1987 Southwest Missouri State Bears football team

1987 Southwest Missouri State Bears football
Conference	Gateway Football Conference
Record	5–6 (3–3 GFC)
Head coach	Jesse Branch (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Dave Wommack (2nd season)
Home stadium	Briggs Stadium

1987 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	4	–	0
Western Illinois	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Eastern Illinois	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
SW Missouri State	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Indiana State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Southern Illinois	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Illinois State	0	–	6	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1987 Southwest Missouri State Bears football team represented the Southwest Missouri State University (now known as Missouri State University) as a member of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (GCAC) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by second-year head coach Jesse Branch, the Bears compiled an overall record of 5–6, with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, and finished tied for third in the GFC.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5		Central State (OK)*		Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	W 20–7		[1]
September 12		at Southern Illinois		McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 18–13	13,100	[2]
September 19		Nicholls State*	No. 18	Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	L 18–13	7,820	[3]
September 26		at Western Illinois		Hanson Field Macomb, IL	L 19–20		[4]
October 3		Indiana State		Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	W 42–0	8,105	[5]
October 17	1:00 p.m.	at Northern Illinois*		Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	L 21–27	9,017	[6]
October 24		at Eastern Illinois		O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	L 3–7	1,203	[7]
October 31		Illinois State		Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	W 31–15	7,855	[8]
November 7	1:30 p.m.	No. 7 Northern Iowa		Briggs Stadium Springfield, MO	L 13–17	3,343	[9]
November 14		at Louisiana Tech*		Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	W 13–10	13,780	[10]
November 21		at Southern*		A. W. Mumford Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 6–8		[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

[12]

Roster

1987 Missouri State Bears football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 9 Doug Adams Fr RB 22 Ryan Jackson Sr QB 6 David Johnson So WR 85 Ken Kelly Fr OT 72 Jeff Pickering So QB 2 DeAndre Smith Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 70 Tim Gary So DT 99 Joe Lisanti Jr DT 66 Tim McDuffey Fr DT 68 Rob Robinson Jr LB 50 Mike Soraghan Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 7 Jackson Workman So	Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Punchless Bronchos fall, 20–7". The Daily Oklahoman. September 6, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Blitzing Bears hold off SIUC for 18–13 win". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. September 13, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Nicholls St. deals SMS first loss". The Springfield News-Leader. September 20, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Western Illinois edges Southwest Missouri". The Pantagraph. September 27, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Bears chop down Sycamores". The Springfield News-Leader. October 4, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Huskies get past SMSU". The Daily Chronicle. October 18, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Eastern's 2-minute plan works". Herald and Review. October 25, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "SW Missouri runs past ISU". The Pantagraph. November 1, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "UNI stays unbeaten in conference, 17–13". The Des Moines Register. November 8, 1987. Retrieved December 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "SMS gives Tech the boot". The Springfield News-Leader. November 15, 1987. Retrieved July 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Football Bears fall in finale". The Springfield News-Leader. November 22, 1987. Retrieved August 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Missouri State Football 2023 Media Guide" (PDF). Missouri State University Athletics. p. 65. Retrieved July 2, 2024.