1988 Washington State Cougars football team

1988 Washington State Cougars football
Aloha Bowl champion
Aloha Bowl, W 24–22 vs. Houston
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 16
Record9–3 (5–3 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBob Bratkowski (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSingle-back spread
Defensive coordinatorJohn L. Smith (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumMartin Stadium
Seasons
← 1987
1989 →
1988 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   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 1988 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second and final season under head coach Dennis Erickson, the Cougars compiled a 9–3 record (5–3 in Pac-10, tied for third), and outscored their opponents 415 to 303.[1][2]

The team's statistical leaders included Timm Rosenbach with 3,097 passing yards, Steve Broussard with 1,280 rushing yards, and Tim Stallworth with 1,151 receiving yards.[3]

On October 29, Washington State beat No. 1 UCLA at the Rose Bowl, their first and only win ever over a No. 1 ranked team.[4]

Several months after this season, Erickson departed for Miami in early March 1989,[5][6][7] and Mike Price was hired a week later; a former Cougar player and assistant, he was previously the head coach for eight years in the Big Sky Conference at Weber State in Ogden, Utah. [8][9][10][11]

Quarterback Rosenbach opted not to stay as a fifth-year senior in 1989 and announced his intent to turn professional in April.[12][13] He entered the NFL's supplemental draft, and was selected in July with the second pick by the recently relocated Phoenix Cardinals.[14][15][16]

  1. ^ "1988 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  3. ^ "1988 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  4. ^ "Bruins derailed by Cougs". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). news service reports. October 30, 1988. p. 1C.
  5. ^ Bergum, Steve (March 6, 1989). "Erickson's air express off to Miami". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. A1.
  6. ^ "Erickson takes Miami job". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 6, 1989. p. 1D.
  7. ^ Meehan, Jim (March 6, 1989). "Erickson leaves 'dream'". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1A.
  8. ^ Meehan, Jim (March 14, 1989). "Price comes to 'save the day'". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1A.
  9. ^ Blanchette, John (March 14, 1989). "Choice of Price applauded by players". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. B1.
  10. ^ Bergum, Steve (March 15, 1989). "Price: 'I'm here to save the day'". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
  11. ^ "'The Price is Right' for Cougars". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. March 15, 1989. p. 5B.
  12. ^ Goldberg, Dave (April 11, 1989). "Rosenbach enters supplemental". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. C1.
  13. ^ "Rosenbach expects to be top NFL pick". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). news service reports. July 7, 1989. p. 2C.
  14. ^ "Cards nab Rosenbach; Walsh to Dallas". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. July 8, 1989. p. 2C.
  15. ^ "Rosenbach picked by Phoenix". Idahonian. (Moscow). Associated Press. July 7, 1989. p. 1A.
  16. ^ Meehan, Jim (July 8, 1989). "From Cougar to Cardinal". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1D.