It’s been 35 years since my first season covering Arkansas football – the “almost” magical season of 1988.
I had just been appointed the sports editor for the Arkansas Traveler, the university’s student-operated newspaper. It didn’t pay a whole lot, but it got me into the games for free and it helped me develop some lifelong friendships with a few of the great players in Razorback history.
My first year on campus was 1987 and I didn’t miss a game as a student spectator. I had also become pals with one of my first classmates, who I soon found out was a small, but budding quarterback for the Hogs.
I can attest that Quinn Grovey was just as competitive playing video games in his dorm room as he was at orchestrating the offense inside Razorback Stadium. He would go to any length to win a game.
As a redshirt freshman, Quinn started and won five games his first year, splitting time with incumbent senior Greg Thomas, who battled injuries throughout the season.
But in ’88, Arkansas’ success rested squarely on the shoulders of the 5-foot-10 sophomore. He too aincurred some injuries along the way, which gave a few game reps to his speedy, competitive back-up, John Bland.
Expectations were fairly high for the Razorbacks that season, returning such studs as future NFL Hall of Famer Steve Atwater and his fellow first-round draft pick, Wayne Martin. Those two, along with kicker Kendall Trainor, were all named first-team All-Americans that season.
The roster also featured future NFL rushing leader Barry Foster, who was just a sophomore, as well as future third-round pick Freddie Childress.
It also included a couple of other guys who remain friends of mine – running back James Rouse and cornerback Anthony Cooney, both of whom were drafted by the Chicago Bears following the 1989 season.
But the 1988 season would go as far as their shifty quarterback could take them, and he was determined to make it memorable.
The season began with a blowout victory over Pacific in Little Rock, followed by a nail-biting 30-26 win over Tulsa in the Fayetteville home-opener, a week later.
But the legend of Kendall Trainor was born the following week in a win over Ole Miss, also played in Little Rock. Trainor was still recovering from a torn leg muscle and had missed two field goals and an extra point in the first half against the Rebels. Catching heat from the home crowd, Ken Hatfield was on the verge of benching him, But Trainor famously swapped his kicking shoe during the intermission and found a new determination. He kicked three field goals in the second half to defeat Ole Miss, 21-13, and did not miss another kick the rest of the season – 24 straight, which still remains a Razorback record.
After rolling past TCU, the Hogs were finally ranked at No. 20. Then cruised past Texas Tech, with a trip to Austin on tap the next week. Grovey ran Hatfield’s flexbone offense to near perfection against the Longhorns, but it was Trainor’s 28-yard, fourth quarter field goal that proved to be the difference in the 27-24 win.
With the Razorbacks moving up to No. 13 nationally, they made a trip to Houston with Grovey sidelined with a shoulder injury. Bland was outstanding for Arkansas, but with the game on the line, late against the Cougars, Grovey came off the bench for one final drive that put the game away, 26-21.
Arkansas spent the next three weeks ranked 11th, with wins over Rice, Baylor and Texas A&M. The Razorbacks were 10-0 for the first time since 1965, which also marks the last time a Hog team won its first 10 games.
Ironically, many fans still wanted Hatfield ousted, despite the perfect record. Although he still has the highest winning percentage in program history, those outliers continued to complain that Hatfield didn’t pass the ball enough. So, I guess winning isn’t all that matters, to some.
Arkansas had moved up to No. 8 and was being mentioned as a possible national champion dark-horse. But the Hogs had one final regular season game, and the task at hand was a trip to Miami to play former Razorback Jimmy Johnson and his defending national champion Hurricane team, which had throttled the Hogs 51-7 in Little Rock a season earlier.
Virtually no one gave Arkansas a snowball’s chance to win. Foster scored the game’s first touchdown with an 80-yard run straight up the middle, giving Arkansas a 10-3 lead, it was game-on. The Razorbacks led 16-15 late, with a shot to play for a national championship looming in the upcoming Cotton Bowl.
It looked to be game-over when Miami quarterback Steve Walsh’s errant pass went right to Atwater in the end zone. Unfortunately, the pass bounced off of the future All-Pro and fell incomplete. That enabled kicker Carlos Huerta to boot a 20-yard field goal and break the Razorbacks’ hearts, with just over five minutes remaining, giving Miami the 18-16 victory.
Now, three and a half decades later, that remains the last time Arkansas has had a legitimate shot to win it all. And although the magical run had come to an abrupt end, it still remains etched in my memory.
With the dejection still evident and Grovey under the weather on Jan. 1, 1989, Arkansas stumbled through a 17-3 loss to Troy Aikman and UCLA in the Cotton Bowl. They finished 10-2.
Grovey was able to lead the Hogs to another Southwest Conference title and another trip to the Cotton Bowl a year later, where they eventually fell to Tennessee.
Still, the Duncan, Okla., native remains the only quarterback in Razorback history to lead the program to back-to-back conference championships and consecutive trips to the Cotton Bowl.
Quinn and I have continued our friendship through the years and have worked on a few projects together. The championship run of ’88 and ’89 frequently comes up in conversation. And despite the heartbreak of losing the Miami game, he still holds his head high for what he and his teammates were able to accomplish.
With the proud Razorback program now suffering through a tough stretch, sometimes all you can do is reflect on the past, and cherish the great memories.