| 1987Nevada Wolf Pack football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Sky Conference |
| Record | 5–6 (4–4 Big Sky) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Mackay Stadium |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5Idaho $^ | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10Weber State ^ | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boise State | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nevada | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Arizona | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho State | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Washington | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Montana State | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1987 Nevada Wolf Pack football team was anAmerican football team that represented theUniversity of Nevada, Reno during the1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Nevada competed as a member of theBig Sky Conference (BSC). The Wolf Pack were led by 12th-year head coachChris Ault and played its home games atMackay Stadium.[1][2] The team was ranked No. 1 early in the season but finished with a 5–6 record – the program's first losing season under Ault.
The Wolf Pack finished the1986 season with a 13–1 record and 7–0 in BSC play to finish in first place, losing theDivision I-AA semifinals against the eventual national championGeorgia Southern. The Wolf Pack returned 12 starters from the 1986 team and was ranked No. 1 in pre-season selections by Division I-AA sports information directors and byDon Heinrich's College Football '87 magazine.[3] The team was also a near-unanimous, pre-season pick to repeat as the Big Sky champion.[4]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 12 | atEastern Washington | No. 6 | W 40–26 | 3,899 | [5] | ||
| September 19 | No. 7UC Davis* | No. 1 | W 34–17 | 15,630 | [6] | ||
| September 26 | atMontana | No. 1 | L 29–41 | 8,200 | [7] | ||
| October 3 | atUNLV* | No. 6 | L 19–24 | [8][9] | |||
| October 10 | Montana State | No. 19 |
| W 31–13 | 13,903 | [10] | |
| October 17 | 1:00 p.m. | atIdaho | No. 11 | L 28–38 | 15,100 | [11] | |
| October 24 | Stephen F. Austin* |
| L 7–9 | 14,577 | [12] | ||
| October 31 | Idaho State |
| W 40–19 | 11,236 | [13] | ||
| November 7 | Boise State |
| L 31–36 | 18,150 | [14][15] | ||
| November 14 | Weber State |
| L 15–38 | 11,143 | [16][17] | ||
| November 21 | atNorthern Arizona | W 40–39 | 10,123 | [18] | |||
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PlacekickerMarty Zendejas broke the Division I-AA career kick-scoring record previously held by brotherTony Zendejas.[19] Zendejas finished his college career with 385 points scored and was the only Division I-AA player selected by theFootball Writers Association of America as a first-team honoree on the1987 All-America college football team.[20]
Junior running backCharvez Foger led the team with 1,132 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.[21] His career total of 3,200 rushing yards ranked third in Big Sky history at the end of the 1987 season. Foger was named to the All-Big Sky football team for the third consecutive season in 1987.[20] Foger concluded his college career in 1988 with 4,486 rushing yards, the third best mark in Division I-AA history.
Jim Zaccheo, a junior college transfer from California, won the starting quarterback job after pre-season competition with Andy Genasci.[22] He led the team with 2,158 passing yards.[21]
Split end Tony Logan set school records with 64 catches, 1,099 receiving yards, and 12 receiving touchdowns. He was selected as a second-team player on the All-Big Sky team.[20]
On defense, Scott Lommori led the team with 125 total tackles.[21] Senior linebacker Jeff Davis led the team with 12 sacks and 20 tackles for loss and was a unanimous selection for the All-Big Sky team. Sophomore defensive back Bernard Ellison had six interceptions and seven deflections and was also a first-team All-Big Sky selection.[23]