1983 Kentucky Wildcats football team

American college football season

1983 Kentucky Wildcats football

Hall of Fame Classic Bowl, L 20–16 vs. West Virginia

Conference| Southeastern Conference
Record| 6–5–1 (2–4 SEC)
Head coach|

* Jerry Claiborne (1st season)

Home stadium| Commonwealth Stadium

Seasons

<- 1982

1984 ->

1983 Southeastern Conference football standings

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 3 Auburn $  | 6  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 4 Georgia | 5  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 10  | - | 1  | - | 1
No. 6 Florida | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 2  | - | 1
Tennessee | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 15 Alabama | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
Ole Miss | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 6  | - | 0
Kentucky | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 1
Mississippi State | 1  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
LSU | 0  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Vanderbilt | 0  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 9  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Jerry Claiborne, the Wildcats scored 228 points while allowing 237 points.[1]

After a 4–0 start, Kentucky finished the regular season 6–4–1 before playing in the 1983 Hall of Fame Classic and losing to No 18 West Virginia, 20–16. The improvement from 1982's 0–10–1 mark was, at the time, an NCAA record for most improvement in wins from one season to the next.

## Schedule[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
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September 3| Central Michigan*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 31–14| 51,232| [2]
September 10| Kansas State*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 31–12| 56,123| [3]
September 17| Indiana*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY (rivalry)

| W 24–13| 56,825| [4]
September 24| Tulane*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 26–14| 57,424| [5]
October 8| No. 7 Auburn|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| L 21–49| 57,989| [6]
October 15| LSU|

* Tiger Stadium
* Baton Rouge, LA

| W 21–13| 77,765| [7]
October 22| at No. 7 Georgia|

* Sanford Stadium
* Athens, GA

| L 21–47| 82,122| [8]
October 29| Cincinnati*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| T 13–13| 57,789| [9]
November 5| at Vanderbilt|

* Vanderbilt Stadium
* Nashville, TN (rivalry)

| W 17–8| 41,000| [10]
November 12| at No. 14 Florida|

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry)

| L 7–24| 73,192| [11]
November 19| Tennessee|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY (rivalry)

| L 0–10| 57,985| [12]
December 22| vs. No. 18 West Virginia*|

* Legion Field
* Birmingham, AL (Hall of Fame Classic)

| L 20–16| 42,000| [13]

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[14]

## Team players in the 1984 NFL Draft[edit]

Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club

|
|
|
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John Grimsley | Linebacker | 6 | 141 | Houston Oilers

[15][16]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "1983 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
2. ^ "Kentucky's fast finish flattens Central, 31–14". Lansing State Journal. September 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Wildcats fall to Kentucky". The Salina Journal. September 11, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "UK hands IU first loss". Sunday Herald-Times. September 18, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Wildcats top Tulane 26–14". The Advocate-Messenger. September 25, 1983. Retrieved October 20, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "No. 7 Auburn runs over outmanned UK". The Park City Daily News. October 9, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Jenkins' tosses lead Kentucky past LSU". The Paducah Sun. October 16, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "UK has its moment, but day is Georgia's". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 23, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Adams provides a spark as UK ties Cincinnati". The Courier-Journal. October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Kentucky defeats Vanderbilt, 17–8". The Park City Daily News. November 6, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Gators bounce back, rip 'Cats". The Pensacola News-Journal. November 13, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "UT Vols take 10–0 win". Kingsport Times-News. November 20, 1983. Retrieved August 18, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Hostetler finally gets warmed up". Birmingham Post-Herald. December 23, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.168, 209
15. ^ "1984 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
16. ^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.166

* v
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Kentucky Wildcats football

Venues|

* Stoll Field/McLean Stadium (1916–1972)
* Kroger Field (1973–present)
* E.J. Nutter Training Facility (practice)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Centre
* Florida
* Indiana
* Louisville: Governor's Cup
* Tennessee
* Transylvania: Battle On Broadway
* Vanderbilt

Culture & lore|

* The Wildcat
* Scratch
* Blue
* "On, On, U of K"
* "Kentucky Fight"
* Marching band
* Bluegrass Miracle
* 2003 Arkansas game

People|

* Head coaches
* Statistical leaders
* NFL draftees
* Starting quarterbacks

Seasons|

* 1881
* 1882–1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
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* 1921
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* 1923
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* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
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* 1935
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* 1939
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* 1941
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* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
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* 1957
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National championship seasons in bold

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number