The 1987 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

as a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

during the

1987 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its second national championship of the 1980s in an Orange Bowl game featuring a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the Hurricanes. Miami's ...

. Led by fourth-year head coach

Bill Mallory William Guy Mallory (May 30, 1935 – May 25, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Miami University (1969–1973), the University of Colorado at Boulder (1974–1978), Northern Illinois Universi ...

, the Hoosiers compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the Big Ten. Indiana was invited to the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially re ...

, where they lost to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. The team played home games at Memorial Stadium in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

Season recap

In their season opener against

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, Anthony Thompson rushed for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns en route to a 35–13 Indiana win. However, in what was the renewal of their rivalry against

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, the Hoosiers lost 34–15 at Lexington. Indiana rebounded from their loss to the Wildcats with a five-game winning streak. After a win over

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, Indiana defeated Northwestern to open their conference schedule behind a 170-yard, and two touchdown performance by Thompson. The next week, the Hoosiers traveled to Columbus to play No. 9

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, and for the first time since 1951 Indiana defeated the Buckeyes in their 31–10 upset victory. Indiana followed their upset with a win at

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

after

Chip Lohmiller John McLeod "Chip" Lohmiller (born July 16, 1966) is a former professional American football placekicker in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, and St. Louis Rams. He played college football at the Univer ...

missed what would have been a game-winning

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

in the final minutes for the Gophers. The Hoosiers then returned to Bloomington where they defeated

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

for the first time since the 1967 season to move into first place in the Big Ten standings. After their win over the Wolverines, Indiana was ranked No. 11, however they went on to split their final four games with losses against

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

and victories over

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

and finished the regular season tied for second in conference with an overall record of eight wins and three losses. In November, the Hoosiers accepted an invitation to play in the

against

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

Against the Volunteers, Indiana fell behind by a score of 21–3. However, the Hoosiers rallied and took a 22–21 lead in the fourth quarter only to fall 27–22 after Tennessee scored a late touchdown.

Schedule

1988 NFL draftees

References

{{Indiana Hoosiers football navbox

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Indiana Hoosiers football seasons

Indiana Hoosiers football The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers have played their home games at Memorial Stadium since 1960 ...