1987 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1987 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–4–1 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Earle Bruce (9th season)
Defensive coordinator	Gary Blackney (3rd season)
MVP	Chris Spielman
Captains	Chris Spielman William White Vince Workman
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

1987 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Michigan State $	7	–	0	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 16 Iowa	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Indiana	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 19 Michigan	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Ohio State	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
Illinois	2	–	5	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Northwestern	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
Wisconsin	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1987 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their ninth and final year under head coach Earle Bruce, the Buckeyes compiled a 6–4–1 record (4–4 in conference games), finished in fifth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 224 to 181. They did not appear in a bowl game for the first time since 1971 and were unranked in the final AP poll.^[1]

The Buckeyes gained an average of 151.6 rushing yards and 174.2 passing yards per game. On defense, they held opponents to 144.4 rushing yards and 171.1 passing yards per game.^[2] The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Tom Tupa (1,786 passing yards, 55.4% completion percentage), running back Vince Workman (470 rushing yards, 4.0 yards per carry), and wide receiver Everett Ross (29 receptions for 585 yards).^[2] Tupa (as punter) and linebacker Chris Spielman were consensus first-team All-Americans.^[3] Four Ohio State players received first-team honors on the 1987 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Spielman (AP/UPI); linebacker/defensive end Eric Kumerow; defensive back William White (AP/UPI); and Tupa as punter (AP).^[4][5]

The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	12:30 p.m.	West Virginia*	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	RCM	W 24–3	88,272	[6]
September 19	1:30 p.m.	Oregon*	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 24–14	89,882	[7]
September 26	1:30 p.m.	at No. 4 LSU*	No. 7	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	CBS	T 13–13	79,263	[8]
October 3	3:30 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck)	ABC	W 10–6	73,045	[9]
October 10	1:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		L 10–31	90,032	[10]
October 17	3:30 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 17	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	RCM	W 20–17	66,501	[11]
October 24	3:30 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 16	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	RCM	W 42–9	89,801	[12]
October 31	3:30 p.m.	No. 20 Michigan State	No. 15	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	L 7–13	89,915	[13]
November 7	2:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		L 24–26	63,195	[14]
November 14	1:30 p.m.	Iowa		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		L 27–29	90,090	[15]
November 21	12:00 p.m.	at Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	W 23–20	106,031	[16]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

West Virginia

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
West Virginia	0	0	3	0	3
• Ohio St	17	0	0	7	24

• Date: September 12
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
• Game attendance: 88,272

Scoring summary

Q1		OHST	Frantz 47 yard field goal	OHST 3–0
Q1		OHST	Bryant 7 yard run (Frantz kick)	OHST 10–0
Q1		OHST	Ross 23 yard pass from Tupa (Frantz kick)	OHST 17–0
Q3		WVU	Baumann 27 yard field goal	OHST 17–3
Q4		OHST	White 29 yard interception return (Frantz kick)	OHST 24–3

^[17]

Oregon

See also: 1987 Oregon Ducks football team

Oregon Ducks at Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Oregon	0	0	0	14	14
Ohio St	0	3	14	7	24

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: September 19, 1987
• Game time: 1:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny, 74 °F (23 °C)
• Game attendance: 89,882
• Referee: Jerry Hendrickson

Game information

Second quarter OSU – Matt Frantz 34-yard field goal, 8:01. Ohio St 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 47 yards, 4:04. Third quarter OSU – Jay Koch 4-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 4:29. Ohio St 10–0. Drive: 14 plays, 88 yards, 6:23. OSU – George Cooper 19-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 3:15. Ohio St 17–0. Drive: 1 play, 19 yards, 0:09. 'Fourth quarter ORE – Joe Meerten 8-yard pass from Bill Musgrave (Kirk Dennis kick), 6:40. Ohio St 17–7. Drive: 2 plays, 8 yards, 0:13. OSU – Vince Workman 5-yard run (Matt Frantz kick), 3:17. Ohio St 24–7. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 3:23. ORE – Rod Green 7-yard pass from Bill Musgrave (Kirk Dennis kick), 1:47. Ohio St 24–14. Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 1:23. Top passers ORE – Bill Musgrave – 18/27, 205 yards, 2 TD OSU – Tom Tupa – 20/32, 234 yards, 2 TD Top rushers ORE – Latin Berry – 18 rushes, 33 yards OSU – Vince Workman – 27 rushes, 162 yards, TD Top receivers ORE – Terry Obee – 4 receptions, 63 yards OSU – Vince Workman – 5 receptions, 63 yards

LSU

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	3	0	3	7	13
LSU	7	3	0	3	13

• Date: September 26
• Location: Tiger Stadium

Illinois

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	7	3	0	0	10
Illinois	0	0	0	6	6

• Date: October 3
• Location: Memorial Stadium

Indiana

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Indiana	7	3	7	14	31
Ohio St	0	10	0	0	10

• Date: October 10
• Location: Ohio Stadium

At Purdue

#17 Ohio State Buckeyes (3–1–1) at Purdue Boilermakers (1–3–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	7	10	0	3	20
Purdue	0	0	10	7	17

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

• Date: October 17, 1987
• Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Overcast, 53 °F (12 °C)
• Game attendance: 66,501
• Referee: John Nealon
• TV: Raycom

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ohio St	Passing	Tom Tupa	8/16, 174 Yds, TD
	Rushing	James Bryant	23 Rush, 77 Yds
	Receiving	Vince Workman	4 Rec, 88 Yds, TD
Purdue	Passing	Doug Downing	20/26, 218 Yds, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	James Medlock	17 Rush, 44 Yds
	Receiving	Calvin Williams	8 Rec, 107 Yds, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP OSU PU 1 5:30 9 66 4:10 Ohio St Vince Workman 36-yard touchdown reception from Tom Tupa, Matt Frantz kick good 7 0 2 4:45 2 9 0:42 Ohio St Tom Tupa 6-yard touchdown run, Matt Frantz kick good 14 0 2 0:22 8 47 1:25 Ohio St 18-yard field goal by Matt Frantz 17 0 3 6:33 13 65 6:44 Purdue 25-yard field goal by Jonathan Briggs 17 3 3 1:00 7 74 1:32 Purdue Calvin Williams 10-yard touchdown reception from Doug Downing, Jonathan Briggs kick good 17 10 4 13:09 3 38 0:57 Purdue Calvin Williams 30-yard touchdown reception from Doug Downing, Jonathan Briggs kick good 17 17 4 3:10 6 35 3:13 Ohio St 50-yard field goal by Matt Frantz 20 17 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 20 17

Minnesota

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Minnesota	0	9	0	0	9
• Ohio St	7	7	14	14	42

• Date: October 24
• Location: Ohio Stadium

Michigan State

See also: 1987 Michigan State Spartans football team

Michigan State Spartans at Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan St	10	3	0	0	13
Ohio St	7	0	0	0	7

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Date: October 31, 1987
• Game time: 3:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny, 60 °F (16 °C)
• Game attendance: 89,915
• Referee: Ron Winter
• TV: ABC

Game information

First quarter OSU – Everett Ross 79-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 14:45. 'Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 1 play, 79 yards, 0:11. MSU – Bobby McAllister 15-yard run (John Langeloh kick), 4:37. Tie 7–7. Drive: 3 plays, 54 yards, 0:50. MSU – John Langeloh 40-yard field goal, 1:22. Michigan St 10–7. Drive: 4 plays, 13 yards, 1:48. Second quarter MSU – John Langeloh 20-yard field goal, 10:41. Michigan St 13–7. Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 4:10. Top passers MSU – Bobby McAllister – 4/12, 61 yards OSU – Tom Tupa – 8/15, 137 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers MSU – Bobby McAllister – 22 rushes, 83 yards, TD OSU – Carlos Snow – 8 rushes, 18 yards Top receivers MSU – Lorenzo White – 2 receptions, 21 yards OSU – Alex Higdon – 6 receptions, 54 yards

Wisconsin

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	14	10	0	0	24
• Wisconsin	7	6	10	3	26

• Date: November 7
• Location: Camp Randall Stadium

Iowa

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Iowa	3	12	0	14	29
Ohio St	7	7	7	6	27

• Date: November 14
• Location: Ohio Stadium

See also: 1987 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Michigan

See also: 1987 Michigan Wolverines football team and Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry

Ohio State Buckeyes (5–4–1) at Michigan Wolverines

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	0	7	13	3	23
Michigan	7	6	7	0	20

at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Date: November 21, 1987
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, low 30s
• Game attendance: 106,031
• TV: ABC

Game information

First quarter MICH – Jamie Morris 1-yard run (Mike Gillette kick), 10:02. Michigan 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:43. Second quarter MICH – Mike Gillette 34-yard field goal, 14:57. Michigan 10–0. Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 4:13. MICH – Mike Gillette 19-yard field goal, 7:05. Michigan 13–0. Drive: 13 plays, 53 yards, 5:49. OSU – Everett Ross 61-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 1:36. Michigan 13–7. Drive: 10 plays, 61 yards, 4:08. Third quarter OSU – Carlos Snow 70-yard pass from Tom Tupa (Matt Frantz kick), 12:32. Ohio St 14–13. Drive: 1 play, 70 yards, 0:12. OSU – Tom Tupa 1-yard run (kick failed), 7:11. Ohio St 20–13. Drive: 3 plays, 19 yards, 1:05. MICH – Leroy Hoard 10-yard run (Mike Gillette kick), 1:14. Tie 20–20. Drive: 6 plays, 46 yards, 2:00. Fourth quarter OSU – Matt Frantz 26-yard field goal, 5:18. Ohio St 23–20. Drive: 15 plays, 77 yards. Top passers OSU – Tom Tupa – 18/26, 219 yards, 2 TD MICH – Demetrius Brown – 5/13, 79 yards, INT Top rushers OSU – Carlos Snow – 21 rushes, 67 yards MICH – Jamie Morris – 23 rushes, 130 yards, TD Top receivers OSU – Carlos Snow – 3 receptions, 82 yards, TD MICH – Jerod Bunch – 1 reception, 39 yards

Earle Bruce's final game as Ohio State head coach.^[18]

Roster

1987 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Chris Boddie RB James Bryant WR Gary Clift OL Karl Coles RB George Cooper WR Tony Cupe TE Jeff Ellis QB Greg Frey TE 88 Alex Higdon Sr TE Jay Koch RB Bill Matlock OL Tim Moxley WR Bobby Olive QB Scott Powell RB Lance Price WR Everett Ross RB Carlos Snow Fr OL Joe Staysniak C 68 Jeff Uhlenhake Jr RB 42 Vince Workman (S) Jr OL Greg Zackeroff	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB David Brown DL Ken Coleman DB Zack Dumas DL Ray Hollman DB Ray Jackson LB 14 Eric Kumerow Sr LB Michael McCray LB Fred Ridder DB Greg Rogan DL Mike Showalter LB 36 Chris Spielman (C) Sr LB 57 John Sullivan Jr DL 67 Mike Sullivan Jr DB 37 William White (C) Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Matt Frantz P, QB 19 Tom Tupa (C) Sr	Head coach Earle Bruce Coordinators/assistant coaches Gary Blackney (DC) Bill Conley (ILB) Steve Devine (OL) Randy Hart (DL) Chuck Heater (DB) Tom Lichtenberg (QB/WR) Urban Meyer (WR) Bob Palcic (OL/TE) Fred Pagac (OLB) Leonard Willis (RB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

1988 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Eric Kumerow	1	16	Defensive End	Miami Dolphins
Chris Spielman	2	29	Linebacker	Detroit Lions
Alex Higdon	3	56	Tight End	Atlanta Falcons
Tom Tupa	3	68	Quarterback	Phoenix Cardinals
William White	4	85	Defensive Back	Detroit Lions
George Cooper	6	156	Running Back	Miami Dolphins
Ray Jackson	7	185	Defensive Back	Seattle Seahawks
Henry Brown	10	277	Tackle	Washington Redskins

^[19]

References

1. "1987 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
2. "1987 Ohio State Buckeyes Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
3. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 13. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
4. "Morris, White All-Big Ten Running Backs". The Argus-Press. November 25, 1987. p. 11.
5. "All Big-Ten Football Team" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 24, 1987. p. 8.
6. "Bucks maul Mountaineers". Dayton Daily News. September 13, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Bucks topple Ducks". The Newark Advocate. September 20, 1987. Retrieved May 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Bucks' second half lifts them to 13–13 tie at LSU". The Marion Star. September 27, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Ohio State halts Illini drive". Herald and Review. October 4, 1987. Retrieved May 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Darkest day; Indiana hands Buckeyes 31–10 defeat". Troy Daily News. October 11, 1987. Retrieved May 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Field goal lifts OSU over Purdue". Star Tribune. October 18, 1987. Retrieved May 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Ohio State 'Snow's Gophers 42–9". The Marion Star. October 25, 1987. Retrieved May 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Elton Alexander (November 1, 1987). "Michigan State crushes Ohio State: Spartans take lead in Big Ten". The Plain Dealer. pp. 1D, 4D – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Jubilant Badgers feeling no pain". The Journal Times. November 8, 1987. Retrieved May 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Iowa's big play dumps Bucks". Dayton Daily News. November 15, 1987. Retrieved May 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Fired Bruce departs with a victory". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. November 22, 1987. Retrieved May 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Sept 13.
18. "Ohio State sends Bruce out a winner." Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 22.
19. "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.