1988 Colorado Buffaloes football team

1988 Colorado Buffaloes football
1988 Colorado Buffaloes football
Freedom Bowl, L 17–20 vs. BYU
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	8–4 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach	Bill McCartney (7th season);
Offensive coordinator	Gerry DiNardo (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone, I-Formation
Defensive coordinator	Mike Hankwitz (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
MVP	Eric Bieniemy
Captains	Don DeLuzio; Erik Norgard;
Home stadium	Folsom Field
	Seasons ← 1987 1989 →

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.

Record8–4 (4–3 Big 8)

Headcoach

OffensivecoordinatorGerry DiNardo (5th season)

Quick facts Colorado Buffaloes football, Freedom Bowl, L 17–20 vs. BYU ...

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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

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The eight wins were the most by the Buffaloes since the 1976 season,^[1] with narrow losses to ninth-ranked Oklahoma and No. 7 Nebraska.^[2]^[3]

Ranked 20th 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]

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	Fresno State*		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	KCNC	W 45–3	32,417	^[7]
September 17	at No. 19 Iowa*		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 24–21	67,700	^[8]
September 24	Oregon State*		Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 28–21	41,297	^[9]
October 1	at Colorado State*		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO (rivalry)		W 27–23	33,979	^[10]
October 8	No. 13 Oklahoma State		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	KCNC	L 21–41	41,854	^[11]
October 15	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	KCNC	W 21–9	22,500	^[12]
October 22	No. 9 Oklahoma		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ESPN	L 14–17	49,716	^[13]
October 29	Iowa State		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	KCNC	W 24–12	37,241	^[14]
November 5	at Missouri		Faurot Field Columbia, MO		W 45–8	36,931	^[15]
November 12	at No. 7 Nebraska	No. 19	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	KCNC	L 0–7	76,359	^[16]
November 19	Kansas State		Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	KCNC	W 56–14	32,617	^[17]
December 29	vs. BYU*		Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, CA (Freedom Bowl)	Raycom	L 17–20	35,941	^[18]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game


Q1	5:28	COL	Flannigan 5 yard run (Hannah kick)	COL 7–0

Q1	2:20	COL	Aunese 17 yard run (Hannah kick)	COL 14–0

Q2	6:44	IOWA	Hanks 8 yard blocked punt return (Skillett kick)	COL 14–7

Q2	2:42	IOWA	Hudson 3 yard run (Skillett kick)	Tie 14–14

Q3	9:13	COL	Hannah 28 yard field goal	COL 17–14

Q3	3:20	IOWA	Ward 19 yard pass from Hartlieb (Skillett kick)	IOWA 21–17

Q4	1:55	COL	Aunese 1 yard run (Hannah kick)	COL 24–21

Schedule

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Colorado	14	0	3	7	24
Iowa	0	14	7	0	21

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	7	7	0	3	17
Colorado	6	8	0	0	14

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado	0	0	0	0	0
• Nebraska	0	0	7	0	7