1988 NCAA Division I-A football season
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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 sixth 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.
Contents |
[edit] Conference Standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, Conf. = Conference Record
| Conference Champion |
[edit] #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 | End regular season | Dec 3 |
[edit] Notable Rivalry Games
[edit] Bowl Games
- Rose Bowl: #11 Michigan 22, #5 USC 14
- Sugar Bowl: #4 Florida State 13, #7 Auburn 7
- Cotton Bowl: #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
- John Hancock 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
[edit] Final AP Poll
- Notre Dame
- Miami, FL
- Florida State
- Michigan (Big 10 Champion)
- West Virginia
- UCLA
- Southern California (Pac 10 Champion)
- Auburn (SEC Co-Champion)
- Clemson (ACC Champion)
- Nebraska (Big 8 Champion)
- Oklahoma State
- Arkansas (SWC Champion)
- Syracuse
- Oklahoma
- Georgia
- Washington State
- Alabama
- Houston
- LSU (SEC Co-Champion)
- Indiana
[edit] Final Coaches Poll
- Notre Dame (IN)
- Miami (FL)
- Florida St.
- Michigan
- West Virginia
- UCLA
- Auburn (AL)
- Clemson (SC)
- Southern California
- Nebraska
- Oklahoma St.
- Syracuse (NY)
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Georgia
- Washington St.
- Alabama
- North Carolina St.
- Indiana
- Wyoming
[edit] Heisman Trophy
- Winner: Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State, Jr. RB
- Rodney Peete, Southern California, Sr. QB
- Troy Aikman, UCLA, Sr. QB
- Steve Walsh, Miami (FL), Jr. QB
- Major Harris, West Virginia, So. QB
[edit] Other Major Awards
- Maxwell (Player): Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State
- Camp (Back): Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State
- O'Brein 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
[edit] Notes
- Leon Moore, David. L.A. is capital of football for a day.
- What was the greatest Fighting Irish football game in the history of Notre Dame Stadium?. Retrieved on 2005-08-29.
- Wood, Bob (Robert) (1989). Big Ten country : a journey through one football season. Morrow. ISBN 0688089224.
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