1988 Michigan Wolverines football team

1988 Michigan Wolverines football
1988 Michigan Wolverines football
Big Ten champion; Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 22–14 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	9–2–1 (7–0–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bo Schembechler (20th season);
Offensive coordinator	Gary Moeller (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Lloyd Carr (2nd season)
MVP	Mark Messner
Captains	Mark Messner; John Vitale;
Home stadium	Michigan Stadium; (Capacity: 101,701)
	Seasons ← 1987 1989 →

1988 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Michigan $	7	–	0	–	1	9	–	2	–	1
Michigan State	6	–	1	–	1	6	–	5	–	1
Illinois	5	–	2	–	1	6	–	5	–	1
Iowa	4	–	1	–	3	6	–	4	–	3
No. 20 Indiana	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	1
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Ohio State	2	–	5	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Northwestern	2	–	5	–	1	2	–	8	–	1
Wisconsin	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	6	–	2	2	–	7	–	2

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its 20th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the team compiled a 9–2–1 record (7–0–1 against conference opponents), won the Big Ten championship, defeated USC in the 1989 Rose Bowl, outscored opponents by a total of 361 to 167, and was ranked No. 4 in the final AP and UPI polls.^[1]^[2]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Michael Taylor with 957 passing yards, tailback Tony Boles with 1,408 rushing yards, and split end Greg McMurtry with 470 receiving yards, and placekicker Mike Gillette with 97 points scored.^[3]

Two Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1988 All-America college football team: center John Vitale (consensus) and defensive tackle Mark Messner (consensus). Seven Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1988 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

Schedule[edit]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	9:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Notre Dame*	No. 9	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	CBS	L 17–19	59,075
September 17	3:30 p.m.	No. 1 Miami (FL)*	No. 15	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	L 30–31	105,834
September 24	1:00 p.m.	Wake Forest*	No. 19	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI		W 19–9	102,776	^[4]
October 1	2:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin	No. 19	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 62–14	61,180
October 8	12:00 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 17	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	Big 10 Synd.	W 17–3	106,208
October 15	3:30 p.m.	at Iowa	No. 15	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC	T 17–17	67,700
October 22	3:30 p.m.	No. 14 Indiana	No. 20	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	W 31–6	106,104
October 29	2:00 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 14	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)		W 52–7	33,647
November 5	3:30 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 14	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)	ABC	W 22–7	102,171
November 12	1:00 p.m.	Illinois	No. 13	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI		W 38–9	105,714
November 19	12:00 p.m.	at Ohio State	No. 12	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	W 34–31	90,176
January 1, 1989	5:00 p.m.	vs. No. 5 USC*	No. 11	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	ABC	W 22–14	101,688
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings[edit]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	11	10	9	15	19	19	17	15	20	14	14	13	12	11	11	11	4
Coaches	10 (1)	10 (1)	10	16	RV	20	20	17	RV	14	13	12	11	10	11	11	4

^[5]

Game summaries[edit]

At Notre Dame[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#9 Michigan	0	7	7	3	17
• #13 Notre Dame	10	3	0	6	19

Date: September 10
Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
Television network: CBS

Miami (FL)[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #1 Miami (FL)	7	7	0	17	31
#15 Michigan	3	17	3	7	30

Date: September 17
Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Game attendance: 105,834

^[6] ^[7]

Wake Forest[edit]

Tony Boles 33 Rush, 213 Yds ^[8]

Wisconsin[edit]

Michigan State[edit]

Kicker Mike Gillette scored on a 40-yard fake punt run, a play that was put in during halftime, and kicked a 30-yard field goal as Michigan's defense registered five sacks and an interception against the winless Spartans.^[9]

At Iowa[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	3	7	7	0	17
Iowa	7	10	0	0	17

Date: October 15
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 67,700
Television network: ABC

A 17-17 tie at Kinnick Stadium was the lone blemish on an otherwise perfect Big Ten season for the Wolverines.^[10]

Indiana[edit]

Northwestern[edit]

Minnesota[edit]

Illinois[edit]

Ohio State[edit]

Michigan Wolverines at Ohio State Buckeyes

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	10	10	0	14	34
Ohio St	0	0	14	17	31

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Date: November 19, 1988
Game time: 12:10 p.m.
Game weather: Overcast, 44 °F (7 °C)
Game attendance: 90,176
Referee: John Nealow

Game information

First quarter

MICH – Mike Gillette 22-yard field goal, 5:47. Michigan 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 4:09.
MICH – Greg McMurtry 57-yard pass from Demetrius Brown (Mike Gillette kick), 1:06. Michigan 10–0. Drive: 4 plays, 72 yards, 1:44.

Second quarter

MICH – Leroy Hoard 18-yard run (Mike Gillette kick), 8:35. Michigan 17–0. Drive: 2 plays, 17 yards, 0:53.
MICH – Mike Gillette 56-yard field goal, 0:00. Michigan 20–0. Drive: 5 plays, 36 yards, 2:35.

Third quarter

OSU – Carlos Snow 4-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 12:06. Michigan 20–7. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:48.
OSU – Bill Matlock 9-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 4:59. Michigan 20–14. Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 3:08.

Fourth quarter

OSU – Bobby Olive 4-yard pass from Greg Frey (Pat O'Morrow kick), 11:26. Ohio St 21–20. Drive: 8 plays, 90 yards, 3:42.
OSU – Pat O'Morrow 21-yard field goal, 8:30. Ohio St 24–20. Drive: 6 plays, 18 yards, 2:50.
MICH – Leroy Hoard 8-yard run (Mike Gillette kick), 4:20. Michigan 27–24. Drive: 10 plays, 76 yards, 4:03.
OSU – Bill Matlock 16-yard run (Pat O'Morrow kick), 2:02. Ohio St 31–27. Drive: 6 plays, 92 yards, 2:12.
MICH – John Kolesar 41-yard pass from Demetrius Brown (Mike Gillette kick), 1:37. Michigan 34–31. Drive: 2 plays, 41 yards, 0:15.

Top passers

MICH – Demetrius Brown – 11/17, 223 yards, 2 TD
OSU – Greg Frey – 14/29, 192 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

MICH – Leroy Hoard – 23 rushes, 158 yards, 2 TD
OSU – Carlos Snow – 21 rushes, 170 yards, TD

Top receivers

MICH – John Kolesar – 3 receptions, 95 yards, TD
OSU – Bobby Olive – 3 receptions, 59 yards, TD

Vs. USC (Rose Bowl)[edit]

Rose Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Michigan	3	0	6	13	22
USC	0	14	0	0	14

Date: January 2
Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Game attendance: 101,688
Referee: Gordon Riese
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Bob Griese

Players[edit]

Roster[edit]

1988 Michigan Wolverines football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`46`	Tony Boles	Jr
FB	`32`	Jarrod Bunch	Jr
WR	`2`	Chris Calloway	Jr
OT	`63`	Doug Daugherty	Jr
OT	`73`	Tom Dohring	Fr
RB	`33`	Leroy Hoard	Jr
WR	`21`	Desmond Howard	Fr
WR	`1`	Greg McMurtry	Jr
TE	`90`	Keith Mitchell	Sr
OT	`75`	Greg Skrepenak	So
QB	`9`	Michael Taylor	Sr
C	`67`	John Vitale	Sr
TE	`89`	Derrick Walker	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`24`	Bobby Abrams	Jr
OLB	`37`	Erick Anderson	So
DB	`15`	David Arnold	Sr
S	`43`	Corwin Brown	Fr
DT	`61`	Mike Evans	So
DT	`99`	Chris Hutchinson	Fr
DT	`60`	Mark Messner	Sr
MG	`91`	Mike Teeter	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Bo Schembechler

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Offense[edit]

Tony Boles – started 10 games at tailback (team's leading rusher in 1988 with 1,408 yards)
Demetrius Brown – started 3 games at quarterback (48 of 84 for 775 passing yards)
Jeffrey Brown – started 11 games at tight end
Jarrod Bunch – started 5 games at fullback
Chris Calloway – started 5 games at flanker and 1 game at split end (led team with 4 touchdown catches)
Dave Chester – started 2 games at left guard
Dean Dingman – started 12 games at right guard
Tom Dohring – started 10 games at left tackle
Leroy Hoard – started 6 games at fullback and 1 game at tailback (team's second leading rusher in 1988 with 752 yards)
Chris Horn – started 1 game at fullback
Mike Husar – started 10 games at left guard and 2 games at left tackle
John Kolesar – started 7 games at flanker (team's second leading receiver with 18 catches for 356 yards)
Greg McMurtry – started 10 games at split end (team's leading receiver with 27 catches for 470 yards)
Greg Skrepenak – started 12 games at right tackle
Michael Taylor – started 9 games at quarterback (65 for 122 for 957 passing yards)
John Vitale – started 12 games at center
Derrick Walker – started 1 game at tight end and 1 game at split end
Tracy Williams – started 1 game at tailback

Defense[edit]

Bobby Abrams – started 12 games at outside linebacker
Erick Anderson – started 6 games at inside linebacker (led team with 77 tackles)
David Arnold – started 10 games at cornerback
Mike Evans – started 1 game at defensive tackle
J. J. Grant – started 9 games at inside linebacker (tied for second on the team with 72 tackles)
Mark Gutzwiller, defensive back
John Hermann – started 2 games at defensive tackle
David Key – started 12 games at cornerback (fifth on the team with 63 tackles)
Alex Marshall – started 9 games at outside linebacker
Mark Messner – started 12 games at defensive tackle (fourth on the team with 70 tackles)
Anthony Mitchell – started 1 game at outside linebacker
Vada Murray – started 12 games at free safety (second on team with 4 interceptions)
T. J. Osman – started 12 games at middle guard
Todd Plate – started 2 games at cornerback
Marc Spencer – started 3 games at inside linebacker
Tripp Welborne – started 12 games at strong safety (led team with five interceptions; tied for second on the team with 72 tackles)
Brent White – started 9 games at defensive tackle
Tim Williams – started 2 games at outside linebacker

Special teams[edit]

Tony Boles – kick off returns (14 returns for an average of 24.1 yards)
Mike Gillette – placekicker (18 of 27 on field goals) and punter (46 punts for an average of 39.9 yards)
Gulam Khan – placekicker (0 for 1 on field goals)
John Kolesar – kickoff returns (13 returns for an average of 23.5 yards); punt returns (17 returns for an average of 11.9 yards)

Awards and honors[edit]

All-Americans: Mark Messner, John Vitale
All-Conference: Mark Messner, John Vitale, Mike Husar, John Kolesar, Tony Boles, Mike Gillette, David Arnold
Most Valuable Player: Mark Messner
Meyer Morton Award: John Vitale
John Maulbetsch Award: Tripp Welborne
Frederick Matthei Award: Warde Manuel
Arthur Robinson Scholarship Award: David Weil
Dick Katcher Award: Mark Messner
Hugh Rader Jr. Award: Mark Messner
Robert P. Ufer Award: John Kolesar

Coaching staff[edit]

Head coach: Bo Schembechler
Assistant coaches: Tirrel Burton, Cam Cameron, Lloyd Carr, Jerry Hanlon, Bill Harris, Jim Herrmann, Les Miles, Gary Moeller, Bobby Morrison, Tom Reed
Trainer: Russ Miller
Manager: Pat Perkins, Scott Boyle

References[edit]

^ "1988 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
^ "1988 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
^ "1988 Michigan Wolverines Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
^ "Michigan rolls past Wake Forest". Wisconsin State Journal. September 25, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Michigan 1988 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
^ "Hurricanes blow past Wolverines." Eugene Register-Guard. 1988 Sept 18.
^ "Miami Doesn't Wilt in Michigan Heat" Chicago Tribune. 1988 Sept 18.
^ University of Michigan Football Record Book Pt. 1
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1988 Oct 9. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
^ "Michigan, Iowa Both Fit To Be Tied". Chicago Tribune. October 16, 1988. Retrieved September 2, 2019.

External links[edit]

1988 Football Team -- Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History

[t88-1] "1988 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Retrieved February 3, 2020.

[2] "1988 Michigan Wolverines Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2020.

[SR-3] "1988 Michigan Wolverines Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 3, 2020.

[4] "Michigan rolls past Wake Forest". Wisconsin State Journal. September 25, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Michigan 1988 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved August 26, 2018.

[6] "Hurricanes blow past Wolverines." Eugene Register-Guard. 1988 Sept 18.

[7] "Miami Doesn't Wilt in Michigan Heat" Chicago Tribune. 1988 Sept 18.

[8] University of Michigan Football Record Book Pt. 1

[9] Eugene Register-Guard. 1988 Oct 9. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.

[10] "Michigan, Iowa Both Fit To Be Tied". Chicago Tribune. October 16, 1988. Retrieved September 2, 2019.

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