# 1987 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1987 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 12th year under head coach Terry Donahue, the Bruins compiled a 10–2 record (7–1 Pac-10), finished in a tie for first place in the Pacific-10 Conference, and were ranked #9 in the final AP Poll. The team's sole losses were against #2-ranked Nebraska (33-42) and USC (13-17). The Bruins went on to defeat Florida in the 1987 Aloha Bowl.
UCLA's offensive leaders in 1987 were quarterback Troy Aikman with 2,527 passing yards, running back Gaston Green with 1,098 rushing yards, and wide receiver Flipper Anderson with 903 receiving yards.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | San Diego State* | No. 3 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | PPV | W 47–14 | 54,287 |
| September 12 | at No. 2 Nebraska* | No. 3 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | ESPN | L 33–42 | 76,313 |
| September 19 | Fresno State* | No. 13 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | | W 17–0 | 49,264 |
| September 26 | Arizona | No. 13 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | | W 34–24 | 55,823 |
| October 3 | at Stanford | No. 11 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | ABC | W 49–0 | 57,500 |
| October 17 | No. 16 Oregon | No. 9 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | PPV | W 41–10 | 53,320 |
| October 24 | California | No. 8 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | ABC | W 42–18 | 51,107 |
| October 31 | at Arizona State | No. 7 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | ABC | W 31–23 | 70,754 |
| November 7 | at Oregon State | No. 7 | Parker StadiumCorvallis, OR | | W 52–17 | 20,104 |
| November 14 | Washington | No. 5 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | ABC | W 47–14 | 70,332 |
| November 21 | at USC | No. 5 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (Victory Bell) | ABC | L 13–17 | 92,516 |
| December 25 | vs. Florida* | No. 10 | Aloha StadiumHalawa, HI (Aloha Bowl) | ABC | W 20–16 | 24,839 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 3 (1) | 3 (1) | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Coaches | 4 | 3 (1) | 15 т | 13 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 11 |

## Game summaries
### San Diego State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aztecs | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • No. 3 Bruins | 14 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 47 |

### at No. 2 Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Bruins | 7 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 33 |
| • No. 2 Cornhuskers | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 42 |

### Fresno State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • No. 13 Bruins | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### No. 16 Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 16 Ducks | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| • No. 9 Bruins | 7 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 41 |

### at Oregon State

UCLA had 618 yards of total offense, evenly split with 315 yards passing and 303 yards rushing. Flipper Anderson caught 7 passes for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns in the blowout win over the Beavers.

### Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • No. 5 Bruins | 13 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 47 |

### at USC

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 5 Bruins | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| • Trojans | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 17 |
USC clinched a berth in the Rose Bowl with the win.

### vs. Florida (Aloha Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 10 Bruins | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Gators | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |

## 1988 NFL Draft

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
| Gaston Green | Running back | 1 | 14 | Los Angeles Rams |
| Ken Norton Jr. | Linebacker | 2 | 41 | Dallas Cowboys |
| Flipper Anderson | Wide receiver | 2 | 46 | Los Angeles Rams |
| David Richards | Guard | 4 | 98 | San Diego Chargers |
| Dennis Price | Defensive back | 5 | 131 | Los Angeles Raiders |
| James Washington | Defensive back | 5 | 137 | Los Angeles Rams |
| James Primus | Running back | 9 | 222 | Atlanta Falcons |
| Mel Farr | Running back | 9 | 248 | Denver Broncos |
| Paco Craig | Wide receiver | 10 | 254 | Detroit Lions |
| Ben Hummel | Linebacker | 12 | 317 | Dallas Cowboys |