# 1988 Ottawa Rough Riders season

The 1988 Ottawa Rough Riders finished the season in fourth place in the East Division with a 2–16 record and failed to qualify for the post-season. In terms of winning percentage (0.111), this was the worst season the franchise had endured since the formation of the Canadian Football League. Additionally, it was the worst record for a Grey Cup host city team as Ottawa hosted the 76th Grey Cup this year. The Rough Riders, which prior to the start of the season promised their fans good things for the coming year, had dubbed the 1988 season "Super season '88".

## Offseason
### CFL Draft

| Rd | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | 1 | Orville Lee | RB | Simon Fraser |
| 3 | 22 | Leon Hatziioannou | DL | Simon Fraser |
| 4 | 26 | Sheridon Baptiste | WR/HB | Queen's |
| 5 | 33 | Sieg Will | OT/DE | Guelph |
| 5 | 34 | Christopher Rick | OLB | Queen's |
| 6 | 41 | Brent Matich | P/K | Calgary |
| 7 | 49 | Scott Warr | OT | McGill |
| 8 | 57 | Ray Goerke | OT | Weber State |

### Preseason

| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| A | June 29 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 25–30 | 0–1 | | 17,647 |
| B | July 6 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 36–34 | 1–1 | | |

## Regular season
### Standings

East Divisionviewtalkedit :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 571 | 326 | 8–2 | W7 | Details |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 407 | 458 | 3–3 | L3 | Details |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 478 | 465 | 6–4 | L1 | Details |
| Ottawa Rough Riders | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 278 | 618 | 1–9 | L2 | Details |

### Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | July 15 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 21–48 | 0–1 | | 22,565 |
| 2 | July 20 | at Toronto Argonauts | L 11–34 | 0–2 | | 20,114 |
| 3 | July 27 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | L 28–35 | 0–3 | | 19,947 |
| 4 | Aug 2 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | L 7–41 | 0–4 | | 24,322 |
| 5 | Aug 13 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 28–17 | 1–4 | | 23,293 |
| 6 | Aug 18 | vs. BC Lions | L 20–27 | 1–5 | | 24,598 |
| 7 | Aug 27 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 24–51 | 1–6 | | 15,067 |
| 8 | Sept 1 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 20–46 | 1–7 | | 22,535 |
| 9 | Sept 6 | at BC Lions | L 11–24 | 1–8 | | 25,504 |
| 10 | Sept 10 | at Calgary Stampeders | L 16–17 | 1–9 | | 16,969 |
| 11 | Sept 18 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 25–35 | 1–10 | | 13,024 |
| 12 | Sept 24 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 0–31 | 1–11 | | 18,523 |
| 13 | Oct 2 | at Edmonton Eskimos | L 12–40 | 1–12 | | 28,052 |
| 14 | Oct 8 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | L 3–52 | 1–13 | | 18,527 |
| 15 | Oct 14 | at Toronto Argonauts | L 7–49 | 1–14 | | 21,513 |
| 16 | Oct 22 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | W 19–3 | 2–14 | | 16,237 |
| 17 | Oct 29 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 15–23 | 2–15 | | 16,402 |
| 18 | Nov 6 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 11–45 | 2–16 | | 25,615 |

## Awards and honours
### CFL Awards

* CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award – Orville Lee (RB)

### CFL All-Stars

* Rod Brown-replacement player