National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1A Football 1988

Standings

WLTPFPAWLTPFPA
IND Independents
Notre Dame Fighting Irish1100
West Virginia Mountaineers1100
Miami Hurricanes910
Florida State Seminoles1010
Syracuse Orangemen820
Army Black Knights
Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
South Carolina Gamecocks
ACC Atlantic Coast Conference
Clemson Tigers (C)610216107920329151
Virginia Cavaliers520162139740251254
North Carolina State Wolfpack421169110731284142
Wake Forest Deacons430173174641282238
Maryland Terrapins430190196560260304
Duke Blue Devils331204245731324324
North Carolina Tar Heels1601522471100217391
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets070105153380200194
SEC Southeast Conference
Auburn Tigers (CT)61014843101033179
LSU Louisiana State Tigers (CT)61013287830239181
Georgia Bulldogs520193125830324185
Alabama Crimson Tide +430196147730258150
Florida Gators43099106650254175
Mississippi Rebels340150180560221223
Tennessee Volunteers340114171560212286
Kentucky Wildcats250122141560217208
Vanderbilt Commodores250128183380292277
Mississippi State Bulldogs070982221100172332
Big Ten Conference
Michigan Wolverines (C)70127394821339153
Michigan State Spartans61121975641242143
Illinois Fighting Illini521177143641234229
Iowa Hawkeyes413213141633315205
Indiana Hoosiers530257168731382225
Purdue Boilermakers35078221470124303
Ohio State Buckeyes251157199461229283
Northwestern Wildcats251137234281192350
Wisconsin Badgers170722481100106314
Minnesota Golden Gophers062120182272195246
Big Eight Conference
Nebraska Cornhuskers (C)700265921110474182
Oklahoma Sooners610235101920328147
Oklahoma State Cowboys +520317219820477285
Colorado Buffaloes430181108630305178
Iowa State Cyclones340136183580195258
Missouri Tigers250164195371234330
Kansas Jayhawks1601223191100189496
Kansas State Cowboys0701083110110171448
SWC Southwestern Conference
Arkansas Razorbacks (C)7002151021010346173
Texas A&M Aggies ^610198104740283223
Houston Cougars520245150920452203
Texas Tech Red Raiders +430184195550286287
Texas Longhorns250109205470252304
Baylor Bears250109206470252304
TCU Texas Christian Horned Frogs25096188470206286
Rice Owls0701071990110165358
WAC Western Athletic Conference
Wyoming Cowboys (C)8002701631110487218
UTEP Texas-El Paso Miners6202731801020427237
BYU Brigham Young Cougars +530268197830384223
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors +530245184830342266
Utah Utes440252285650399357
Air Force Fighting Falcons350298272570422392
San Diego State Aztecs350175290380204384
New Mexico Lobos170852392100170518
Colorado State Rams1701242611100192348
PAC 10 Pacific 10
USC Southern California Trojans (C)8002891211010356182
UCLA California-Los Angeles Bruins521219150920375189
Washington State Cougars530254241830391281
Arizona Wildcats530179171740279218
Arizona State Sun Devils341103184650192277
Oregon Ducks +350144195650279206
Washington Huskies350168189650256223
Oregon State Beavers261163215461246280
California Golden Bears151106188551243244
Stanford Cardinal152149152362238216
National College Football Association Football Division 1A Standings 1988 [Ref: 1]

Legend: left-to-right: W-L-T-PF-PA (Conference) W-L-T-PF-PA (All Games)

(C) Conference Champions (CT) Tied for Conference Championship + One Non-Conference Game Left ^ Ineligible for Conference Title.

Division 1A College Bowl Results 1988

BowlWinnersRunners-Up
National Championship
Fiesta *Notre Dame Fighting Irish34West Virginia Mountaineers21
Major Bowl Games
CottonUCLA Bruins17Arkansas Razorbacks3
RoseMichigan Wolverines22USC Trojans14
SugarFlorida State Seminoles13Auburn Tigers7
OrangeMiami Hurricanes23Nebraska Cornhuskers3
HolidayOklahoma State Cowboys62Wyoming Cowboys14
CitrusClemson Tigers13Oklahoma Sooners6
Other Bowl Games
PeachNorth Carolina State Wolfpack28Iowa Hawkeyes23
LibertyIndiana Hoosiers34South Carolina Gamecocks10
GatorGeorgia Bulldogs34Michigan State Spartans27
Hall of FameSyracuse Orangemen23Louisiana State Tigers10
SunAlabama Crimson Tide29Army Black Knights28
IndependenceSouthern Mississippi Golden Eagles38Texas-El Paso Miners18
FreedomBrigham Young Cougars20Colorado Buffaloes17
All-AmericanFlorida Gators14Illinois Fighting Illini10
NCAA Football Division 1A Bowl Games 1988 [Ref: 1]

*Game acted as National Championship Game (Notre Dame 11-0, #1 and West Virginia 11-0 #3 going into Game)

Report

In the National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Division 1A Championship in 1988, Auburn Tigers (6-1; 10-1) and Louisiana State Tigers (6-1; 8-3) tied for the SEC Southeastern Conference Championship; Clemson Tigers (6-1; 9-2) took the ACC Atlantic Coast Conference; Michigan Wolverines (7-0-1; 8-2-1) won the Big 10 in the Upper Midwest; Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-0; 11-1) were Big Eight Champions in the Prairie States; Arkansas Razorbacks (7-0; 10-1) were SWC Southwestern Conference winners; Wyoming Cowboys (8-0; 11-1) were the Champions of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC); and Southern California Trojans (8-0; 10-1) won the PAC 10 Pacific 10 Conference.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-0) 714 Pts were Voted Number 1 with the College Bowl Games left.

The 1988 College Football Bowl Games in 1988, had Four Big Bowl Games: Cotton, Rose, Sugar and Orange. The Bowl Games participants are selected by the Conferences.

In 1947-48, the Rose Bowl became a Western Universities match-up between the winners of the Pacific Coast (now Pacific 10) and the Big Ten, always held in Pasadena, California. Michigan beat USC (Southern California) 22-14 in the 1988 Rose Bowl.

The Orange Bowl had a tendency at the time to match up the Country’s two best teams, for the unofficial title of “National Champion”. In 1988 Miami beat Nebraska 23-3.

The Cotton Bowl matches the Champions of the Southwest Conference with another top College from across the USA, and in 1988 UCLA (California-Los Angeles) were the invited team, and beat Arkansas 17-3.

The Sugar Bowl, like the Cotton Bowl, matches the Champions of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with another top College from elsewhere in the United States and in 1988 Florida State (an Independent) beat Auburn (the SEC Champions) 13-7.

The Irish interest, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, from South Bend, Indiana, just outside Chicago, won the Fiesta Bowl, beating West Virginia Mountaineers 34-21. It was a match-up between the Top Ranked team as voted by Press Writers, and the Third Ranked Team, the only two undefeated teams in the Nation (Division 1A). The game was an unofficial National Championship Game, as there were no National Playoffs in Division 1A at the time, with only one Bowl Game for each of the top teams in each Conference. The National Champions were voted for by the Press after the Bowl games at the end of the season.

References

Newspapers

[1] Anon. (1988) “College Scoreline” First Down. December 3, 1988. pg. 21.

[2] Anon. (1988) “Laois man is big name in American Football” Leinster Express. March 5, 1988. pg. 11.

Bibliography

[3] Rowe, Pete (1989) “Guinness American Football: Records, Facts and Champions” Fifth Edition, 1989. Pg. 112. Published in Great Britain by Guinness Publishing Ltd. Enfield, Middlesex

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan, and Tim Leadingham

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 3 May 2020

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020

You may quote this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.

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