CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1988 USC

10–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Pac-10), coached by Larry Smith, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 1988, game by game: won at Boston College 34–7; won at Stanford 24–20; won vs. No. 3 Oklahoma 23–7; won at Arizona 38–15; won vs. No. 18 Oregon 42–14; won vs. No. 16 Washington 28–27; won at Oregon State 41–20; won vs. California 35–3; won at Arizona State 50–0; won at No. 6 UCLA 31–22; lost vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 10–27; lost vs. No. 11 Michigan 14–22+50−17Won 34–7 at Boston College+27Boston CollegeWon 24–20 at Stanford+4StanfordWon 23–7 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma+16No. 3 OklahomaWon 38–15 at Arizona+23ArizonaWon 42–14 vs. No. 18 Oregon+28No. 18 OregonWon 28–27 vs. No. 16 Washington+1No. 16 WashingtonWon 41–20 at Oregon State+21Oregon StateWon 35–3 vs. California+32CaliforniaWon 50–0 at Arizona State+50Arizona StateWon 31–22 at No. 6 UCLA+9No. 6 UCLALost 10–27 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame-17No. 1 Notre DameLost 14–22 vs. No. 11 Michigan-8No. 11 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atBoston CollegeW 34–⁠753%
Sep 10atStanfordW 24–⁠2055%
Sep 24vs3OklahomaW 23–⁠743%
Oct 1atArizonaW 38–⁠1550%
Oct 8vs18OregonW 42–⁠1471%
Oct 15vs16WashingtonW 28–⁠2770%
Oct 29atOregon StateW 41–⁠2078%
Nov 5vsCaliforniaW 35–⁠383%
Nov 12atArizona StateW 50–⁠068%
Nov 19at6UCLAW 31–⁠2243%
Nov 26vs1Notre DameL 10–⁠2765%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs11MichiganRose BowlL 14–⁠2256%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan 22–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Pac-10 champions.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Pac-10 champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteRodney Peete, second

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardRodney Peete, QB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Pac-10
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 2
Points
370–⁠184
Coach
Larry Smith
Elo
1730 +141 this season
SP+ rating
30.5 No. 3 of 102; offense No. 9, defense No. 4
SRS
24.9 No. 3 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Chuck Stobart
Captain
Rodney Peete

Drafted in 1989

The 1989 draft
Rd 4Erik Affholter WRWashington Redskins
Rd 6Rodney Peete QBDetroit Lions
Rd 7Chris Hale DBBuffalo Bills

All-Pac-10

10 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • John GuerreroOTCoaches-2

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.