1988 USC Trojans football
Pac-10 champion
Rose Bowl, L 14–22 vs. Michigan
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 7
Record10–2 (8–0 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorChuck Stobart (2nd season)
CaptainRodney Peete
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons
← 1987
1989 →
1988 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   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

The 1988 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Larry Smith, the Trojans compiled a 10–2 record (8–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 370 to 184.[1]

The Trojans won their first 10 games of the season, running the conference table and beating third-ranked Oklahoma at home. They were ranked second in the nation before their match with number-one ranked Notre Dame. After losing to the Fighting Irish in their final regular-season game, they faced Michigan in the Rose Bowl, losing 14–22.

Quarterback Rodney Peete led the team in passing, completing 223 of 359 passes for 2,812 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Aaron Emanuel led the team in rushing with 108 carries for 545 yards and eight touchdowns. Erik Affholter led the team in receiving yards with 68 catches for 952 yards and eight touchdowns.[2]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 14:30 p.m.at Boston College*No. 8
ESPNW 34–732,000
September 1012:30 p.m.at StanfordNo. 6
ABCW 24–2059,000
September 2412:30 p.m.No. 3 Oklahoma*No. 4
ABCW 23–786,124
October 16:30 p.m.at ArizonaNo. 3
W 38–1552,314
October 81:30 p.m.No. 18 OregondaggerNo. 3
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
W 42–1463,452
October 1512:30 p.m.No. 16 WashingtonNo. 3
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
ABCW 28–2762,974
October 291:00 p.m.at Oregon StateNo. 3
W 41–2031,117
November 53:30 p.m.CaliforniaNo. 2
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
PrimeW 35–373,937
November 1212:30 p.m.at Arizona StateNo. 2
ABCW 50–072,023
November 1912:30 p.m.at No. 6 UCLANo. 2
ABCW 31–22100,741
November 2612:30 p.m.No. 1 Notre Dame*No. 2
ABCL 10–2793,829
January 2, 19892:00 p.m.vs. No. 11 Michigan*No. 5
ABCL 14–22101,688
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1988 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 42 Erik Affholter Sr
WR 88 Gene Arrington Sr
OL Dan Barnes
RB Jeff Brown
RB 24 Aaron Emanuel Jr
RB 34 Ricky Ervins So
RB Derrick Gachett
TE 86 Scott Galbraith Jr
TE 17 Paul Green Sr
TE Frank Griffin
OT 61 John Guerrero RSr
RB Calvin Holmes
RB 39 Leroy Holt Jr
WR John Jackson
C 63 Brad Leggett Jr
RB 40 Scott Lockwood So
QB 13 Todd Marinovich  Fr
QB 4 Pat O'Hara So
OL Brent Parkinson
QB 16 Rodney Peete (C) Sr
WR Marc Rodgers
G 75 Mark Tucker So
WR Marlon Washington
RB Steven Webster
WR 83 Gary Wellman So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 98 Kurt Barber Fr
S 7 Mark Carrier So
LB Delmar Chesley
DB Cleveland Colter
DL Don Gibson
CB 2 Chris Hale Sr
DT 93 Pat Harlow So
LB Craig Hartsuyker
DT 90 Dan Owens Jr
LB 35 Scott Ross So
DT 99 Tim Ryan Jr
LB 55 Junior Seau So
DB Ernest Spears
LB Brian Tuliau
DL Michael Williams
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 11 Quin Rodriguez So
P Chris Sperle
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • John Matsko
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Rankings

Further information: 1988 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP6 (3)8 (1)6 (1)5 (1)5 (1)3 (2)3 (2)3 (3)3 (5)3 (5)2 (11)2 (15)2 (18)2 (22)557
Coaches886543 (1)333 (2)32 (16)2 (14)2 (13)2 (16)659

[3]

Game summaries

At Boston College

See also: 1988 Boston College Eagles football team

[4]

At Stanford

See also: 1988 Stanford Cardinal football team and Stanford–USC football rivalry

[5]

Oklahoma

#3 Oklahoma Sooners (2–0) at #5 USC Trojans (2–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Oklahoma 0 0 707
USC 7 13 0323

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Game information

[6] [7] [8]

External videos
video icon Full game
video icon Game highlights

At Arizona

See also: 1988 Arizona Wildcats football team

Oregon

See also: 1988 Oregon Ducks football team

Washington

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2022)

At Oregon State

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2022)

California

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2022)

At Arizona State

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2022)

At UCLA

See also: 1988 UCLA Bruins football team and UCLA–USC football rivalry
USC Trojans at UCLA Bruins
Period 1 2 34Total
USC 7 14 7331
UCLA 3 13 0622

at Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California

  • Date: November 19
  • Game attendance: 100,741
  • Gainesville Sun. 1988 Nov 20.
Game information

The Measles Game

[9][10]

Notre Dame

#1 Notre Dame at #2 USC
1 234Total
• No. 1 Fighting Irish 14 607 27
No. 2 Trojans 0 730 10
Scoring summary
110:08NDRice 65-yard run (Ho kick)ND 7-0
1NDGreen 2-yard run (Ho kick)ND 14-0
22:24USCLockwood 1-yard run (Rodriguez kick)ND 14-7
20:41NDSmagala 64-yard interception return (kick failed)ND 20-7
3USCRodriguez 36-yard field goalND 20-10
411:55NDGreen 1-yard run (Ho kick)ND 27-10

See also: 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Notre Dame–USC football rivalry, and Jeweled Shillelagh

Notre Dame and USC entered the game undefeated and ranked number one and two respectively for the first time ever in their storied series. It was also the 24th time No. 1 faced No. 2 in college football history.[11] The Trojans were having a great season under head coach Larry Smith and standout quarterback Rodney Peete.[11] The Irish came into the game as underdogs, but spectacular play of defensive end Frank Stams and cornerback Stan Smagala aided the Irish offense, led by Tony Rice, to an Irish victory. The sellout crowd of 93,829 was the largest in this rivalry since 1955.[11]

Vs. Michigan (Rose Bowl)

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

Main article: 1989 Rose Bowl

See also: 1988 Michigan Wolverines football team

Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1989 NFL Draft.

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Erik Affholter Wide receiver 4 110 Washington Redskins
Rodney Peete Quarterback 6 141 Detroit Lions
Chris Hale Defensive back 7 193 Buffalo Bills
Paul Green Tight end 8 208 Denver Broncos
Derrell Marshall Tackle 12 332 Buffalo Bills

[12]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "1988 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. ^ "USC 1988 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  4. ^ "Peete, Trojans Roll, 34-7, Over Boston College". Los Angeles Times. September 2, 1988. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  5. ^ "Peete, USC Pass Stanford Near Finish for 24-20 Win". Los Angeles Times. September 11, 1988. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  6. ^ "Oklahoma Feels Crunch of U.S.C." The New York Times. September 25, 1988. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  7. ^ SoonerStats.com - 1988 Oklahoma at USC
  8. ^ Gainesville Sun. p. 10C. 1988 Sep 25. Retrieved 2022-Dec-16.
  9. ^ "Peete Leads U.S.C. to Rose Bowl Berth". The New York Times. November 20, 1988. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  10. ^ Telander, Rick (November 28, 1988). "On Top in L.A." Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "2006 USC Media Guide: USC Football History" (PDF). USC Trojans. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  12. ^ "1989 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 16, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2008.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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