1988 Michigan Wolverines football team

The 1988 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its 20th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the team compiled a 9–2–1 record (7–0–1 against conference opponents), won the Big Ten championship, defeated USC in the 1989 Rose Bowl, outscored opponents by a total of 361 to 167, and was ranked No. 4 in the final AP and UPI polls.[1][2]

1988 Michigan Wolverines football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 22–14 vs. USC
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
1988 record9–2–1 (7–0–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGary Moeller (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorLloyd Carr (2nd season)
MVPMark Messner
Captains
Home stadiumMichigan Stadium
(Capacity: 101,701)
1988 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Michael Taylor with 957 passing yards, tailback Tony Boles with 1,408 rushing yards, and split end Greg McMurtry with 470 receiving yards, and placekicker Mike Gillette with 97 points scored.[3]

Two Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1988 All-America college football team: center John Vitale (consensus) and defensive tackle Mark Messner (consensus). Seven Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1988 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 109:00 p.m.at No. 13 Notre Dame*No. 9CBSL 17–1959,075
September 173:30 p.m.No. 1 Miami (FL)*No. 15ABCL 30–31105,834
September 241:00 p.m.Wake Forest*No. 19
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
W 19–9102,776
October 12:00 p.m.at WisconsinNo. 19W 62–1461,180
October 812:00 p.m.Michigan StateNo. 17
Big 10 Synd.W 17–3106,208
October 153:30 p.m.at IowaNo. 15ABCT 17–1767,700
October 223:30 p.m.No. 14 IndianaNo. 20
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
ABCW 31–6106,104
October 292:00 p.m.at NorthwesternNo. 14W 52–733,647
November 53:30 p.m.MinnesotaNo. 14
ABCW 22–7102,171
November 121:00 p.m.IllinoisNo. 13
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI
W 38–9105,714
November 1912:00 p.m.at Ohio StateNo. 12ABCW 34–3190,176
January 1, 19895:00 p.m.vs. No. 5 USC*No. 11ABCW 22–14101,688
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final 
AP 11 10 9 15 19 19 17 15 20 14 14 13 12 11 11 11 4 
Coaches 10 (1) 10 (1) 10 16 RV 20 20 17 RV 14 13 12 11 10 11 11 4

[4]

Game summaries

at Notre Dame

1 234Total
#9 Michigan 0 773 17
#13 Notre Dame 10 306 19

Miami (FL)

1 234Total
#1 Miami (FL) 7 7017 31
#15 Michigan 3 1737 30


[5] [6]

Wake Forest

Michigan State

Kicker Mike Gillette scored on a 40-yard fake punt run, a play that was put in during halftime, and kicked a 30-yard field goal as Michigan's defense registered five sacks and an interception against the winless Spartans.[8]

at Iowa

1 234Total
Michigan 3 770 17
Iowa 7 1000 17


A 17-17 tie at Kinnick Stadium was the lone blemish on an otherwise perfect Big Ten season for the Wolverines.[9]

Indiana

Ohio State

Michigan Wolverines at Ohio State Buckeyes
1 2 34Total
Michigan 10 10 01434
Ohio St 0 0 141731

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: November 19, 1988
  • Game time: 12:10 p.m.
  • Game weather: Overcast, 44 °F (7 °C)
  • Game attendance: 90,176
  • Referee: John Nealow
  • Box Score

vs. USC (Rose Bowl)

Rose Bowl
1 234Total
Michigan 3 0613 22
USC 0 1400 14


Players

Offense

  • Tony Boles – started 10 games at tailback (team's leading rusher in 1988 with 1,408 yards)
  • Demetrius Brown – started 3 games at quarterback (48 of 84 for 775 passing yards)
  • Jeffrey Brown – started 11 games at tight end
  • Jarrod Bunch – started 5 games at fullback
  • Chris Calloway – started 5 games at flanker and 1 game at split end (led team with 4 touchdown catches)
  • Dave Chester – started 2 games at left guard
  • Dean Dingman – started 12 games at right guard
  • Tom Dohring – started 10 games at left tackle
  • Leroy Hoard – started 6 games at fullback and 1 game at tailback (team's second leading rusher in 1988 with 752 yards)
  • Chris Horn – started 1 game at fullback
  • Mike Husar – started 10 games at left guard and 2 games at left tackle
  • John Kolesar – started 7 games at flanker (team's second leading receiver with 18 catches for 356 yards)
  • Greg McMurtry – started 10 games at split end (team's leading receiver with 27 catches for 470 yards)
  • Greg Skrepenak – started 12 games at right tackle
  • Michael Taylor – started 9 games at quarterback (65 for 122 for 957 passing yards)
  • John Vitale – started 12 games at center
  • Derrick Walker – started 1 game at tight end and 1 game at split end
  • Tracy Williams – started 1 game at tailback

Defense

  • Bobby Abrams – started 12 games at outside linebacker
  • Erick Anderson – started 6 games at inside linebacker (led team with 77 tackles)
  • David Arnold – started 10 games at cornerback
  • Mike Evans – started 1 game at defensive tackle
  • J. J. Grant – started 9 games at inside linebacker (tied for second on the team with 72 tackles)
  • Mark Gutzwiller, defensive back
  • John Hermann – started 2 games at defensive tackle
  • David Key – started 12 games at cornerback (fifth on the team with 63 tackles)
  • Alex Marshall – started 9 games at outside linebacker
  • Mark Messner – started 12 games at defensive tackle (fourth on the team with 70 tackles)
  • Anthony Mitchell – started 1 game at outside linebacker
  • Vada Murray – started 12 games at free safety (second on team with 4 interceptions)
  • T. J. Osman – started 12 games at middle guard
  • Todd Plate – started 2 games at cornerback
  • Marc Spencer – started 3 games at inside linebacker
  • Tripp Welborne – started 12 games at strong safety (led team with five interceptions; tied for second on the team with 72 tackles)
  • Brent White – started 9 games at defensive tackle
  • Tim Williams – started 2 games at outside linebacker

Special teams

  • Tony Boles – kick off returns (14 returns for an average of 24.1 yards)
  • Mike Gillette – placekicker (18 of 27 on field goals) and punter (46 punts for an average of 39.9 yards)
  • Gulam Khan – placekicker (0 for 1 on field goals)
  • John Kolesar – kickoff returns (13 returns for an average of 23.5 yards); punt returns (17 returns for an average of 11.9 yards)

Awards and honors

  • All-Americans: Mark Messner, John Vitale
  • All-Conference: Mark Messner, John Vitale, Mike Husar, John Kolesar, Tony Boles, Mike Gillette, David Arnold
  • Most Valuable Player: Mark Messner
  • Meyer Morton Award: John Vitale
  • John Maulbetsch Award: Tripp Welborne
  • Frederick Matthei Award: Warde Manuel
  • Arthur Robinson Scholarship Award: David Weil
  • Dick Katcher Award: Mark Messner
  • Hugh Rader Jr. Award: Mark Messner
  • Robert P. Ufer Award: John Kolesar

Coaching staff

References

  1. "1988 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  2. "1988 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  3. "1988 Michigan Wolverines Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  4. "Michigan 1988 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  5. "Hurricanes blow past Wolverines." Eugene Register-Guard. 1988 Sept 18.
  6. "Miami Doesn't Wilt in Michigan Heat" Chicago Tribune. 1988 Sept 18.
  7. University of Michigan Football Record Book Pt. 1
  8. Eugene Register-Guard. 1988 Oct 9. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
  9. "Michigan, Iowa Both Fit To Be Tied". Chicago Tribune. October 16, 1988. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.