# 1987 BYU Cougars football team

The 1987 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cougars were led by 16th-year head coach LaVell Edwards and played their home games at Cougar Stadium in Provo, Utah. The team competed as members of the Western Athletic Conference, finishing in second with a record of 9–4 (7–1 WAC). BYU was invited to the All-American Bowl, where they were defeated by Virginia. The Cougars also participated in a rare college football game played outside the United States, in a regular season finale against Colorado State played in Melbourne, Australia. The game was promoted as the "Melbourne Bowl" but was met with weak enthusiasm in Australia.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | Pittsburgh* | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | L 17–27 | 64,274 |
| September 12 | at Texas* | Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | W 22–17 | 65,102 |
| September 19 | at TCU* | Amon G. Carter StadiumFort Worth, TX | L 12–33 | 22,615 |
| September 26 | at New Mexico | University StadiumAlbuquerque, NM | W 45–25 | 22,286 |
| October 2 | Utah State* | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT (rivalry) | W 45–24 | 65,729 |
| October 10 | Wyoming | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | L 27–29 | 65,921 |
| October 24 | at Hawaii | Aloha StadiumHalawa, HI | W 16–14 | 46,843 |
| October 31 | Air Force | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 24–13 | 65,384 |
| November 7 | San Diego State | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT | W 38–21 | 64,341 |
| November 14 | at UTEP | Sun BowlEl Paso, TX | W 37–24 | 47,910 |
| November 21 | Utah | Cougar StadiumProvo, UT (Holy War) | W 21–18 | 65,686 |
| December 4 | vs. Colorado State | Princes ParkMelbourne, Australia (Melbourne Bowl) | W 30–26 | 7,652 |
| December 22 | vs. Virginia* | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (All-American Bowl) | L 16–22 | 37,000 |
| *Non-conference game ||||||

## Game summaries
### At Texas

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| BYU | 0 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 22 |
| Texas | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
at Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas
* Date: September 12, 1987
* Game time: 7:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Clear, 87 °F (31 °C)
* Game attendance: 65,102
* Box Score, Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
UT – Bret Stafford 1-yard run (Wayne Clements kick), 8:43. Texas 7–0.
Second quarter
BYU – David Miles 21-yard pass from Bob Jensen (Leonard Chitty kick), 14:54. Tie 7–7.
BYU – Chuck Cutler 27-yard pass from Bob Jensen (Leonard Chitty kick), 1:38. BYU 14–7.
UT – Wayne Clements 46-yard field goal, 0:00. BYU 14–10.
Third quarter
BYU – Safety, Richard Hobbs blocked punt through end zone, 13:13. BYU 16–10.
BYU – Leonard Chitty 33-yard field goal, 4:26. BYU 19–10.
BYU – Leonard Chitty 33-yard field goal, 2:25. BYU 22–10.
Fourth quarter
UT – Darron Norris 3-yard run (Wayne Clements kick), 1:06. BYU 22–17.
Top passers
BYU – Bob Jensen – 16/35, 199 yards, 2 TD, INT
UT – Bret Stafford – 12/26, 107 yards, 3 INT
Top rushers
BYU – Peter Tuipulotu – 6 rushes, 16 yards
UT – Darron Norris – 8 rushes, 85 yards, TD
Top receivers
BYU – Chuck Cutler – 5 receptions, 70 yards, TD
UT – Tony Jones – 5 receptions, 61 yards :

### Air Force

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Air Force | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| BYU | 0 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah
* Date: October 31, 1987
* Game attendance: 65,384
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
AFA – Steve Yarborough 32-yard field goal. Air Force 3–0.
AFA – Anthony Roberson 3-yard run (Steve Yarborough kick). Air Force 10–0.
Second quarter
BYU – Mike O'Brien 3-yard run (Leonard Chitty kick). Air Force 10–7.
BYU – Fred Whittingham 5-yard pass from Sean Covey (Leonard Chitty kick). BYU 14–10.
Third quarter
BYU – Leonard Chitty 26-yard field goal. BYU 17–10.
BYU – Mike O'Brien 2-yard run (Leonard Chitty kick). BYU 24–10.
AFA – Steve Yarborough 32-yard field goal. BYU 24–13.
Fourth quarter
No scoring
Top passers
AFA – Dee Dowis – 2/7, 25 yards, 3 INT
BYU – Sean Covey – 18/29, 294 yards, TD
Top rushers
AFA – Quinton Roberts – 15 rushes, 85 yards
BYU – Mike O'Brien – 16 rushes, 73 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
AFA – Tyler Barth – 1 reception, 13 yards
BYU – Rich Zayas – 3 receptions, 118 yards :