1988 Colorado Buffaloes football team

1988 Colorado Buffaloes football
Freedom Bowl, L 17–20 vs. BYU
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Record8–4 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGerry DiNardo (5th season)
Offensive schemeWishbone/I-Formation
Defensive coordinatorMike Hankwitz (1st season)
Base defense3–4
MVPEric Bieniemy
Captains
  • Don DeLuzio
  • Erik Norgard
Home stadiumFolsom Field
Seasons
← 1987
1989 →
1988 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Nebraska $ 7 0 0 11 2 0
No. 14 Oklahoma 6 1 0 9 3 0
No. 11 Oklahoma State 5 2 0 10 2 0
Colorado 4 3 0 8 4 0
Iowa State 3 4 0 5 6 0
Missouri 2 5 0 3 7 1
Kansas 1 6 0 1 10 0
Kansas State 0 7 0 0 11 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the Big Eight Conference during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Bill McCartney, Colorado finished the regular season at 8–3 (4–3 in Big 8, fourth),[1] and played their home games on campus at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

The eight wins were the most by the Buffaloes in twelve years,[1] with narrow losses to ninth-ranked Oklahoma and #7 Nebraska.[2][3]

Ranked twentieth in the coaches' poll, Colorado was invited to the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, California,[4] but was upset 17–20 by BYU of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), led by redshirt freshman quarterback Ty Detmer.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b "Buffs win humbly, 56-14". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 20, 1988. p. 5B.
  2. ^ "Oklahoma edges Buffs". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. October 23, 1988. p. 2B.
  3. ^ "Cornhuskers barely beat Buffaloes, 7-0". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 13, 1988. p. 3B.
  4. ^ Robinson, Doug (December 29, 1988). "Cougars, Buffaloes both have plenty of questions Freedom Bowl will answer". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. D1.
  5. ^ "BYU's Detmer decks CU, 20-17". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. December 30, 1988. p. 4D.
  6. ^ Robinson, Doug (December 30, 1988). "BYU edges Colorado in Ty-pical fashion". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. D1.