1988 USC Trojans football team

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]

1988 USC Trojans football
Pac-10 champion
Rose Bowl, L 14–22 vs. Michigan
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 7
1988 record10–2 (8–0 Pac-10)
Head coachLarry Smith (2nd season)
Offensive coordinatorChuck Stobart (2nd season)
CaptainRodney Peete
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,516, grass)
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

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 OregonNo. 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
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA (Jeweled Shillelagh)
ABCL 10–2793,829
January 2, 19892:00 p.m.vs. No. 11 Michigan*No. 5
ABCL 14–22101,688
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1988 USC Trojans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 42 Erik Affholter Sr
WR 88 Gene Arrington Sr
RB 24 Aaron Emanuel Jr
RB 34 Ricky Ervins So
TE 86 Scott Galbraith Jr
TE 17 Paul Green Sr
OT 61 John Guerrero  Sr
RB 39 Leroy Holt Jr
QB 13 Todd Marinovich Fr
QB 4 Pat O'Hara So
C 63 Brad Leggett Jr
QB 16 Rodney Peete Sr
OG 75 Mark Tucker So
WR 83 Gary Wellman So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 98 Kurt Barber Fr
S 7 Mark Carrier So
CB 2 Chris Hale Sr
DT 93 Pat Harlow So
DT 90 Dan Owens Jr
LB 35 Scott Ross So
DT 99 Tim Ryan Jr
LB 55 Junior Seau So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 11 Quin Rodriguez So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • John Matsko
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Rankings
Further information: 1988 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final 
AP 6 (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) 5 5 7 
Coaches 8 8 6 5 4 3 (1) 3 3 3 (2) 3 2 (16) 2 (14) 2 (13) 2 (16) 6 5 9

[3]

Game summaries

at Boston College
See also: 1988 Boston College Eagles football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
1–0 1987 W 23–17

[4]

at Stanford
See also: 1988 Stanford Cardinal football team and Stanford–USC football rivalry
Overall record Last meeting Result
45–17–3 1987 W 39–24

[5]

Oklahoma
See also: 1988 Oklahoma Sooners football team
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–2–1 1982 W 12–0

[6]

at Arizona
See also: 1988 Arizona Wildcats football team

Oregon
See also: 1988 Oregon Ducks football team

at UCLA
See also: 1988 UCLA Bruins football team and UCLA–USC football rivalry
Overall record Last meeting Result
32–19–6 1987 W 17–13
USC Trojans at UCLA Bruins
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.

The Measles Game

[7][8]

Notre Dame
#1 Notre Dame at #2 USC
1 234Total
• No. 1 Fighting Irish 14 607 27
No. 2 Trojans 0 730 10
See also: 1988 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Notre Dame–USC football rivalry, and Jeweled Shillelagh
Overall record Last meeting Result
23–32–4 1987 L 15–26

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.[9] The Trojans were having a great season under head coach Larry Smith and standout quarterback Rodney Peete.[9] 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.[9]

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
Overall record Last meeting Result
3–3 1979 W 17–10

Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1989 NFL Draft.

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL Club
Erik AffholterWide receiver4110Washington Redskins
Rodney PeeteQuarterback6141Detroit Lions
Chris HaleDefensive back7193Buffalo Bills
Paul GreenTight end8208Denver Broncos
Derrell MarshallTackle12332Buffalo Bills

[10]

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Southern California Yearly Results (1985-1989)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. 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. "Peete Leads U.S.C. to Rose Bowl Berth". The New York Times. November 20, 1988. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  8. Telander, Rick (November 28, 1988). "On Top in L.A." Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  9. "2006 USC Media Guide: USC Football History" (PDF). USC Trojans. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  10. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1989.htm
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2008-01-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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