1987 Auburn Tigers football team

The 1987 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. Coached by Pat Dye, the team finished the season with a 9–1–2 record and won their first of three straight Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles. Auburn went on to tie an undefeated Syracuse team in the 1988 Sugar Bowl, 16–16.^[1] It is the only tie in Sugar Bowl history.^[2]

1987 Auburn Tigers football
SEC champion
Sugar Bowl, T 16–16 vs. Syracuse
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 7
Record	9–1–2 (5–0–1 SEC)
Head coach	Pat Dye (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Larry Blakeney / Pat Sullivan (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Wayne Hall (3rd season)
Home stadium	Jordan-Hare 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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Texas*	No. 5	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	ESPN	W 31–3	80,000	[3]
September 12	Kansas*	No. 4	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 49–0	65,711	[4]
September 26	at No. 11 Tennessee	No. 3	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	TBS	T 20–20	93,506	[5]
October 3	at North Carolina*	No. 6	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC		W 20–10	52,811	[6]
October 10	Vanderbilt	No. 5	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 48–15	79,500	[7]
October 17	at Georgia Tech*	No. 5	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)		W 20–10	45,559	[8]
October 24	Mississippi State	No. 6	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 38–7	79,900	[9]
October 31	No. 10 Florida	No. 6	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 29–6	85,187	[10]
November 7	No. 4 Florida State*	No. 6	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	CBS	L 6–34	85,170	[11]
November 14	at No. 8 Georgia	No. 12	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 27–11	82,122	[12]
November 27	vs. No. 18 Alabama	No. 7	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl)	CBS	W 10–0	75,808	[13]
January 1	vs. No. 4 Syracuse*	No. 6	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	T 16–16	75,495	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1987 Auburn Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
2. "Turn Back the Clock to 1988: Syracuse Left Fuming By Auburn Decision". Sugar Bowl. October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
3. "Auburn romps over UT, 31–3". Abilene Reporter-News. September 6, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Jayhawks demolished, excedrin headache No. 49". The Wichita Eagle. September 13, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Dye proud as Tiger offense began to find ground game in second half". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. September 27, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Auburn turns to pass, Burger, to defeat North Carolina". The Danville Register. October 4, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Burger fries Vandy with deep passes". The Commercial Appeal. October 11, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Auburn rallies 20–10". The Courier-Journal. October 18, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Sixth-ranked Tigers romp Bulldogs, 38–7". The Pensacola News-Journal. October 25, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Auburn crushes Gators 29–6". The Tampa Tribune. November 1, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Auburn falls flat on the Plain". The Columbus Ledger. November 8, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Georgia denied share of SEC title". Anderson Independent-Mail. November 15, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "AU defense mauls Tide". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 28, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Orange taste bitter Sugar". Press and Sun-Bulletin. January 2, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.