1987_Western_Kentucky_Hilltoppers_football_team

1987 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
1987 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 17–40 at Eastern Kentucky
Conference	Independent
Record	7–4
Head coach	Dave Roberts (4th season);
Home stadium	L. T. Smith Stadium
	Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

1987 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

American college football season

The 1987 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University as an independent during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Dave Roberts, the Hilltoppers compiled a 7–4. The team earned the school's first NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoff berth; their previous playoff appearances had been at the NCAA Division II level. Western Kentucky played their home games at L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Lights were installed prior to the season, and Western Kentucky hosted their first night game on September 19, a victory over rival Murray State. The Hilltoppers finished the season ranked No. 11 in final NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll.^[1] Western Kentucky's roster included future National Football League (NFL) players Tony Brown, Malcolm Darden, James Edwards, Glenn Holt, David Smith, Steve Walsh, Harold Wright, Xavier Jordan, and Dean Tiebout. Edwards, Walsh, and Dewayne Penn were named to the AP All American team.^[2]

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Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Gardner–Webb		L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	L 24–28	5,500
September 19	No. 3 Murray State		L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY (Battle for the Red Belt)	W 21–17	19,250
September 26	No. 12 Middle Tennessee		L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 28–16	16,500
October 3	at No. 12 Eastern Kentucky		Hanger Field Richmond, KY (Battle of the Bluegrass)	L 10–20	20,200	^[3]
October 10	at No. 12 Chattanooga		Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN	W 20–17	8,377
October 17	Livingston	No. 14	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 21–14	14,000
October 24	at Austin Peay	No. 11	Municipal Stadium Clarksville, TN	W 27–0	5,833
October 31	at No. 14 Georgia Southern	No. 8	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	L 20–23	13,066
November 14	Eastern Illinois	No. 14	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 30–15	8,000
November 21	at North Carolina A&T	No. 12	Aggie Stadium Greensboro, NC	W 45–27	2,500	^[4]
November 28	at No. 7 Eastern Kentucky	No. 11	Hanger Field Richmond, KY (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 17–40	4,050	^[5]
Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

1987 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 6 Georgia Southern ^		–		9	–	4	–	0
No. 8 James Madison ^		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 12 Arkansas State ^		–		8	–	4	–	1
No. 11 Western Kentucky ^		–		7	–	4	–	0
Villanova		–		6	–	4	–	0
Northeastern		–		6	–	5	–	0
Nicholls State		–		5	–	5	–	1
William & Mary		–		5	–	6	–	0
Towson		–		4	–	6	–	0
Tennessee State		–		3	–	7	–	1
Lamar		–		3	–	8	–	0
Louisiana Tech		–		3	–	8	–	0

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll