1987 Northeast Louisiana Indians football
NCAA Division I-AA champion
SLC champion
ConferenceSouthland Conference
Record13–2 (6–0 SLC)
Head coach
Home stadiumMalone Stadium
Seasons
← 1986
1988 →
1987 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Northeast Louisiana $^ 6 – 0 – 0 13 – 2 – 0
No. 19 Sam Houston State 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 16 North Texas State ^ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Northwestern State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
SW Texas State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Stephen F. Austin 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 1
McNeese State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1987 Northeast Louisiana Indians football team represented Northeast Louisiana University (now known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe) as a member of the Southland Conference (SLC) during the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Northeast Louisiana played their home games on-campus at Malone Stadium in Monroe, Louisiana. This Indians squad won the 1987 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game.[1]

The Indians were led by seventh-year head coach Pat Collins, and were led by first team All-America Stan Humphries. The squad completed the regular season with an overall record of 9–2 and finished 6–0 to capture their first outright Southland Conference championship.[2] En route to the championship game, NLU defeated North Texas, Eastern Kentucky and Northern Iowa.[2] The Indians faced off against the Marshall Thundering Herd for the I-AA National Championship.[3] In the championship game, Marshall took a 42–28 lead into the fourth quarter only to have Humphries lead the Indians to a pair of late touchdowns and captured the championship with their 43–42 victory.[4]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 12at Louisiana TechNo. 16
W 44–724,975[5]
September 19at Southwest Texas StateNo. 8
W 44–7[6]
September 26Nicholls State*No. 3
W 26–14
October 3at No. 8 Northwestern StateNo. 2
W 33–31[7]
October 10at Lamar*No. 2
L 28–48
October 17No. 8 Georgia Southern*No. T–6
  • Malone Stadium
  • Monroe, LA
W 26–1717,231
October 24Southwestern Louisiana*No. 3
L 7–17
October 31McNeese StateNo. 9
  • Malone Stadium
  • Monroe, LA
W 37–10[8]
November 7at Southern Miss*No. 8
W 34–2410,123[9]
November 14No. 12 North Texas StateNo. 3
  • Malone Stadium
  • Monroe, LA
W 24–23[10]
November 21No. 8 Arkansas StateNo. 3
  • Malone Stadium
  • Monroe, LA
W 31–21[11]
November 28No. 16 North Texas State*No. 3
W 30–9[12]
December 5No. 7 Eastern Kentucky*No. 3
  • Malone Stadium
  • Monroe, LA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)
W 33–32[13]
December 12No. 4 Northern Iowa*No. 3
  • Malone Stadium
  • Monroe, LA (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)
W 44–41 2OT14,443
December 19vs. No. 14 Marshall*No. 3
W 43–4211,513[14]

Team players in the NFL

Player Year Round Pick Position Club
Teddy Garcia 1988 NFL Draft 4 100 Kicker New England Patriots
Stan Humphries 1988 NFL Draft 6 159 Quarterback Washington Redskins
Jackie Harris 1990 NFL Draft 4 102 Tight end Green Bay Packers
Reference:[15]

References

  1. ^ Hunsucker, Adam (September 27, 2017). "The Team of Destiny: An oral history of ULM's national title". The News-Star. Monroe. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  2. ^ a b 2011 ULM Football Fan Guide. Monroe, Louisiana: ULM Media Relations Office. 2011. p. 182. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  3. ^ "Northeast Louisiana bruised and battered". The Miami News. Associated Press. December 17, 1987. p. 2B. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  4. ^ "Louisianans Rally To Win I-AA Title". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 21, 1987. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  5. ^ "Same ol' NLU (44) vs. Tech (7)". The Shreveport Times. September 13, 1987. Retrieved July 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Northeast does a 44–7 instant replay". The Shreveport Times. September 20, 1987. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Last ditch bomb sends Indians past NSU 33–30". The Daily Advertiser. October 4, 1987. Retrieved February 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Northeast Indians scalp Pokes". The Daily Advertiser. November 1, 1987. Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "USM falls 34–24 to Indians". Enterprise-Journal. November 8, 1987. Retrieved March 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Northeast grabs its share of Southland title". The Shreveport Times. November 15, 1987. Retrieved October 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "NLU clinches Southland title as Humphries passes for 351". The Shreveport Times. November 22, 1987. Retrieved October 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Victorious NLU removes doubts". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. November 29, 1987. Retrieved October 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Garcia kick keeps NLU alive". The Shreveport Times. December 6, 1987. Retrieved March 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Div. I-AA Championship". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. December 21, 1987. p. 5-B. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Draft picks by school: Louisiana–Monroe". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved August 27, 2011.

Further reading

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