1988 NCAA Division I-A football season

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. With 4 of the final Top 5 teams being independents (with the University of Miami and Florida State joining the Fighting Irish and Mountaineers), 1988 became a focus for fans and critics who wondered how the traditional conferences would deal with the indies (the answer ultimately involved all of these teams joining major conferences).

1988 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams104
Preseason AP No. 1Florida State[1]
Post-season
Bowl games17
Heisman TrophyBarry Sanders (running back, Oklahoma State)
Champion(s)Notre Dame
Division I-A football seasons
← 1987
1989 →

Notre Dame had several notable victories this season, including a 19–17 victory over No. 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 No. 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 No. 1 and No. 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.

Rule changes
  • 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. There were two defensive conversions scored in Division I-A; the first was scored by Bill Stone of Rice University in a 54–11 loss to Notre Dame on November 5, 1988,[2] and the second by Tony Bennett of Mississippi in a 20–12 loss to Tennessee on November 12, 1988, both on blocked PAT kicks.[3][4]
  • 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 and program changes

Conference standings
1988 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
TeamW 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
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
1988 Big West Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
TeamW 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 0 –7 –1  0 –10 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1988 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 8 Auburn + 6 –1 –0  10 –2 –0
No. 19 LSU + 6 –1 –0  8 –4 –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
TeamW 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
TeamW L T  W L T
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
1988 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
Louisiana Tech   –  –   4 –7 –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

No. 1 and No. 2 progress
WEEKS No. 1 No. 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
Main article: 1988–89 NCAA football bowl games

Polls
Main article: 1988 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

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.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2009-01-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. D'Angelo, Tom (November 23, 1988). "Add college coach to endangered species list". The Palm Beach Post. p. 24.
  3. Bilinski, Bill (November 6, 1988). "No. 1 Irish 'Rocket' past Rice". South Bend Tribune. p. B4.
  4. Climer, David (November 13, 1988). "In storm, with disbelief, Vols get 3rd straight win". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 1C.
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