Barry Sanders' 1988 Season Will Likely Never Be Topped

Published on January 2nd, 2024 1:42 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


In 1988, Barry Sanders put together arguably the greatest season in the history of college football at any position.

That year, in just 11 games, Sanders rushed for 2,628 yards in 344 attempts, and added an additional 106 yards through the air.

Sanders found the endzone a total of 37 times that season.

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Barry's reign of terror in 1988 included a total of FOUR games where he rushed for more than 300 yards.

It started on October 1st, 1988, when Sanders rushed 33 times for 304 yards against a helpless Tulsa defense.

In addition, Sanders rushed for 5 touchdowns in the game.

On October 29th, 1988, Sanders exploded once again, this time rushing for 320 yards in 37 attempts against Kansas State. Sanders rushed for 3 touchdowns in the game.

Two weeks later, Sanders was at it again, this time rushing for 312 yards and 5 touchdowns against Kansas. Sanders would rush for 5 touchdowns in the game, giving him the single-season TD record with two games left in the year.

The next week, Sanders fell just short of the 300 yard mark, rushing for 293 yards against Iowa State.

In the final regular season game of the year, Sanders went over the 300 yard mark once again, this time rushing for 332 yards against Texas Tech.

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As of that weren't enough, Sanders would rush for 222 yards and 5 TDs in the Holiday Bowl against Wyoming, leading his team to a crushing 62-14 victory.

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There is a very good chance that we never see anything approaching Barry Sanders' 1988 season at Oklahoma State ever again, especially with the change to more passing-focused offenses in college football.