1988 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

The 1988 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Ken Hatfield, the Razorbacks compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 7–0 in conference play, winning the SWC title. Arkansas was invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic, where the Razorbacks lost to UCLA. The team played home games at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1988 Arkansas Razorbacks football
SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 3–17 vs. UCLA
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 12
Record	10–2 (7–0 SWC)
Head coach	Ken Hatfield (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	David Lee (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Option
Defensive coordinator	Fred Goldsmith (5th season)
Home stadium	Razorback Stadium War Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1987 1989 →

1988 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 12 Arkansas $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Texas A&M*	6	–	1	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
No. 18 Houston	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Texas Tech	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Baylor	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Texas	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
TCU	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rice	0	–	7	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
$ – Conference champion *- Ineligible for conference championship and postseason bowl games due to NCAA sanctions. Rankings from AP Poll

Defensive end Wayne Martin, safety Steve Atwater, and placekicker Kendall Trainor were all named 1st Team All-American. Senior linebacker LaSalle Harper was named defensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl, despite Arkansas losing the game.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	Pacific (CA)*		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 63–14	49,600
September 10	Tulsa*		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR		W 30–26	43,008
September 17	Ole Miss*		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR (rivalry)		W 21–13	55,360	[1]
October 1	TCU		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	Raycom	W 53–10	41,240
October 8	Texas Tech	No. 20	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 31–10	49,818
October 15	at Texas	No. 17	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	HSE	W 27–24	73,451
October 22	at Houston	No. 13	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	Raycom	W 26–21	21,775
October 29	Rice	No. 11	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 21–14	50,612
November 5	at Baylor	No. 11	Floyd Casey Stadium Waco, TX	HSE	W 33–3	40,148
November 12	Texas A&M	No. 11	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)	HSE	W 25–20	53,818
November 26	at No. 3 Miami (FL)*	No. 8	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	CBS	L 16–18	63,271
January 2	vs. No. 9 UCLA*	No. 8	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	L 3–17	74,304
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Rankings

Further information: 1988 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	20	17	13	11	11	11	10	8	9	8	12
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	19 т	17	15	11	11	11	11	10	8	8	8	13

Game summaries

At Texas

See also: 1988 Texas Longhorns football team

Texas A&M

See also: 1988 Texas A&M Aggies football team

At Miami (FL)

Arkansas at Miami (FL)

1 2 3 4 Total No. 8 Razorbacks 10 0 6 0 16 • No. 3 Hurricanes 10 5 0 3 18 Date: November 26 Location: Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida Game start: 12:23 pm EST Elapsed time: 3:01 Game attendance: 63,271 Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C), Partly Sunny, Wind SE 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h) Referee: Mike Dover TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger, Pat Haden, and John Dockery Source:

Scoring summary 1 9:14 Miami Huerta 36-yard field goal Miami 3-0 1 4:43 Ark Trainor 58-yard field goal Tied 3-3 1 1:41 Miami Gary 1-yard run (Huerta kick) Miami 10-3 1 1:29 Ark Foster 80-yard run (Trainor kick) Tied 10-10 2 8:30 Miami Safety, Hawkins tackles Grovey in end zone Miami 12-10 2 0:03 Miami Huerta 45-yard field goal Miami 15-10 3 5:03 Ark Foster 16-yard pass from Grovey (conversion failed) Arkansas 16-15 4 5:38 Miami Huerta 20-yard field goal Miami 18-16

See also: 1988 Miami Hurricanes football team

Vs. UCLA (Cotton Bowl)

See also: 1988 UCLA Bruins football team and 1989 Cotton Bowl Classic

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Roster

1988 Arkansas Razorbacks football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 72 Freddie Childress Sr RB 18 Barry Foster Jr QB 4 Quinn Grovey So RB 34 JuJu Harshaw Jr RB Joe Johnson Sr RB Kerwin Price Fr RB 35 James Rouse Jr WR 2 Derek Russell So	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 27 Steve Atwater Sr DB 9 Richard Brothers Sr CB Anthony Cooney Jr LB LaSalle Harper Sr DE 83 Wayne Martin Sr DB Patrick Williams Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Allen Meacham Jr K 22 Kendall Trainor Sr	Head coach Ken Hatfield Coordinators/assistant coaches Larry Brinson Fred Goldsmith David Lee Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

1989 NFL draft

Main article: 1989 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Wayne Martin	Defensive end	1	19	New Orleans Saints
Steve Atwater	Strong safety	1	20	Denver Broncos
Fred Childress	Guard	2	55	Cincinnati Bengals
Kerry Owens	Linebacker	4	89	Cincinnati Bengals
Richard Brothers	Defensive back	7	189	Chicago Bears
Kendall Trainor	Kicker	9	234	Phoenix Cardinals
LaSalle Harper	Linebacker	9	243	Chicago Bears

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References

1. "Arkansas holds off Mississippi, 21–13". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 18, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "1988 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results".
3. "UCLA Hogs Cotton Bowl Spotlight by Shutting Down Arkansas, 17-3". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1989. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
4. "1989 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 17, 2019.