1988 NCAA Division I-A football season

1988 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	104
Preseason AP No. 1	Florida State Seminoles
Post-season
Bowl games	17
Heisman Trophy	Barry Sanders Oklahoma State RB
Champion(s)	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Division I-A football seasons
← 1987 1989 →

UCLA's Bruins, featuring stellar quarterback Troy Aikman, had attained the #1 ranking for weeks 7 and 8 after demolishing then #2 Nebraska 41-28, before sustaining a huge upset loss to unheralded Washington State 34-30 in week 9, opening the door for Notre Dame. The 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Notre Dame winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title via a 34-21 defeat of previously unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.

Notre Dame had several notable victories this season, including a 19–17 victory over #9 Michigan, won on a last drive field goal, which started off the championship season. The season's marquee game was a 31–30 victory over #1 Miami. Entering the game, Miami had a 36 game regular season winning streak, 20 straight road victories and a 16-game winning streak overall. This year was also the first time Notre Dame and USC had ever met when ranked #1 and #2. Most notable about this game is Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz's decision to leave behind two of his stars, Tony Brooks and Ricky Watters because they were late, cementing discipline as the main theme of this championship team.

This year's edition of the UCLA-USC rivalry game featured a second ranked USC and a fourth ranked UCLA. For the second year in a row the Rose Bowl berth was on the line but for USC it also had national title implications as the rivalry game with Notre Dame was the following week. USC beat UCLA but lost to Notre Dame, and then lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders ran the Wing T offense all the way to the Heisman Trophy and numerous rushing records.

Rulechanges

• Defensive teams can now return blocked PAT kicks and interceptions on two-point conversion attempts for a defensive score worth two points. Fumbles on PAT/two point conversions cannot be recovered and advanced by the offensive team other than the fumbling player, and the defense cannot convert fumbles into two point defensive scores.
• Teams are permitted to take consecutive time-outs, previously this was prohibited.
• Illegal use of hands penalties are increased from 5 to 10 yards.

Conference standings

1988 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 Clemson $ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Virginia 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 NC State 4 – 2 – 1 8 – 3 – 1 Wake Forest 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Maryland 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Duke 3 – 3 – 1 7 – 3 – 1 North Carolina 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 Georgia Tech 0 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1988 Big Eight Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Nebraska $ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 No. 14 Oklahoma 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 No. 11 Oklahoma State 5 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Colorado 4 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 Iowa State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Missouri 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 1 Kansas 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 Kansas State 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1988 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Michigan $ 7 – 0 – 1 9 – 2 – 1 Michigan State 6 – 1 – 1 6 – 5 – 1 Illinois 5 – 2 – 1 6 – 5 – 1 Iowa 4 – 1 – 3 6 – 4 – 3 No. 20 Indiana 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 1 Purdue 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Ohio State 2 – 5 – 1 4 – 6 – 1 Northwestern 2 – 5 – 1 2 – 8 – 1 Wisconsin 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 Minnesota 0 – 6 – 2 2 – 7 – 2 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1988 Big West Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Fresno State $ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Cal State Fullerton 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Utah State 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 San Jose State 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 8 – 0 UNLV 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Long Beach State 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 9 – 0 Pacific (CA) 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 New Mexico State 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1988 Mid-American football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Western Michigan $ 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Eastern Michigan 5 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Ball State 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Central Michigan 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Ohio 4 – 3 – 1 4 – 6 – 1 Toledo 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Kent State 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Bowling Green 1 – 6 – 1 2 – 8 – 1 Miami (OH) 0 – 7 – 1 0 – 10 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1988 Pacific-10 Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 USC $ 8 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 6 UCLA 6 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 16 Washington State 5 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Arizona 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Arizona State 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Washington 3 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Oregon 3 – 5 – 0 6 – 6 – 0 Oregon State 2 – 5 – 1 4 – 6 – 1 Stanford 1 – 5 – 2 3 – 6 – 2 California 1 – 5 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1988 Southeastern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 19 LSU + 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 No. 8 Auburn + 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 No. 15 Georgia 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 No. 17 Alabama 4 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Florida 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 5 – 0 Tennessee 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Ole Miss 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Kentucky 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Vanderbilt 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Mississippi State 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1988 Southwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Arkansas $ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Texas A&M* 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 5 – 0 No. 18 Houston 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Texas Tech 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Baylor 2 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Texas 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 TCU 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Rice 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion *- Ineligible for conference championship and postseason bowl games due to NCAA sanctions. Rankings from AP Poll	1988 Western Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 20 Wyoming $ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 2 – 0 UTEP 6 – 2 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 Hawaii 5 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 BYU 5 – 3 – 0 9 – 4 – 0 Utah 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Air Force 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 7 – 0 San Diego State 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 New Mexico 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 10 – 0 Colorado State 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Coaches Poll
1988 NCAA Division I-A independents football records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Notre Dame   –   –   12 – 0 – 0 No. 2 Miami (FL)   –   –   11 – 1 – 0 No. 3 Florida State   –   –   11 – 1 – 0 No. 5 West Virginia   –   –   11 – 1 – 0 Southern Miss   –   –   10 – 2 – 0 No. 13 Syracuse   –   –   10 – 2 – 0 Army   –   –   9 – 3 – 0 Louisville   –   –   8 – 3 – 0 South Carolina   –   –   8 – 4 – 0 Northern Illinois   –   –   7 – 4 – 0 Pittsburgh   –   –   6 – 5 – 0 Memphis State   –   –   6 – 5 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana   –   –   6 – 5 – 0 Rutgers   –   –   5 – 6 – 0 Akron   –   –   5 – 6 – 0 Penn State   –   –   5 – 6 – 0 Tulane   –   –   5 – 6 – 0 Temple   –   –   4 – 7 – 0 Tulsa   –   –   4 – 7 – 0 Boston College   –   –   3 – 8 – 0 Cincinnati   –   –   3 – 8 – 0 East Carolina   –   –   3 – 8 – 0 Navy   –   –   3 – 8 – 0 Virginia Tech   –   –   3 – 8 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll

Season summary

#1 and #2 progress

WEEKS	#1	#2	Event
PRE	Florida State	Nebraska	Miami 31, Florida St. 0	Sep 3
1	Miami	Nebraska	UCLA 41, Nebraska 28	Sep 10
2-6	Miami	UCLA	Notre Dame 31, Miami 30	Oct 15
7-8	UCLA	Notre Dame	Washington St. 34, UCLA 30	Oct 29
9-12	Notre Dame	USC	Notre Dame 27, USC 10	Nov 26
13-14	Notre Dame	Miami	Notre Dame 34, West Virginia 21	Jan 1

Bowl games

• Rose Bowl: #11 Michigan 22, #5 USC 14
• Sugar Bowl: #4 Florida State 13, #7 Auburn 7
• Cotton Bowl Classic: #9 UCLA 17, #8 Arkansas 3
• Fiesta Bowl: #1 Notre Dame 34, #3 West Virginia 21
• Florida Citrus Bowl: #13 Clemson 13, #10 Oklahoma 6
• Orange Bowl: #2 Miami (FL) 23, #6 Nebraska 3
• Hall of Fame Bowl: #17 Syracuse 23, #16 LSU 10
• Gator Bowl: #19 Georgia 34, Michigan State 27
• Sun Bowl: #20 Alabama 29, Army 28
• Holiday Bowl: #12 Oklahoma State 62, #15 Wyoming 14
• Freedom Bowl: BYU 20, Colorado 17
• Peach Bowl: NC State 28, Iowa 23
• All-American Bowl: Florida 14, Illinois 10
• Liberty Bowl: Indiana 34, South Carolina 10
• Aloha Bowl: #18 Washington State 24, #14 Houston 22
• Independence Bowl: Southern Miss 38, UTEP 18
• California Bowl: Fresno State 35, Western Michigan 30

Polls

Final AP Poll

1. Notre Dame
2. Miami (FL)
3. Florida State
4. Michigan
5. West Virginia
6. UCLA
7. Southern California
8. Auburn
9. Clemson
10. Nebraska
11. Oklahoma State
12. Arkansas
13. Syracuse
14. Oklahoma
15. Georgia
16. Washington State
17. Alabama
18. Houston
19. LSU
20. Indiana

Final Coaches Poll

1. Notre Dame
2. Miami (FL)
3. Florida State
4. Michigan
5. West Virginia
6. UCLA
7. Auburn
8. Clemson
9. Southern California
10. Nebraska
11. Oklahoma State
12. Syracuse
13. Arkansas
14. Oklahoma
15. Georgia
16. Washington State
17. Alabama
18. North Carolina State
19. Indiana
20. Wyoming

Awards

Heisman Trophy

1. Winner: Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State, Jr. RB
2. Rodney Peete, Southern California, Sr. QB
3. Troy Aikman, UCLA, Sr. QB
4. Steve Walsh, Miami (FL), Jr. QB
5. Major Harris, West Virginia, So. QB

Other major awards

• Maxwell (Player): Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State
• Camp (Back): Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State
• Davey O'Brien Award (QB): Troy Aikman, UCLA
• Rockne (Lineman): N/A
• Lombardi (Linebacker): Tracy Rocker, Auburn
• Outland (Interior): Tracy Rocker, Auburn
• Coach of the Year: Don Nehlen, West Virginia

Notes

• Leon Moore, David (2005-12-03). "L.A. is capital of football for a day". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
• "What was the greatest Fighting Irish football game in the history of Notre Dame Stadium?". Retrieved 2005-08-29.
• Wood, Bob (Robert) (1989). Big Ten country : a journey through one football season. Morrow. ISBN 0-688-08922-4.