1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team
The 1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented the Oklahoma State University in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A college football season. Future OSU head coach Mike Gundy was the starting QB for the Cowboys, while senior WR Hart Lee Dykes and junior RB Barry Sanders were both named first team All-American. Sanders won the Heisman Trophy as the nation's most outstanding player for the season. Sanders was also the Offensive MVP of the 1988 Holiday Bowl, and Junior LB Sim Drain III was the Defensive MVP.
1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys football | |
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Holiday Bowl champion | |
Holiday Bowl, W 62–14 vs. Wyoming | |
Conference | Big Eight Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 11 |
AP | No. 11 |
Record | 10–2 (5–2 Big 8) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Larry Coker (6th season) |
Home stadium | Lewis Field (capacity: 50,440) |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
The Cowboys finished the regular season with a 9–2 record.[1] In 1988, in what has been called the greatest season in college football history,[2] running back Barry Sanders led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,249 total yards, 234 points, 39 touchdowns, of which 37 were rushing (also a record), five consecutive 200 yard games, scored at least two touchdowns in 11 consecutive games, and nine times he scored at least three touchdowns. Sanders also ran for 222 yards and scored five touchdowns in his three quarters of action in the Holiday Bowl, a game that was not included with his season statistics.[3]
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 10 | Miami (OH)* | W 52–20 | 43,200 | |||
September 24 | Texas A&M* | No. 18 |
| W 52–15 | 50,440 | |
October 1 | Tulsa* | No. 13 |
| W 56–35 | 45,100 | |
October 8 | at Colorado | No. 13 | W 41–21 | 41,854 | ||
October 15 | at No. 7 Nebraska | No. 10 | CSN | L 42–63 | 76,432 | |
October 22 | Missouri | No. 15 |
| W 49–21 | 46,900 | |
October 29 | at Kansas State | No. 12 | W 45–27 | 16,000 | ||
November 5 | No. 8 Oklahoma | No. 12 |
| ESPN | L 28–31 | 50,440 |
November 12 | Kansas | No. 14 |
| W 63–24 | 40,100 | |
November 19 | at Iowa State | No. 13 | W 49–28 | 38,163 | ||
December 4 | vs. Texas Tech* | No. 12 | CBS | W 45–42 | 56,000 | |
December 30 | vs. No. 15 Wyoming* | No. 12 | ESPN | W 62–14 | 60,641 | |
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Personnel
1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Rankings
Week | |||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
AP | — | — | — | 20 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
Coaches | — | — | — | — | 20 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
Game summaries
Miami (OH)
Texas A&M
Tulsa
At Colorado
At Nebraska
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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#10 Cowboys | 0 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
#7 Cornhuskers | 35 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 63 |
at Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE
- Date: October 15
- Game attendance: 76,432
- [5]
Game information | ||
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Missouri
At Kansas State
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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#12 Cowboys | 21 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 45 |
Wildcats | 14 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
- Date: October 29
- Game attendance: 16,000
- [6]
Game information | ||
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Oklahoma
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Oklahoma | 21 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
Oklahoma St | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
at Lewis Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Date: November 5, 1988
- Game weather: Partly cloudy, 58 °F (14 °C)
- Game attendance: 50,440
- TV announcers (ESPN): Roger Twibell and Lee Corso
- [7]
Oklahoma State's Brent Parker dropped a potential game-winning touchdown pass in the end zone with 43 seconds left.[8]
External video | |
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Full game | |
Game highlights |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Oklahoma | Passing | Charles Thompson | 2/5, 24 Yds |
Rushing | Mike Gaddis | 18 Rush, 213 Yds, 2 TD | |
Receiving | Leon Perry | 1 Rec, 17 Yds | |
Oklahoma St | Passing | Mike Gundy | 18/28, 228 Yds, TD, 3 INT |
Rushing | Barry Sanders | 39 Rush, 215 Yds, 2 TD | |
Receiving | Hart Lee Dykes | 9 Rec, 122 Yds, TD |
Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kansas
At Iowa State
Vs. Texas Tech
Vs. Wyoming
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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#12 Cowboys | 7 | 10 | 28 | 17 | 62 |
#15 Cowboys | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, CA
- Date: December 30
- Game attendance: 60,641
- TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Carpenter, Kevin Kiley, Sharlene Hawkes
Game information | ||
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1989 NFL Draft
The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.
Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
Barry Sanders | Running back | 1 | 3 | Detroit Lions |
Hart Lee Dykes | Wide receiver | 1 | 16 | New England Patriots |
Awards and honors
- Barry Sanders, Heisman Trophy,[10] Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Sporting News College Football Player of the Year, Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year, Unanimous First-team All-American
- Hart Lee Dykes, Consensus First-team All-American
References
- "1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- Merron, Jeff. "Best individual college football seasons". ESPN. Retrieved August 12, 2007. Marron wrote, The only serious question when composing this list was "Who's No. 2?
- "1988 Holiday Bowl Summary". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
- "Oklahoma State 1988 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
- "Cornhuskers Strike Early and Often to Continue Domination Over Cowboys With 63-42 Victory". Omaha World-Herald. October 15, 1988. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
- "Flashback". October 5, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- "1988 Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State". SoonerStats.com. 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
- "A penalty, a dropped pass and Sooners win, 31-28." Eugene Register-Guard. pg. 8F. 1988 Nov 6. Retrieved 2022-Dec-28.
- "1989 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- "Heisman Winners". Heisman Trophy. Archived from the original on September 16, 2009.