# 1988 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1988 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by 13th-year head coach Terry Donahue and played its home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. They were members of the Pacific-10 Conference. Senior QB Troy Aikman was taken #1 overall in the 1989 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | San Diego State* | No. 5 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | W 59–6 | 46,487 |
| September 10 | No. 2 Nebraska* | No. 5 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | W 41–28 | 84,086 |
| September 17 | Long Beach State* | No. 2 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | W 56–3 | 42,464 |
| October 1 | at No. 16 Washington | No. 2 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | W 24–17 | 71,224 |
| October 8 | Oregon State | No. 2 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | W 38–21 | 46,550 |
| October 15 | at California | No. 2 | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | W 38–21 | 58,000 |
| October 22 | at Arizona | No. 1 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ | W 24–3 | 49,922 |
| October 29 | Washington State | No. 1 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | L 30–34 | 51,970 |
| November 5 | at Oregon | No. 6 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | W 16–6 | 42,509 |
| November 12 | Stanford | No. 6 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | W 27–17 | 70,552 |
| November 19 | No. 2 USC | No. 6 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Victory Bell) | L 22–31 | 100,741 |
| January 2 | vs. No. 8 Arkansas* | No. 9 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic) | W 17–3 | 74,304 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||

## Season summary
### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #2 Nebraska | 0 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 28 |
| • #5 UCLA | 28 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 41 |

### Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oregon St | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| • #2 UCLA | 14 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 38 |

### At Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #6 UCLA | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
| Oregon | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |

### Vs. Arkansas (Cotton Bowl)
## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 5 (2) | 5 (2) | 5 (2) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 2 (1) | 1 (33) | 1 (35) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Coaches | 9 (2) | 9 (2) | 5 | 2 (13) | 2 (5) | 2 (7) | 2 (6) | 2 (5) | 1 (37) | 1 (41) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 |

## Awards and honors

* Troy Aikman, Davey O'Brien Award

## NFL draftees

The following players were selected in the 1989 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Troy Aikman | Quarterback | 1 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys |
| Carnell Lake | Defensive back | 2 | 34 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Eric Ball | Running back | 2 | 35 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Darryl Henley | Defensive back | 2 | 53 | Los Angeles Rams |
| Jim Wahler | Defensive tackle | 4 | 94 | Phoenix Cardinals |
| Marcus Turner | Defensive back | 11 | 283 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Eric Smith | Tackle | 12 | 326 | New York Giants |