 For the season the team would go a perfect 12-0 en route to claiming an NCAA-record eighth AP National Championship since the poll began in 1936.The season would feature dramatic wins over top ranked opponents including Michigan, USC, and Miami in addition to featuring several future NFL players including Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, Ricky Watters, Chris Zorich, Derek Brown, Todd Lyght, Pat Terrell, Tony Brooks, Anthony Johnson, Andy Heck, Tim Grunhard and Rodney Culver.In all, 21 of the 22 starters on the 1988 National Championship team would go on to play in the NFL, the lone exception being Tony Rice.