CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1988 UCLA

10–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Pac-10), coached by Terry Donahue, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

UCLA in 1988, game by game: won vs. San Diego State 59–6; won vs. No. 2 Nebraska 41–28; won vs. Long Beach State 56–3; won at No. 16 Washington 24–17; won vs. Oregon State 38–21; won at California 38–21; won at Arizona 24–3; lost vs. Washington State 30–34; won at Oregon 16–6; won vs. Stanford 27–17; lost vs. No. 2 USC 22–31; won vs. No. 8 Arkansas 17–3+53−9Won 59–6 vs. San Diego State+53San Diego StateWon 41–28 vs. No. 2 Nebraska+13No. 2 NebraskaWon 56–3 vs. Long Beach State+53Long Beach StateWon 24–17 at No. 16 Washington+7No. 16 WashingtonWon 38–21 vs. Oregon State+17Oregon StateWon 38–21 at California+17CaliforniaWon 24–3 at Arizona+21ArizonaLost 30–34 vs. Washington State-4Washington StateWon 16–6 at Oregon+10OregonWon 27–17 vs. Stanford+10StanfordLost 22–31 vs. No. 2 USC-9No. 2 USCWon 17–3 vs. No. 8 Arkansas+14No. 8 Arkansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsSan Diego StateW 59–⁠678%
Sep 10vs2NebraskaW 41–⁠2855%
Sep 17vsLong Beach StateW 56–⁠392%
Oct 1at16WashingtonW 24–⁠1756%
Oct 8vsOregon StateW 38–⁠2188%
Oct 15atCaliforniaW 38–⁠2175%
Oct 22atArizonaW 24–⁠363%
Oct 29vsWashington StateL 30–⁠3485%
Nov 5atOregonW 16–⁠663%
Nov 12vsStanfordW 27–⁠1783%
Nov 19vs2USCL 22–⁠3157%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs8ArkansasCotton BowlW 17–⁠354%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arkansas 17–⁠3 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 2
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 2
  8. Wk 8: 2
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 6
  12. Wk 12: 6
  13. Wk 13: 6
  14. Wk 14: 9
  15. Wk 15: 8
  16. Wk 16: 9
  17. Final: 6

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1988.

Heisman voteTroy Aikman, third

Davey O’Brien AwardTroy Aikman, QB

2 consensus All-AmericansTroy Aikman, QB; Darryl Henley, DB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 2nd in Pac-10
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 1
Points
392–⁠190
Coach
Terry Donahue
Elo
1762 +94 this season
SP+ rating
28.0 No. 5 of 102; offense No. 11, defense No. 9
SRS
20.8 No. 6 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Steve Axman
Defensive coordinators
Bob Field and Tom Hayes

Drafted in 1989

The 1989 draft
Rd 1Troy Aikman QBDallas Cowboys
Rd 2Carnell Lake DBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 2Eric Ball RBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 2Darryl Henley DBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 4Jim Wahler DTPhoenix Cardinals

All-Pac-10

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1988 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1988 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC8–⁠010–⁠27
UCLA6–⁠210–⁠26
Washington State5–⁠39–⁠316
Arizona5–⁠37–⁠4
Arizona State3–⁠46–⁠5
Washington3–⁠56–⁠5
Oregon3–⁠56–⁠6
Oregon State2–⁠5–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Stanford1–⁠5–⁠23–⁠6–⁠2
California1–⁠5–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.