1988 Aloha Bowl

1988 Eagle Aloha Bowl
Washington State Cougars Houston Cougars
(8–3) (9–2)
Pac-10 SWC
24 22
Head coach: 
Dennis Erickson		 Head coach: 
Jack Pardee
APCoaches
1818
APCoaches
1414
1234 Total
Washington State 02400 24
Houston 3667 22
DateDecember 25, 1988
Season1988
StadiumAloha Stadium
LocationHonolulu, Hawaii
MVPVictor Wood (WR, WSU)
FavoriteHouston by 4½ points [1][2]
RefereeJohn Laurie (Big Eight)
Attendance35,132
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersKeith Jackson, Lynn Swann
Aloha Bowl
 < 1987  1989 > 

The 1988 Eagle Aloha Bowl was a college football bowl game, the fourth of seventeen in the bowl season of the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The seventh edition of the Aloha Bowl, it was played on December 25 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game matched the #14 Houston Cougars of the Southwest Conference against the #18 Washington State Cougars of the Pacific-10 Conference.[3][4][5]

Underdog Washington State scored all of its points in the second quarter and forced a last-second Houston turnover in notching a 24–22 win on Christmas Day.[3][4][5] The bowl appearance was Washington State's second of the 1980s and was the first bowl victory for Washington State since the 1916 Rose Bowl. This was the final game for head coach Dennis Erickson at WSU; he left for the University of Miami in March.[6][7][8]

Washington State climbed up to sixteenth in the final AP poll, and Houston dropped to eighteenth.[9]

  1. ^ "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 23, 1988. p. 20.
  2. ^ "Betting line". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). December 24, 1988. p. 14.
  3. ^ a b Bergum, Steve (December 26, 1988). "WSU wins Aloha Brawl". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  4. ^ a b "Defense saves Pac-10's Cougars". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 26, 1988. p. 1B.
  5. ^ a b Grummert, Dale (December 26, 1988). "Washington State wins Aloha Bowl". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  6. ^ Bergum, Steve (March 6, 1989). "Erickson's air express off to Miami". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. A1.
  7. ^ Meehan, Jim (March 6, 1988). "Erickson leaves 'dream'". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1A.
  8. ^ "Erickson takes Miami job". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 6, 1989. p. 1D.
  9. ^ "It's not unanimous, but the Irish finish as No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 4, 1989. p. 7C.