The 1988 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season.
The Cougars were led by second-year head coach Jack Pardee and played their home games at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
The team competed as members of the Southwest Conference, finishing in third.
They were invited to the 1988 Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii, where they lost to Washington State.
This college football 1980s season article is a stub.