Wikipedia

1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

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

1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football
ConferenceIndependent
Record8–4
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Dickens (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple pro-style[1]
Defensive coordinatorJohn Fox (2nd season)
Base defense4–3[1]
Home stadiumPitt Stadium
Seasons
← 1986
1988 →
1987 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Syracuse $5–0–011–0–1
Penn State4–2–08–4–0
Pittsburgh3–3–08–4–0
West Virginia2–3–06–6–0
Rutgers2–4–06–5–0
Boston College2–4–05–6–0
Temple1–3–03–8–0
Rankings from AP Poll
1987 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW 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

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 27:30 p.m.at BYU
ESPNW 27–1764,374[2]
September 121:30 p.m.NC StateNo. 18
W 34–043,165[3]
September 191:30 p.m.TempleNo. 16
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
L 21–2445,387[4]
September 2612:00 p.m.at West Virginia
JP SportsW 6–365,079[5]
October 31:30 p.m.Boston College
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
L 10–1346,238[6]
October 107:30 p.m.No. 4 Notre Dame
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ESPNW 30–2256,400[7]
October 2412:00 p.m.at Navy
JP SportsW 10–629,167[8]
October 313:30 p.m.No. 8 Syracusedagger
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
CBSL 10–2452,714[9]
November 712:00 p.m.at Rutgers
W 17–025,444[10]
November 147:30 p.m.No. 15 Penn State
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ESPNW 10–056,500[11]
November 211:30 p.m.Kent StateNo. 19
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 28–535,472[12]
December 317:00 p.m.vs. TexasNo. 19
MizlouL 27–3233,122[13]

[14][15]

Game summaries

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Notre Dame

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Team 1 234Total
Notre Dame 0 0715 22
• Pittsburgh 14 1303 30
Scoring summary
Q1PITTOsborn 30 yard pass from Genilla (kick failed)PITT 7–0
Q1PITTHeyward 1 yard run (Williams pass from Genilla)PITT 14–0
Q2PITTGenilla 2 yard run (VanHorne kick)PITT 21–0
Q2PITTHeyward 1 yard run (kick failed)PITT 27–0
Q3NDRice 16 yard run (Gradel kick)PITT 27–7
Q4NDBanks 1 yard run (Gradel kick)PITT 27–14
Q4PITTVanHorne 20 yard field goalPITT 30–14
Q4NDGreen 17 yard run (Brown run)PITT 30–22

[16]

Roster

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1987 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Coaching staff

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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 coordinator
  • 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

[17] [18]

Team players drafted into the NFL

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PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Craig HeywardRunning back124New Orleans Saints
Quintin JonesDefensive back248Houston Oilers
Jon CarterDefensive end5118New York Giants
Ezekial GadsonDefensive back5123Buffalo Bills
Gary RichardDefensive back7173Green Bay Packers
Billy OwensDefensive back10263Dallas Cowboys
Ed MillerCenter11285San Diego Chargers

[19]

References

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  1. 1 2 "Quick Facts About Pitt". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. p. 2. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Panthers look good in opener". Latrobe Bulletin. September 3, 1987. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Pitt routs winless 'Pack". The Greenville News. September 13, 1987. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Temple surprises Pittsburgh". Sunday Press. September 20, 1987. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Pittsburgh tops West Virginia by field goal". The Charlotte Observer. September 27, 1987. Retrieved February 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Boston College nips Pittsburgh". The Sunday Times. October 4, 1987. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Genilla, Heyward lead Pitt to 30–22 upset of Irish". St. Petersburg Times. October 11, 1987. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Pittsburgh scores early, then holds off stingy Navy, 10–6". York Daily Record. October 25, 1987. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Red-hot Orange burn Pitt". The Record. November 1, 1987. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Panthers light up Knights". The Press. November 8, 1987. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "State's bowl plans go down the drain". Sunday News. November 15, 1987. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Pitt rolls to 28–5 win over Kent". The Pittsburgh Press. November 22, 1987. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "'Horns deflate Pitt". Abilene Reporter-News. January 1, 1988. Retrieved May 10, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Table of Contents". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. p. 1. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  15. ↑ "1987 Review". Pitt Football 1988. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1988. pp. 59–68. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  16. ↑ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 11. Retrieved 2014-Dec-28.
  17. ↑ "Coaches". Pitt Football 1987. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1987. pp. 5–14. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Coaches". Pitt Football 1988. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1988. pp. 13–14. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  19. ↑ "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
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