The 1988 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the Big Eight Conference during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Bill McCartney, Colorado finished the regular season at 8âÂÂ3 (4âÂÂ3 in Big 8, fourth), and played their home games on campus at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.
The eight wins were the most by the Buffaloes since the 1976 season, with narrow losses to ninth-ranked Oklahoma and No. 7 Nebraska.
Ranked 20th in the Coaches Poll, Colorado was invited to the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, California, but was upset 17âÂÂ20 by BYU of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), led by redshirt freshman quarterback Ty Detmer.