Holy Cross Crusaders (1987)

Remember in 2017, when Central Florida went undefeated but didn't receive an invite to a College Football Playoff game, and the Knights crassly proclaimed themselves "national champions" anyway? Well, in 1987, there was an FCS (I-AA) team that also went undefeated and uninvited to the postseason (for completely different reasons) — and still finished the season ranked No. 1 in the NCAA poll. 

And the student newspaper proclaimed them national champs:

The 1987 Holy Cross Crusaders were a magical story, kind of a smaller-scale version of what their rivals on Chestnut Hill did a few years earlier. Today, they are mostly remembered for two-way sensation Gordie Lockbaum, but they also featured a gutsy quarterback in Jeff Wiley and a winning head coach in Mark Duffner — who joined the Crusaders under the worst possible circumstances — who had success in Worcester into the 1990s.

The Team: Holy Cross steamrolled to an 11-0 record, 4-0 in the Colonial League (now the Patriot League, no relation to the Colonial Athletic Association), outscoring its foes 511-110. The Crusaders finished first in the NCAA poll but stayed home for the postseason, since the Colonials, cosplaying the Ivy League, had a no-playoff policy (long since lifted). Holy Cross opened the season with a 34-24 win over FBS Army; it closest win after that was by 33 points.

The Crusaders' record from 1986-91, in order, was 10-1, 11-0, 9-2, 10-1, 9-1-1 and 11-0. Had they been allowed to play in the postseason, they might have had a Marshall/North Dakota State-level national title run.

Gordie Lockbaum was a true throwback 
to football's leatherhead days.

QB Jeff Wiley received his fair share of attention, too.

The Players: Lockbaum, the running back/receiver/defensive back/special teams ace, finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting a year after finishing fifth. He ran for 403 yards and 13 touchdowns, he caught 78 passes for 1,152 yards and nine more TDs, and added 19 tackles and two sacks on defense. He captured the nation's imagination — maybe not at a Flutie-level, but he still received attention from the morning news shows, Sports Illustrated and the like. (For you younger readers, Sports Illustrated was once a highly praised and influential part of the sports media, not, well, whatever it is these days.)

Lockbaum joined The Cross in 1984 as a defensive back, but in '86, Duffner put him at running back due to a lack of depth at the position. He responded with more than 800 yards apiece rushing and receiving and 22 total touchdowns — and 38 tackles on defense.

But Lockbaum was hardly alone. QB Wiley threw for 3,677 yards and 34 touchdowns; he is still third on the team's all-time list in passing yards and fourth in TDs. RB Tom Kelleher ran for 11 TDs and DB Dave Murphy pulled down nine interceptions. 

Mark Duffner (shown in 1986) did Rick Carter proud.

The Coach: As noted above, Duffner took over Holy Cross under horrible circumstances, after his predecessor Rick Carter — who recruited Lockbaum, most of his teammates and even the school's sports information director to Worcester — took his own life after the '86 season. Duffner craved out his own reputation, going 60-5-1 over six seasons at Holy Cross, putting him with Knute Rockne in the more-seasons-than-losses club. In 1992 Duffner left to coach Maryland, and while he didn't work out with the Terrapins (20-35 over five seasons), he has been an NFL assistant coach since 1997.

The Uniforms: The big change Duffner made upon taking coach was the return of silver pants, which the Crusaders have worn on-and-off since the beginning of time. The purple jerseys had minimal white and silver trim, and the helmets had numbers on the sides (another trait The Cross has used on-and-off). Overall, a pretty solid ensemble.

Silver trim returned to the Crusaders' uniform in 1986.

The Fallout: Lockbaum was in a couple NFL training camps, but was cut and became an insurance executive. As noted above, Holy Cross remained unstoppable for the rest of Duffner's tenure, and didn't have another sustained run of success until ... Hey, have you see who's won the last three Patriot League titles?