The 1988 Freedom Bowl pitted former Mountain States Conference rivals and against one another for the first time in a bowl game. It was only the second time the two teams met one another in football since the Buffaloes joined the Big 8. BYU (8-4) came into the game in a bit of a tailspin after losing three of its final four regular season games. Colorado was a team on the rise and was a year away from becoming a fixture in the top 10.

Game summary

BYU fell into an early hole after a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs from Eric Bieniemy gave Colorado a 14-7 halftime lead. The Cougars rallied in the second half after backup quarterback Ty Detmer

Ty Detmer

Ty Hubert Detmer is a former National Football League and NCAA quarterback. He starred at Brigham Young University, where he set many records and won the Heisman Trophy in 1990...

 was inserted into the game. Detmer completed 11-of-19 passes for 129 yards in the second half. Trailing 17-14 in the fourth quarter, BYU eventually won the game on a pair of field goals - one from 31 yards and another from 35 yards - from kicker Jason Chaffetz

Jason Chaffetz

Jason E. Chaffetz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Provo and includes large portions of central and west-central Utah.-Early life, education and career:...

.

The Bowl game served as a springboard for both programs over the next couple of seasons. Colorado would end up claiming a split national championship in 1990, while Detmer won the Heisman the same year and led BYU to a top-10 ranking at two different points during the same season.