The 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Notre Dame winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title via a 34–21 defeat of previously unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. With 4 of the final Top 5 teams being independents (with the University of Miami and Florida State joining the Fighting Irish and Mountaineers), 1988 became a focus for fans and critics who wondered how the traditional conferences would deal with the indies (the answer ultimately involved all of these teams joining major conferences).
Notre Dame had several notable victories this season, including a 19–17 victory over No. 9 Michigan, won on a last drive field goal, which started off the championship season. The season's marquee game was a 31–30 victory over No. 1 Miami. Entering the game, Miami had a 36-game regular season winning streak, 20 straight road victories and a 16-game winning streak overall. This year was also the first time Notre Dame and USC had ever met when ranked No. 1 and No. 2. Most notable about this game is Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz's decision to leave behind two of his stars, Tony Brooks and Ricky Watters because they were late, cementing discipline as the main theme of this championship team.
This year's edition of the UCLA–USC rivalry game featured a second ranked USC and a fourth ranked UCLA. For the second year in a row the Rose Bowl berth was on the line but for USC it also had national title implications as the rivalry game with Notre Dame was the following week. USC beat UCLA but lost to Notre Dame, and then lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders ran the Wing T offense all the way to the Heisman Trophy and numerous rushing records.
Rule changes
Defensive teams can now return blocked PAT kicks and interceptions on two-point conversion attempts for a defensive score worth two points. Fumbles on PAT/two-point conversions cannot be recovered and advanced by the offensive team other than the fumbling player, and the defense cannot convert fumbles into two-point defensive scores. There were two defensive conversions scored in Division I-A; the first was scored by Bill Stone of Rice University in a 54–11 loss to Notre Dame on November 5, 1988, and the second by Tony Bennett of Mississippi in a 20–12 loss to Tennessee on November 12, 1988, both on blocked PAT kicks. Teams are permitted to take consecutive time-outs, previously this was prohibited. Illegal use of hands penalties are increased from 5 to 10 yards.
Conference and program changes
The Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) changed its name to the Big West Conference, its current name, prior to the season.
Conference standings
Season summary
September
The first AP Poll of the year led off with No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Clemson, and No. 5 UCLA. Nebraska defeated No. 10 Texas A&M in the Kickoff Classic on August 27, and the top five teams remained the same going into September.
September 3: No. 1 Florida State opened against No. 6 Miami. The Hurricanes had won the previous year’s matchup by a single point, but this year they were far more dominant, shutting out the Seminoles 31-0. No. 2 Nebraska defeated Utah State 63-13, while No. 3 Oklahoma was idle. No. 4 Clemson beat Virginia Tech 40-7, and No. 5 UCLA won 59-6 over San Diego State. The top five in the next poll were No. 1 Miami, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.
September 10: No. 1 Miami was idle. No. 2 Nebraska visited No. 5 UCLA, and the Bruins prevailed 41-28. No. 3 Clemson defeated Furman 23-3, No. 4 Oklahoma opened with a 28-0 shutout of North Carolina, and No. 6 USC won 24-20 at Stanford. The top five in the next poll were No. 1 Miami, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 USC.
September 17: No. 1 Miami made a furious comeback, scoring two touchdowns and a field goal in the last five and a half minutes to defeat No. 15 Michigan 31-30. No. 2 UCLA overwhelmed Long Beach State 56-3. No. 3 Clemson lost 24-21 to No. 10 Florida State on a “puntrooskie,” a fake punt which set up a 78-yard run and a game-winning field goal for the Seminoles. No. 4 Oklahoma beat Arizona 28-10, No. 5 USC was idle, and No. 6 Auburn won 56-7 over Kansas. The next poll featured No. 1 Miami, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 5 USC.