Going into the 1988 NCAA football season, there really wasnt much to suggest that a 5'8" halfback from Wichita, Kansas would explode into the forefront and take college football defenses by storm. Barry Sanders played in 11 games as a sophomore in 1987, rushing for 603 yards and 9 scores while primarily backing up fellow-Hall of Fame HB Thurman Thomas. Thomas ran for over 1,600 yards and 17 TDs that season, but Sanders had shown so much explosiveness in practice that he forced his way onto the playing field. He showed enough flashes during that 105-carry sophomore season to catch the attention of some of the other Big Eight Conference's coaches. Most notably, Barry Switzer of Oklahoma who informed his defensive coaches as they watched tape of Thurman Thomas ahead of their in-state showdown with Oklahoma State during that 87' season that they'd better hope that he doesn't get hurt because their backup might be even better.
Flash forward to the 1988 season, and Switzer could not have been anymore on the money with his proclamation from the previous season. Sanders took the starting halfback reigns full-time as Thomas had departed to the NFL. What happened from that point, was nothing short of the greatest college football season ever.
During this era in college football, the run game was still predominantly featured throughout the country - especially in the Big 8 Conference where powers Oklahoma and Nebraska touted high-powered run games. Switzer's Sooners ran a wishbone triple-option attack for the most part that was devastating to opposing defenses for much of the decade. Teams were going to run the ball, it wasn't a secret, and Oklahoma State's power I formation was designed for a workhorse featured back. That was the background to Sanders' incredible 1988 campaign, which should make his accomplishments and numbers all the more impressive.
Sanders opened the season by rushing for a somewhat modest 178 yards and 2 scores against Miami (OH) in a non-conference game. He averaged 9.9 yards per carry in the game, and it was all just a small glimpse into what was yet to come. Just two weeks later in a game against Tulsa, Sanders ran wild for 304 yards and 5 touchdowns on 33 carries. He followed that up by running through Colorado the following week, piling up 174 yards and another 4 scores. The following week brought a trip to Nebraska to play Tom Osborne's top-10 ranked Cornhuskers, who also happened to own the nation's top run defense. After falling behind by a score of 35-0 after just one quarter, Sanders broke loose for 3 scores in the 2nd quarter and went on the finish the game with 189 yards and 4 touchdowns in the loss, leaving Nebraska's defense besides itself despite the victory.
Two weeks later, in a game at Kansas State, Sanders started what would be the most dominating close to a regular season by a college running back ever. In his final five games, he rushed for between 215 and 332 yards in each game, and scored 18 rushing touchdowns in those 5 contests. He piled up 320 yards and 3 scores in a victory at Kansas State, then lose by a field goal the following week to #8 Oklahoma, despite Sanders tearing up the Sooners for 215 yards. The following week saw him thrash Kansas for 312 yards and 5 scores, followed by 293 yards and 4 more scores the following week in a route of Iowa State. The season finale against Texas Tech took place in the Tokyo Dome in Japan, and Sanders once again did not disappoint, piling up 332 yards and 4 TDs.
By the time the dust settled on his 1988 season, Sanders had accumulated a mind-boggling 2,628 yards in just 11 games. That number still stands today, and keep in mind that doesn't include any inflated-stat games against an FCS-level opponent (or I-AA at that time), no conference title game and no bowl statistics. In a ruling that truly makes no sense whatsoever, the NCAA does not officially include bowl games statistics in its official records prior to the 2002 season. Because yeah, that makes sense. In today's college football landscape, teams now play 12 games to begin with, then there are possible conference title games, bowl games, and even college football playoff games now that can bring a teams total to 14-15 games in a season. Sanders' record has never really been seriously approached, despite have more games to try and get to it. If you were to include the 222 yards he rushed for in 3 quarters against #15 Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl that season, that would bring his total to an even more unimaginable 2,850 yards in 12 games. These are rushing yards and not passing yards remember!
As it is, Sanders' 2,628 yards still breakdowns to an insane 238.9 yards per game! His 37 rushing touchdowns in 11 games breaks down to 3.4 per game, and that record still stands today as well, with Montee Ball being the closest, running for 33 scores in 2011. He ran away with the Heisman Trophy and had it wrapped up even before he torched Texas Tech for over 300 yards in the season finale (he received the news that he had won the Heisman while in Japan awaiting to play Tech).
If you have never had the pleasure of seeing Barry Sanders run, whether it be in college for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, or in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, do yourself a favor and head to YouTube for a trip to the past, you will not be disappointed. He was quick, elusive, had incredible balance, acceleration, and field-vision. He flat-out made grown men look silly, and during his epic 1988 season, he made some of the best defenses in the country look completely lost and inept week-in and week-out. I'll leave with this closing breakdown of Sanders' 88' season by the numbers:
7.6 - yards per carry average for the entire season
5.4 - lowest yard per carry average of any of his 11 games
37 - number of rushing touchdowns
2,628 - number of total rushing yards not including the bowl game
6 - number of games with 4 or more rushing TDs
6 - number of 200-yard rushing games in 88'
4 - number of 300-yard rushing games in 88'
154 - lowest rushing total in any game during the 88' season
3 - number of times averaging over 9.0 yards per carry in a game
516 - total kick and punt return yardage for Sanders for the 88' season
2 - touchdowns scored by Sanders as a returner during the 88' season
5 - consecutive 200-yard rushing games
11 - consecutive games with at least 2 touchdowns or more (every game of the 88' season)
9 - number of times he rushed for at least 3 scores or more in a game during the 88' season
344 - number of carries for the season, an average of 31.3 per game
3,248 - total yards, including rushing, receiving, kick & punt return yardage - also a NCAA single-season record
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