Standings
| W | L | T | PF | PA | W | L | T | PF | PA | |
| IND Independents | ||||||||||
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 11 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| West Virginia Mountaineers | 11 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Miami Hurricanes | 9 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| Florida State Seminoles | 10 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| Syracuse Orangemen | 8 | 2 | 0 | |||||||
| Army Black Knights | ||||||||||
| Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles | ||||||||||
| South Carolina Gamecocks | ||||||||||
| ACC Atlantic Coast Conference | ||||||||||
| Clemson Tigers (C) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 216 | 107 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 329 | 151 |
| Virginia Cavaliers | 5 | 2 | 0 | 162 | 139 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 251 | 254 |
| North Carolina State Wolfpack | 4 | 2 | 1 | 169 | 110 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 284 | 142 |
| Wake Forest Deacons | 4 | 3 | 0 | 173 | 174 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 282 | 238 |
| Maryland Terrapins | 4 | 3 | 0 | 190 | 196 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 260 | 304 |
| Duke Blue Devils | 3 | 3 | 1 | 204 | 245 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 324 | 324 |
| North Carolina Tar Heels | 1 | 6 | 0 | 152 | 247 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 217 | 391 |
| Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 0 | 7 | 0 | 105 | 153 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 200 | 194 |
| SEC Southeast Conference | ||||||||||
| Auburn Tigers (CT) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 148 | 43 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 331 | 79 |
| LSU Louisiana State Tigers (CT) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 132 | 87 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 239 | 181 |
| Georgia Bulldogs | 5 | 2 | 0 | 193 | 125 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 324 | 185 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide + | 4 | 3 | 0 | 196 | 147 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 258 | 150 |
| Florida Gators | 4 | 3 | 0 | 99 | 106 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 254 | 175 |
| Mississippi Rebels | 3 | 4 | 0 | 150 | 180 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 221 | 223 |
| Tennessee Volunteers | 3 | 4 | 0 | 114 | 171 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 212 | 286 |
| Kentucky Wildcats | 2 | 5 | 0 | 122 | 141 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 217 | 208 |
| Vanderbilt Commodores | 2 | 5 | 0 | 128 | 183 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 292 | 277 |
| Mississippi State Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 0 | 98 | 222 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 172 | 332 |
| Big Ten Conference | ||||||||||
| Michigan Wolverines (C) | 7 | 0 | 1 | 273 | 94 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 339 | 153 |
| Michigan State Spartans | 6 | 1 | 1 | 219 | 75 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 242 | 143 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | 5 | 2 | 1 | 177 | 143 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 234 | 229 |
| Iowa Hawkeyes | 4 | 1 | 3 | 213 | 141 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 315 | 205 |
| Indiana Hoosiers | 5 | 3 | 0 | 257 | 168 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 382 | 225 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | 3 | 5 | 0 | 78 | 221 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 124 | 303 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | 2 | 5 | 1 | 157 | 199 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 229 | 283 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 2 | 5 | 1 | 137 | 234 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 192 | 350 |
| Wisconsin Badgers | 1 | 7 | 0 | 72 | 248 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 106 | 314 |
| Minnesota Golden Gophers | 0 | 6 | 2 | 120 | 182 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 195 | 246 |
| Big Eight Conference | ||||||||||
| Nebraska Cornhuskers (C) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 265 | 92 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 474 | 182 |
| Oklahoma Sooners | 6 | 1 | 0 | 235 | 101 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 328 | 147 |
| Oklahoma State Cowboys + | 5 | 2 | 0 | 317 | 219 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 477 | 285 |
| Colorado Buffaloes | 4 | 3 | 0 | 181 | 108 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 305 | 178 |
| Iowa State Cyclones | 3 | 4 | 0 | 136 | 183 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 195 | 258 |
| Missouri Tigers | 2 | 5 | 0 | 164 | 195 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 234 | 330 |
| Kansas Jayhawks | 1 | 6 | 0 | 122 | 319 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 189 | 496 |
| Kansas State Cowboys | 0 | 7 | 0 | 108 | 311 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 171 | 448 |
| SWC Southwestern Conference | ||||||||||
| Arkansas Razorbacks (C) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 215 | 102 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 346 | 173 |
| Texas A&M Aggies ^ | 6 | 1 | 0 | 198 | 104 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 283 | 223 |
| Houston Cougars | 5 | 2 | 0 | 245 | 150 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 452 | 203 |
| Texas Tech Red Raiders + | 4 | 3 | 0 | 184 | 195 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 286 | 287 |
| Texas Longhorns | 2 | 5 | 0 | 109 | 205 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 252 | 304 |
| Baylor Bears | 2 | 5 | 0 | 109 | 206 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 252 | 304 |
| TCU Texas Christian Horned Frogs | 2 | 5 | 0 | 96 | 188 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 206 | 286 |
| Rice Owls | 0 | 7 | 0 | 107 | 199 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 165 | 358 |
| WAC Western Athletic Conference | ||||||||||
| Wyoming Cowboys (C) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 270 | 163 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 487 | 218 |
| UTEP Texas-El Paso Miners | 6 | 2 | 0 | 273 | 180 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 427 | 237 |
| BYU Brigham Young Cougars + | 5 | 3 | 0 | 268 | 197 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 384 | 223 |
| Hawaii Rainbow Warriors + | 5 | 3 | 0 | 245 | 184 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 342 | 266 |
| Utah Utes | 4 | 4 | 0 | 252 | 285 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 399 | 357 |
| Air Force Fighting Falcons | 3 | 5 | 0 | 298 | 272 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 422 | 392 |
| San Diego State Aztecs | 3 | 5 | 0 | 175 | 290 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 204 | 384 |
| New Mexico Lobos | 1 | 7 | 0 | 85 | 239 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 170 | 518 |
| Colorado State Rams | 1 | 7 | 0 | 124 | 261 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 192 | 348 |
| PAC 10 Pacific 10 | ||||||||||
| USC Southern California Trojans (C) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 289 | 121 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 356 | 182 |
| UCLA California-Los Angeles Bruins | 5 | 2 | 1 | 219 | 150 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 375 | 189 |
| Washington State Cougars | 5 | 3 | 0 | 254 | 241 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 391 | 281 |
| Arizona Wildcats | 5 | 3 | 0 | 179 | 171 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 279 | 218 |
| Arizona State Sun Devils | 3 | 4 | 1 | 103 | 184 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 192 | 277 |
| Oregon Ducks + | 3 | 5 | 0 | 144 | 195 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 279 | 206 |
| Washington Huskies | 3 | 5 | 0 | 168 | 189 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 256 | 223 |
| Oregon State Beavers | 2 | 6 | 1 | 163 | 215 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 246 | 280 |
| California Golden Bears | 1 | 5 | 1 | 106 | 188 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 243 | 244 |
| Stanford Cardinal | 1 | 5 | 2 | 149 | 152 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 238 | 216 |
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
| Bowl | Winners | Runners-Up | ||
| National Championship | ||||
| Fiesta * | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 34 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 21 |
| Major Bowl Games | ||||
| Cotton | UCLA Bruins | 17 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 3 |
| Rose | Michigan Wolverines | 22 | USC Trojans | 14 |
| Sugar | Florida State Seminoles | 13 | Auburn Tigers | 7 |
| Orange | Miami Hurricanes | 23 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 3 |
| Holiday | Oklahoma State Cowboys | 62 | Wyoming Cowboys | 14 |
| Citrus | Clemson Tigers | 13 | Oklahoma Sooners | 6 |
| Other Bowl Games | ||||
| Peach | North Carolina State Wolfpack | 28 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 23 |
| Liberty | Indiana Hoosiers | 34 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 10 |
| Gator | Georgia Bulldogs | 34 | Michigan State Spartans | 27 |
| Hall of Fame | Syracuse Orangemen | 23 | Louisiana State Tigers | 10 |
| Sun | Alabama Crimson Tide | 29 | Army Black Knights | 28 |
| Independence | Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles | 38 | Texas-El Paso Miners | 18 |
| Freedom | Brigham Young Cougars | 20 | Colorado Buffaloes | 17 |
| All-American | Florida Gators | 14 | Illinois Fighting Illini | 10 |
*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.