1987 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team
| 1987 Oklahoma State Cowboys football | |
|---|---|
Sun Bowl champion | |
Sun Bowl, W 35–33 vs. West Virginia | |
| Conference | Big Eight Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 12 |
| AP | No. 11 |
| 1987 record | 10–2 (5–2 Big 8) |
| Head coach | Pat Jones (4th year) |
| Offensive coordinator | Larry Coker (5th year) |
| Home stadium | Lewis Field (Capacity: 50,440) |
| 1987 Big 8 football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #3 Oklahoma $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #6 Nebraska | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1987 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented the Oklahoma State University in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A college football season. Thurman Thomas was in his senior year for the Cowboys.
Schedule
The Cowboys finished the regular season with a 9–2 record. At Oklahoma State, Thurman Thomas had 897 rushes for 4,595 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 21 100-yard rushing games. He was also a Heisman Trophy candidate in his senior year. He was a first team selection on the College Football All-America Team in 1987. In the 1987 Sun Bowl, Thomas ran for 157 yards and four touchdowns in the 35–33 victory over West Virginia, keeping Barry Sanders on the sidelines for the majority of the game. Thomas left OSU as the school's all-time leading rusher and his number 34 is one of only three jerseys retired at Oklahoma State. Sanders replaced Thomas as starter the next year in 1988.
| Date | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | Tulsa | Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma | W 39-28 | 46,700 | |||||
| September 12 | at Houston* | Astrodome • Houston, Texas | W 35-0 | 16,285 | |||||
| September 19 | at Wyoming* | War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, Wyoming | W 35-29 | 20,852 | |||||
| September 26 | SW Louisiana* | Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma | W 36-0 | 44,100 | |||||
| October 10 | Colorado | No. 19 | Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma | W 42-17 | 42,800 | ||||
| October 17 | No. 2 Nebraska | No. 12 | Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma | CBS | L 0-35 | 50,440 | |||
| October 24 | at Missouri | No. 19 | Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri | W 24-20 | 37,638 | ||||
| October 31 | Kansas State | No. 12 | Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma | W 56-7 | 40,150 | ||||
| November 7 | at No. 1 Oklahoma | No. 12 | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma (Bedlam) | L 10-29 | 75,004 | ||||
| November 14 | at Kansas | No. 17 | Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas | W 49-17 | 18,500 | ||||
| November 21 | Iowa State | No. 13 | Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma | W 48-27 | 33,400 | ||||
| December 25 | vs. West Virginia* | No. 11 | Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl) | CBS | W 35-33 | 43,240 | |||
*Non-conference game.  Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time. | |||||||||
1987 team players in the NFL
The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
| Thurman Thomas | Running Back | 2 | 40 | Buffalo Bills |
- Wide receiver Hart Lee Dykes and Running Back Barry Sanders would play in the NFL
Awards and honors
- Thurman Thomas, Heisman Trophy finalist
- Thurman Thomas, All-America selection