14. Retrieved January 15, 2012.

[9] "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012.

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v t e Pittsburgh Panthers football
Venues	Recreation Park (1898–1899) Exposition Park (1900) Schenley Park (1901) Coliseum (1902–1903) Exposition Park (1904–1908) Forbes Field (1909–1924) Pitt Stadium (1925–1999) Three Rivers Stadium (2000) Acrisure Stadium (2001–present) UPMC Rooney Sports Complex (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Duquesne: City Game Notre Dame Old Ironsides Penn State Syracuse West Virginia: Backyard Brawl
Culture & lore	Panthers "Hail to Pitt" "Pitt Victory Song" Marching band 2007 Backyard Brawl Highest-scoring game
People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold