1987 Kentucky Wildcats football team

The 1987 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth season under head coach Jerry Claiborne, the Wildcats compiled a 5–6 record (1–5 against SEC opponents), finished in a tie for seventh place in the SEC, and outscored their opponents, 258 to 187.^[1][2] The team played its home games in Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

1987 Kentucky Wildcats football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	5–6 (1–5 SEC)
Head coach	Jerry Claiborne (6th season)
Home stadium	Commonwealth Stadium
Seasons ← 1986 1988 →

1987 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Auburn $	5	–	0	–	1			9	–	1	–	2
No. 5 LSU	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	1
No. 14 Tennessee	4	–	1	–	1			10	–	2	–	1
No. 13 Georgia	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Alabama	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	1	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Ole Miss	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Glenn Fohr with 973 passing yards, Mark Higgs with 1,278 rushing yards, and Dee Smith with 420 receiving yards.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Utah State*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 41–0	55,249	^[4]
September 19	Indiana*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	W 34–15	57,924	^[5]
September 26	at Rutgers*	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	L 18–19	21,232	^[6]
October 3	Ohio*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 28–0	53,329	^[7]
October 10	Ole Miss	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 35–6	57,832	^[8]
October 17	at No. 6 LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 9–34	77,084	^[9]
October 24	at No. 12 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	L 14–17	81,911	^[10]
October 31	Virginia Tech*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 14–7	50,432	^[11]
November 7	at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	L 29–38	40,892	^[12]
November 14	at Florida	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	L 14–27	73,021	^[13]
November 21	No. 15 Tennessee	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	L 22–24	57,127	^[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1987 Kentucky Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 57 Dermontti Dawson Sr RB 22 Mark Higgs Sr RB 32 Ivy Joe Hunter Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 79 Oliver Barnett So DT 70 Tom Howard Sr CB 24 D. J. Johnson Jr DT 54 Jerry Reese Sr DT 91 John Shannon Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Jerry Claiborne Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "1987 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
2. "Kentucky Football Media Guide". University of Kentucky. 2015. p. 184. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
3. "1987 Kentucky Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
4. "Kentucky blasts Utah St". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 13, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Cats' Dooley passes IU crazy; Kentucky cruises to 34–15 win". The Kokomo Tribune. September 20, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Knight offense comes to life, tops Kentucky". The Central New Jersey Home News. September 27, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Kentucky outmans Ohio U., 28–0". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 4, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Higgs, Reese help vengeful Kentucky bury Ole Miss 35–6". The Courier-Journal. October 11, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "It gets late early for UK as LSU rumbles to 34–9 triumph". The Courier-Journal. October 18, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Kentucky rules for 59 minutes, then Georgia takes 17–14 victory". The Courier-Journal. October 25, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Hokies start late, lose 14–7 to Kentucky". The Roanoke Times & World-News. November 1, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Jones leads Commodores past Wildcats". Messenger-Inquirer. November 8, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Bowl, game simple for Gators". Fort Lauderdale News. November 15, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Wildcats, Higgs stumble short on last hurdle". The Paducah Sun. November 22, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.