The 1988 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season . In their second year under head coach Larry Smith , the Trojans compiled a 10–2 record (8–0 against conference opponents), won the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 370 to 184.[ 1]
The Trojans won their first 10 games of the season, running the conference table and beating third-ranked Oklahoma at home. They were ranked second in the nation before their match with number-one ranked Notre Dame . After losing to the Fighting Irish in their final regular-season game, they faced Michigan in the Rose Bowl, losing 14–22.
Quarterback Rodney Peete led the team in passing, completing 223 of 359 passes for 2,812 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Aaron Emanuel led the team in rushing with 108 carries for 545 yards and eight touchdowns. Erik Affholter led the team in receiving yards with 68 catches for 952 yards and eight touchdowns.[ 2]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance 4:30 p.m. at Boston College * No. 8 ESPN W 34–732,000 September 10 12:30 p.m. at Stanford No. 6 ABC W 24–2059,000 September 24 12:30 p.m. No. 3 Oklahoma * No. 4 ABC W 23–786,124 October 1 6:30 p.m. at Arizona No. 3 W 38–1552,314 October 8 1:30 p.m. No. 18 Oregon No. 3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 42–1463,452 October 15 12:30 p.m. No. 16 Washington No. 3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA ABC W 28–2762,974 October 29 1:00 p.m. at Oregon State No. 3 W 41–2031,117 November 5 3:30 p.m. California No. 2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA Prime W 35–373,937 November 12 12:30 p.m. at Arizona State No. 2 ABC W 50–072,023 November 19 12:30 p.m. at No. 6 UCLA No. 2 ABC W 31–22100,741 November 26 12:30 p.m. No. 1 Notre Dame * No. 2 ABC L 10–2793,829 2:00 p.m. vs. No. 11 Michigan * No. 5 ABC L 14–22101,688 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1988 USC Trojans football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
K
11
Quin Rodriguez So
P
15
Chris Sperle Sr
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final AP 6 (3) 8 (1) 6 (1) 5 (1) 5 (1) 3 (2) 3 (2) 3 (3) 3 (5) 3 (5) 2 (11) 2 (15) 2 (18) 2 (22) 5 5 7 Coaches 8 8 6 5 4 3 (1) 3 3 3 (2) 3 2 (16) 2 (14) 2 (13) 2 (16) 6 5 9
[ 3]
[ 4]
[ 5]
Game information
First quarter
USC – Aaron Emanuel 5-yard run (Quin Rodriguez kick). USC 7–0. Second quarter
USC – Quin Rodriguez 33-yard field goal. USC 10–0.
USC – Aaron Emanuel 6-yard run (Quin Rodriguez kick). USC 17–0.
USC – Quin Rodriguez 23-yard field goal. USC 20–0. Third quarter
OU – Leon Perry 2-yard run (R.D. Lashar kick). USC 20–7. Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards. Fourth quarter
USC – Quin Rodriguez 25-yard field goal. USC 23–7.
Top passers Top rushers OU – Anthony Stafford – 9 rushes, 28 yards
USC – Aaron Emanuel – 10 rushes, 46 yards, 2 TD Top receivers OU – Eric Bross – 4 receptions, 84 yards
USC – Erik Affholter – 8 receptions, 94 yards
[ 6] [ 7] [ 8]
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USC Trojans at UCLA Bruins
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
USC
7
14
7 3 31
UCLA
3
13
0 6 22
at Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California
Date : November 19Game attendance : 100,741Gainesville Sun. 1988 Nov 20.
Game information
UCLA - Velasco 46 yard FG
USC - Emanuel 4 yard run (Rodriguez kick)
USC - Affholter 29 yard pass from Peete (Rodriguez kick)
UCLA - Velasco 27 yard FG
UCLA - Velasco 25 yard FG
USC - Peete 1 yard run (Rodriguez kick)
UCLA - R. Moore 10 yard pass from Aikman (Velasco kick)
USC - Emanuel 3 yard run (Rodriguez kick)
USC - Rodriguez 21 yard FG
UCLA - McCracken 26 yard pass from Aikman (Velasco kick)
USC Peete
Emanuel
Affholter UCLA Aikman
B. Brown
M. Farr
The Measles Game
[ 9] [ 10]
#1 Notre Dame at #2 USC
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Fighting Irish
14
6 0 7
27
No. 2 Trojans
0
7 3 0
10
Scoring summary 1 10:08 ND Rice 65-yard run (Ho kick) ND 7-0 1 ND Green 2-yard run (Ho kick) ND 14-0 2 2:24 USC Lockwood 1-yard run (Rodriguez kick) ND 14-7 2 0:41 ND Smagala 64-yard interception return (kick failed) ND 20-7 3 USC Rodriguez 36-yard field goal ND 20-10 4 11:55 ND Green 1-yard run (Ho kick) ND 27-10
Notre Dame and USC entered the game undefeated and ranked number one and two respectively for the first time ever in their storied series . It was also the 24th time No. 1 faced No. 2 in college football history.[ 11] Larry Smith and standout quarterback Rodney Peete .[ 11] [ 11]
edit
Rose Bowl
1
2 3 4 Total
• Michigan
3
0 6 13
22
USC
0
14 0 0
14
Team players drafted into the NFL
edit
^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1985-1989)" . College Football Data Warehouse . David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015 .^ "1988 Southern California Trojans Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015 .^ "USC 1988 AP Football Rankings" . collegepollarchive.com . Retrieved August 26, 2018 .^ "Peete, Trojans Roll, 34-7, Over Boston College" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 23, 2019 .^ "Peete, USC Pass Stanford Near Finish for 24-20 Win" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 23, 2019 .^ "Oklahoma Feels Crunch of U.S.C." The New York Times . Retrieved September 1, 2019 .^ SoonerStats.com - 1988 Oklahoma at USC ^ Gainesville Sun. p. 10C. 1988 Sep 25. Retrieved 2022-Dec-16.
^ "Peete Leads U.S.C. to Rose Bowl Berth" . The New York Times . Retrieved September 1, 2019 .^ Telander, Rick (November 28, 1988). "On Top in L.A." Sports Illustrated . Retrieved September 1, 2019 . ^ a b c "2006 USC Media Guide: USC Football History" (PDF) . USC Trojans . Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2019 .^ "1989 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com" . Pro-Football-Reference.com the original on December 21, 2007.^ "Archived copy" . Archived from the original on December 16, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2008 .{{cite web }}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link )
Full game