1987 Colorado Buffaloes football team

1987 Colorado Buffaloes football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	7–4 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach	Bill McCartney (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Gerry DiNardo (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Lou Tepper (5th season)
Base defense	3–4
MVP	Mickey Pruitt
Captains	Mark Hatcher Barry Helton Mickey Pruitt
Home stadium	Folsom Field
Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

1987 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 6 Nebraska	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Oklahoma State	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Colorado	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas	0	–	6	–	1			1	–	9	–	1
Kansas State	0	–	6	–	1			0	–	10	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1987 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the Big Eight Conference during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Bill McCartney, Colorado finished the regular season at 7–4 (4–3 in Big 8, fourth),^[1] but did not receive a bowl invitation.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	12:00 pm	Oregon*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	KCNC	L 7–10	40,521	[3]
September 19	12:00 pm	Stanford*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	KCNC	W 31–17	45,073	[4]
September 26	1:00 pm	Washington State*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 26–17	43,527	[5]
October 3	1:00 pm	at Colorado State*	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO (rivalry)		W 29–16	38,129	[6]
October 10	1:00 pm	at No. 19 Oklahoma State	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		L 17–42	42,800	[7]
October 17	12:00 pm	Kansas	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	KCNC	W 35–10	43,514	[8]
October 24	5:30 pm	at No. 1 Oklahoma	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	ESPN	L 6–24	75,004	[9]
October 31	12:30 pm	at Iowa State	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		W 42–10	34,920	[10]
November 7	12:00 pm	Missouri	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	KCNC	W 27–10	44,050	[11]
November 21	12:10 pm	at Kansas State	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)		W 41–0	12,500	[12]
November 28	2:00 pm	No. 5 Nebraska	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	ESPN	L 7–24	52,026	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[14][15][16]

Game summaries

Washington State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Washington St	7	0	3	7	17
Colorado	3	16	0	7	26

• Attendance: 43,527
• COL: Culbertson 25 FG
• WSU: Swinton 13 Rosenbach (Adams kick)
• COL: Culbertson 27 FG
• COL: Pruitt 18 Interception (Culbertson kick)
• COL: Flannigan 3 Run (kick failed)
• WSU: Adams 32 FG
• WSU: Leighton 16 Rosenbach (Adams kick)
• COL: Aunese 22 Run (Hannah kick)
• Passing: WSU Rosenbach 26/52, 264 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT, COL Aunese 1/3, 30 Yds
• Rushing: WSU Rosenbach 15/34, COL Aunese 22/185, TD
• Receiving: WSU Broussard 8/55, COL Bieniemy 1/30

^[17]

Roster

1987 Colorado Buffaloes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 8 Sal Aunese So RB 46 Eric Bieniemy Fr SE 25 Drew Ferrando Sr RB 29 J.J. Flannigan So QB 6 Mark Hatcher (C) Sr RB O.C. Oliver FB 42 Michael Simmons Fr QB Rick Wheeler	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 12 Dave McCloughan Fr LB 96 Kanavis McGhee Fr SS Mickey Pruitt (C) Sr LB 94 Alfred Williams Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Barry Helton (C) Sr	Head coach Bill McCartney (6th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Gerry DiNardo (OC) Lou Tepper (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

^[18][19][20]

References

1. "Huskers too much for Colorado, 24-7". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 29, 1987. p. 3B.
2. "Left out of bowl picture, Colorado rips 'Cats, 41-0". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 22, 1987. p. 3B.
3. "Ducks get tough, upset Colorado". The Sunday Oregonian. September 13, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Reserve QB paces Colorado victory". The Salina Journal. September 20, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Washington State beaten at Colorado, 26–17". The Columbian. September 27, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Buffaloes roll". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 4, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Cowboys' triplets send message to Nebraska with rout of Buffs". Omaha World-Herald. October 11, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Colorado coach says Buffs 'not sharp' in 35–10 win". Omaha World-Herald. October 18, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Oklahoma turns out the lights on Colorado in Norman party". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 25, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "CU running game too much for ISU". Star-Herald. November 1, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Colorado whips Missouri". The Salina Journal. November 8, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Barrage by Colorado puts K-State out of its misery". The Kansas City Star. November 22, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Keith Jones runs wild as Huskers thump Colorado". The Columbus Telegram. November 29, 1987. Retrieved May 13, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "1987 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
15. "1987 Football Schedule". University of Colorado Boulder. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
16. "Colorado Football 2024 Record Book" (PDF). University of Colorado Boulder. p. 57. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
17. "Third-stringer carries Colorado over WSU". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 27, 1987. p. 9B.
18. "Oregon outlook". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). September 12, 1987. p. 5C.
19. Conrad, John (September 13, 1987). "Ducks beat the odds and Buffs, too". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
20. Woodling, Chuck (October 16, 1987). "For Brehm, CU game 'biggest'". Lawrence Journal-World (Kansas). p. 1C.