1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys football
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 62–14 vs. Wyoming
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 11
Record	10–2 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Pat Jones (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Larry Coker (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Louis Campbell (4th season)
Home stadium	Lewis Field
Seasons ←  1987 1989  →

1988 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	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 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A college football season. Future OSU head coach Mike Gundy was the starting QB for the Cowboys, while senior WR Hart Lee Dykes and junior RB Barry Sanders were both named first team All-American. Sanders won the Heisman Trophy as the nation's most outstanding player for the season. Sanders was also the Offensive MVP of the 1988 Holiday Bowl, and Junior LB Sim Drain III was the Defensive MVP.

Schedule

The Cowboys finished the regular season with a 9–2 record. ^[1] In 1988, in what has been called the greatest season by an individual player in college football history, ^[2] running back Barry Sanders led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,249 total yards, 234 points, 39 touchdowns, of which 37 were rushing (also a record), five consecutive 200 yard games, scored at least two touchdowns in 11 consecutive games, and nine times he scored at least three touchdowns. Sanders also ran for 222 yards and scored five touchdowns in his three quarters of action in the Holiday Bowl, a game that was not included with his season statistics. ^[3]

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	Miami (OH) *		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		W 52–20	43,200	[4]
September 24	Texas A&M *	No. 18	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		W 52–15	50,440	[5]
October 1	Tulsa *	No. 13	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (rivalry)		W 56–35	45,100	[6]
October 8	at Colorado	No. 13	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 41–21	41,854	[7]
October 15	at No. 7 Nebraska	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	CSN	L 42–63	76,432	[8]
October 22	Missouri	No. 15	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		W 49–21	46,900	[9]
October 29	at Kansas State	No. 12	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 45–27	16,000	[10]
November 5	No. 8 Oklahoma	No. 12	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam)	ESPN	L 28–31	50,440	[11]
November 12	Kansas	No. 14	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		W 63–24	40,100	[12]
November 19	at Iowa State	No. 13	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		W 49–28	38,163	[13]
December 4	vs. Texas Tech *	No. 12	Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan (Coca-Cola Classic)	CBS	W 45–42	56,000	[14]
December 30	vs. No. 15 Wyoming *	No. 12	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	ESPN	W 62–14	60,178	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Further information: 1988 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	20	18	13	13	10	15	12	12	14	13	12	12	12	11
Coaches	—	—	—	—	20	14	13	10	16	12	12	15	14	12	12	12	11

^[16]

Game summaries

Miami (OH)

See also: 1988 Miami RedHawks football team

Texas A&M

See also: 1988 Texas A&M Aggies football team

Tulsa

See also: 1988 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team and Oklahoma State–Tulsa football rivalry

At Colorado

See also: 1988 Colorado Buffaloes football team

At Nebraska

See also: 1988 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Oklahoma State Cowboys at Nebraska Cornhuskers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
#10 Cowboys	0	21	7	14	42
#7 Cornhuskers	35	14	7	7	63

at Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE

• Date: October 15
• Game attendance: 76,432
• ^[17]

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Leading Passers OKST – Mike Gundy -   NEB –   Leading Rushers OKST – Barry Sanders - 35 carries, 189 yards, 4 TD NEB – Ken Clark - 27 carries, 256 yards, 3 TD Leading Receivers OKST –   NEB –

Missouri

See also: 1988 Missouri Tigers football team

At Kansas State

See also: 1988 Kansas State Wildcats football team

Oklahoma State Cowboys at Kansas State Wildcats – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
#12 Cowboys	21	3	14	7	45
Wildcats	14	3	3	7	27

at KSU Stadium, Manhattan, KS

• Date: October 29
• Game attendance: 16,000
• ^[18]

Game information

First quarter KSU – Washington 13-yard pass from Carl Straw (Porter kick). Wildcats 7–0. OKST – Parker 63-yard pass from Mike Gundy (Blanchard kick). Tied 7–7. KSU – Friedrich fumble recover in end zone (Porter kick). Wildcats 14–7. OKST – Barry Sanders 26-yard run (Blanchard kick). Tied 14–14. OKST – Barry Sanders 38-yard run (Blanchard kick). Cowboys 21–14. Second quarter OKST – Cary Blanchard 35-yard field goal. Cowboys 24–14. KSU – Mark Porter 32-yard field goal. Cowboys 24–17. Third quarter OKST – Hart Lee Dykes 28-yard pass from Mike Gundy (Blanchard kick). Cowboys 31–17. KSU – Mark Porter 37-yard field goal. Cowboys 31–20. OKST – Vance Vice 1-yard pass from Mike Gundy (Blanchard kick). Cowboys 38–20. Fourth quarter KSU – Lee Pickett 1-yard run (Porter kick). Cowboys 38–27. OKST – Barry Sanders 17-yard run (Blanchard kick), 6:38. Cowboys 45–27. Leading Passers KSU –   OKST – Mike Gundy - 15/19, 228 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT Leading Rushers KSU –   OKST – Barry Sanders - 37 carries, 320 yards, 3 TD Leading Receivers KSU –   OKST – Hart Lee Dykes - 9 receptions, 127 yards, TD

Oklahoma

See also: Bedlam Series

#8 Oklahoma Sooners (7–1) at #12 Oklahoma State Cowboys (8–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	21	3	0	7	31
Oklahoma St	7	7	0	14	28

at Lewis Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma

• Date: November 5, 1988
• Game weather: Partly cloudy, 58 °F (14 °C)
• Game attendance: 50,440
• TV announcers (ESPN): Roger Twibell and Lee Corso
• ^[19]

Oklahoma State's Brent Parker dropped a potential game-winning touchdown pass in the end zone with 43 seconds left. ^[20]

External videos
Full game
Game highlights

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma	Passing	Charles Thompson	2/5, 24 Yds
	Rushing	Mike Gaddis	18 Rush, 213 Yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Leon Perry	1 Rec, 17 Yds
Oklahoma St	Passing	Mike Gundy	18/28, 228 Yds, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Barry Sanders	39 Rush, 215 Yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Hart Lee Dykes	9 Rec, 122 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP OU OSU 1 Oklahoma Mike Gaddis 13-yard touchdown run, R.D. Lashar kick good 7 0 1 1 44 0:07 Oklahoma Mike Gaddis 44-yard touchdown run, R.D. Lashar kick good 14 0 1 6:52 Oklahoma St Mike Gundy 4-yard touchdown run, Cary Blanchard kick good 14 7 1 11 80 4:17 Oklahoma Leon Perry 7-yard touchdown run, R.D. Lashar kick good 21 7 2 8 89 3:48 Oklahoma St Hart Lee Dykes 2-yard touchdown reception from Mike Gundy, Cary Blanchard kick good 21 14 2 2:08 Oklahoma 27-yard field goal by R.D. Lashar 24 14 4 13:37 Oklahoma St Barry Sanders 1-yard touchdown run, Cary Blanchard kick good 24 21 4 8:45 8 72 3:12 Oklahoma St Barry Sanders 1-yard touchdown run, Cary Blanchard kick good 24 28 4 2:33 13 80 6:12 Oklahoma Charles Thompson 18-yard touchdown run, R.D. Lashar kick good 31 28 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 31 28

Kansas

See also: 1988 Kansas Jayhawks football team

At Iowa State

See also: 1988 Iowa State Cyclones football team

Vs. Texas Tech

See also: 1988 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team and Coca-Cola Classic (college football)

Vs. Wyoming

See also: 1988 Wyoming Cowboys football team and 1988 Holiday Bowl

Wyoming Cowboys vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
#12 Cowboys	7	10	28	17	62
#15 Cowboys	7	0	7	0	14

at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, CA

• Date: December 30
• Game attendance: 60,641
• TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Carpenter, Kevin Kiley, Sharlene Hawkes

Game information

First quarter OKST – Barry Sanders 33-yard run (Blanchard kick). OKST Cowboys 7–0. WYO – Randy Welniak 4-yard run (kick). Tied 7–7. Second quarter OKST – Barry Sanders 2-yard run (Blanchard kick). OKST Cowboys 14–7. OKST – Cary Blanchard 33-yard field goal. OKST Cowboys 17–7. Third quarter OKST – Mike Gundy 12-yard pass to Brent Parker (Blanchard kick). OKST Cowboys 24–7. WYO – Randy Welniak 4-yard run (kick). OKST Cowboys 24–14. OKST – Barry Sanders 67-yard run (Blanchard kick). OKST Cowboys 31–14. OKST – Barry Sanders 1-yard run (Blanchard kick). OKST Cowboys 38–14. OKST – Barry Sanders 10-yard run (Blanchard kick). OKST Cowboys 45–14. Fourth quarter OKST – Cary Blanchard 19-yard field goal. OKST Cowboys 48–14. OKST – Mike Gundy 25-yard pass to Hart Lee Dykes (Blanchard kick). OKST Cowboys 55–14. OKST – Chris Smith 5-yard run (Blanchard kick). OKST Cowboys 62–14. Leading Passers OKST – Mike Gundy - 20/24, 315 yards, 2 TD WYO – Randy Welniak -   Leading Rushers OKST – Barry Sanders - 29 carries, 222 yards, 5 TD WYO –   Leading Receivers OKST – Hart Lee Dykes - 10 receptions, 163 yards, TD WYO –

Roster

1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 51 John Boisvert Sr RB   Vernon Brown So   Don Cox Sr WR 11 Hart Lee Dykes Sr QB   Kenny Ford Fr WR 19 Jarrod Green Jr QB 12 Mike Gundy Jr RB 23 Gerald Hudson So   Bill Jones Sr G 73 Jason Kidder Sr TE Robert Kirksey   Matt Kolb Sr FB 32 Garrett Limbrick Sr WR 17 Curtis Mayfield So RB Mitch Nash Sr WR 29 Brent Parker So RB 21 Barry Sanders Jr QB   Chris Smith So G 59 Chris Stanley Sr TE 93 Vance Vice Jr OL     Web RB   Cecil Wilson So OT 62 Mike Wolfe Sr OT 56 Byron Woodard Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 98 David Bailey CB 1 Mike Clark DL 91 Brandon Colbert LB 58 Torrance Cummings LB 53 Sim Drain III Jr DL Rod Gaines Sr CB 2 Melvin Gilliam DL 31 Devin Jones DL 60 Marcus Jones Sr DB 4 Jason Juhl CB 5 Joe King FS 3 Chris Lowery DL 57 Shawn Mackey   Greg McCalister Sr SS 7 Lamar McGriggs DL Ruben Oliver So LB 37 Bobby Raynor So DL Stacey Satterwhite DB 45 Rod Smith	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 25 Cary Blanchard Fr	Head coach Pat Jones Coordinators/assistant coaches Larry Coker –Offensive coordinator Houston Nutt –Quarterback/Wide receivers Bill Shimek –Running backs Steve Gardner –Tight ends Brad Seely –Offensive line Louis Campbell –Defensive coordinator/defensive backs George Walstad –Defensive line Kenith Pope –Defensive ends Jonny Barr –Linebackers Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Awards and honors

See also: 1988 College Football All-America Team and 1988 All-Big Eight Conference football team

• Barry Sanders: Heisman Trophy, ^[21] Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Sporting News College Football Player of the Year, Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year, unanimous first-team All-American
• Hart Lee Dykes: consensus first-team All-American

1989 NFL draft

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Barry Sanders	Running back	1	3	Detroit Lions
Hart Lee Dykes	Wide receiver	1	16	New England Patriots

^[22]

References

1. "1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
2. Merron, Jeff. "Best individual college football seasons". ESPN. Retrieved August 12, 2007. Marron wrote, The only serious question when composing this list was "Who's No. 2?
3. "1988 Holiday Bowl Summary". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
4. "O-State tans 'Skins, 52–20". Tulsa World. September 11, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "'Oh-and-3' Struggling Texas A&M can't handle Cowboys". The Anniston Star. September 25, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Sanders explodes in O-State victory". The Salina Journal. October 2, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Sanders' 4 TD carry Okla. St. by Colorado". Chicago Tribune. October 9, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Cornhuskers outgun Cowboys". Sunday Journal-Star. October 16, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Mizzou can't hold OSU, Dykes". Tulsa World. October 23, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Wildcats push Pokes to limit". The Daily Oklahoman. October 30, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Cowboys earn praise, but Sooners win again". The Courier-Journal. November 6, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Sanders runs for 312 yards to carry Oklahoma State past Kansas, 63–24". The Des Moines Register. November 13, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Oklahoma State whips Cyclones". Quad-City Times. November 20, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. Telander, Rick (December 12, 1988). "Big hand for a quiet man". Vault SI. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
15. "Oklahoma State routs Wyoming". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 31, 1988. Retrieved June 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
16. "Oklahoma State 1988 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
17. "Cornhuskers Strike Early and Often to Continue Domination Over Cowboys With 63-42 Victory". Omaha World-Herald. October 15, 1988. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
18. "Flashback". October 5, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
19. "1988 Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State". SoonerStats.com. 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
20. "A penalty, a dropped pass and Sooners win, 31-28." Eugene Register-Guard. pg. 8F. 1988 Nov 6. Retrieved 2022-Dec-28.
21. "Heisman Winners". Heisman Trophy. Archived from the original on September 16, 2009.
22. "1989 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2018.