1988 Florida State Seminoles football team

American college football season

1988 Florida State Seminoles football

Sugar Bowl champion

Sugar Bowl, W 13–7 vs. Auburn

Conference| Independent
Ranking
Coaches| No. 3
AP| No. 3
Record| 11–1
Head coach|

* Bobby Bowden (13th season)

Offensive coordinator| Wayne McDuffie (6th season)
Offensive scheme| No-huddle spread
Defensive coordinator| Mickey Andrews (5th season)
Base defense| 4–3
Home stadium| Doak Campbell Stadium

Seasons

<- 1987

1989 ->

1988 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

* v
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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 1 Notre Dame |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 12  | - | 0  | - | 0
No. 2 Miami (FL) |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 3 Florida State |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 5 West Virginia |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
Southern Miss |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 10  | - | 2  | - | 0
No. 13 Syracuse |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 10  | - | 2  | - | 0
Army |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
Louisville |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 8  | - | 3  | - | 0
South Carolina |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
Northern Illinois |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 7  | - | 4  | - | 0
Pittsburgh |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
Memphis State |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
Southwestern Louisiana |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
Rutgers |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Akron |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Penn State |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Tulane |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Temple |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Tulsa |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Boston College |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Cincinnati |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
East Carolina |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Navy |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Virginia Tech |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Defensive back Deion Sanders was a Heisman finalist, finishing in eighth place.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 3| 9:00 p.m.| at No. 6 Miami (FL)| No. 1|

* Miami Orange Bowl
* Miami, FL (rivalry)

| CBS| L 0–31| 77,836|
September 10| 7:00 p.m.| Southern Miss| No. 10|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| | W 49–13| 53,129| [1]
September 17| 2:30 p.m.| at No. 3 Clemson| No. 10|

* Memorial Stadium
* Clemson, SC (rivalry)

| CBS| W 24–21| 85,576| [2]
September 24| 4:00 p.m.| Michigan State| No. 9|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| ESPN| W 30–7| 61,757|
October 1| 8:00 p.m.| at Tulane| No. 6|

* Louisiana Superdome
* New Orleans, LA

| | W 48–28| 34,364| [3]
October 8| 2:00 p.m.| No. 7 (I-AA) Georgia Southern| No. 6|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| | W 28–10| 59,109|
October 15| 2:00 p.m.| East Carolina| No. 5|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| | W 45–21| 56,391| [4]
October 22| 2:00 p.m.| Louisiana Tech| No. 5|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| | W 66–3| 51,703| [5]
November 5| 8:00 p.m.| at No. 15 South Carolina| No. 5|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia, SC

| ESPN| W 59–0| 75,000| [6]
November 12| 7:00 p.m.| Virginia Tech| No. 5|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| | W 41–14| 50,910| [7]
November 26| 7:30 p.m.| Florida| No. 5|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)

| ESPN| W 52–17| 62,693| [8]
January 2| 8:00 p.m.| vs. No. 7 Auburn| No. 4|

* Louisiana Superdome
* New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)

| ABC| W 13–7| 61,934| [9]

* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Eastern time

[10]

## Roster

[edit]

1988 Florida State Seminoles football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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FB | `22` | Edgar Bennett | So
RB | `31` | Marion Butts | Sr
TB | `13` | Dexter Carter | Jr
QB | `5` | Chip Ferguson | Sr
QB | `14` | Brad Johnson | Fr
RB | `33` | Sammie Smith | Jr
QB | `11` | Casey Weldon |  Fr
QB | `4` | Peter Tom Willis | Jr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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DB | `6` | LeRoy Butler | Jr
DL | `53` | Odell Haggins | Jr
CB | `2` | Deion Sanders | Sr
DB | `28` | Dedrick Dodge | So
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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K | `9` | Richie Andrews | So

Head coach

* Bobby Bowden

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Wayne McDuffie (Offensive coordinator)
* Mickey Andrews (Defensive coordinator)
* Skip Holtz (Graduate assistant)

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## Rankings

[edit]

Further information: 1988 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes| Week

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Poll| Pre| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15| Final
AP| 1 (44)| 1 (41)| 10| 10| 9| 6| 6| 5| 7| 6| 5| 5| 5| 5| 4| 4| 3
Coaches| 1 (37)| 1 (37)| 12| 12| 9| 8| 7| 6| 7| 7| 8 (1)| 5 (1)| 5 (1)| 5 (1)| 4 (1)| 4 (1)| 3 (1)

[11]

## Game summaries

[edit]

### At Miami (FL)

[edit]

Florida State at Miami (FL)  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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#1 Seminoles | 0 | 0| 0| 0 | 0
• #6 Hurricanes | 3 | 14| 7| 7 | 31

* Date: September 3
* Location: Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
* Game attendance: 77,836
* TV announcers (CBS Sports): Brent Musburger, Pat Haden, and John Dockery

| Scoring summary

1| 11:46| MIA| Carlos Huerta 46-yard field goal| MIA 3-0
2| 14:27| MIA| Cleveland Gary 2-yard run (Carlos Huerta kick)| MIA 10-0
2| 0:11| MIA| Rob Chudzinski 19-yard pass from Steve Walsh (Carlos Huerta kick)| MIA 17-0
3| 8:54| MIA| Leonard Conley 5-yard pass from Steve Walsh (Carlos Huerta kick)| MIA 24-0
4| 1:30| MIA| Pee Wee Smith 17-yard pass from Craig Erickson (Carlos Huerta kick)| MIA 31-0

See also: 1988 Miami Hurricanes football team and Florida State–Miami football rivalry

[12][13]

### Southern Miss

[edit]

See also: Southern Miss Golden Eagles football

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Southern Miss  | 0  | 10  | 0  | 3 | 13
Florida St  | 14  | 14  | 14  | 7 | 49

### At Clemson

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Florida State at Clemson  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• #10 Seminoles | 0 | 7| 14| 3 | 24
#3 Tigers | 7 | 7| 0| 7 | 21

* Date: September 17
* Location: Memorial Stadium
* Game attendance: 82,500

| Scoring summary

Q1| | CLEM| Cooper 61 yard pass from C. Davis (Seyle kick)| CLEM 7–0
Q2| | FSU| D. Carter 40 yard pass from Ferguson (Andrews kick)| Tie 7–7
Q2| | CLEM| R. Williams 7 yard run (Seyle kick)| CLEM 14–7
Q3| | FSU| D. Sanders 76 yard punt return (Andrews kick)| Tie 14–14
Q3| | FSU| D. Williams 1 yard run (Andrews kick)| FSU 21–14
Q4| | CLEM| T. Johnson 19 yard run| Tie 21–21
Q4| | FSU| Andrews 19 yard field goal| FSU 24–21

See also: 1988 Clemson Tigers football team and Clemson–Florida State football rivalry

[14]

### Michigan State

[edit]

Michigan State at Florida State  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Spartans | 0 | 0| 7| 0 | 7
• #9 Seminoles | 7 | 6| 0| 17 | 30

* Date: September 24
* Location: Doak Campbell Stadium
* Game attendance: 61,757

See also: 1988 Michigan State Spartans football team

### At Tulane

[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Florida St  | 10  | 21  | 0  | 17 | 48
Tulane  | 0  | 14  | 7  | 7 | 28

See also: 1988 Tulane Green Wave football team

### Georgia Southern

[edit]

See also: 1988 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Georgia Southern  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 7 | 10
Florida St  | 7  | 0  | 0  | 21 | 28

### East Carolina

[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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East Carolina  | 0  | 14  | 0  | 7 | 21
Florida St  | 14  | 14  | 3  | 14 | 45

### Louisiana Tech

[edit]

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Louisiana Tech  | 0  | 3  | 0  | 0 | 3
Florida St  | 28  | 7  | 17  | 14 | 66

### At South Carolina

[edit]

See also: 1988 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Florida St  | 14  | 17  | 14  | 14 | 59
South Carolina  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0 | 0

### Virginia Tech

[edit]

See also: 1988 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Virginia Tech  | 0  | 7  | 0  | 7 | 14
Florida St  | 0  | 14  | 20  | 7 | 41

### Florida

[edit]

See also: 1988 Florida Gators football team and Florida–Florida State football rivalry

| 1  | 2  | 3  | 4 | Total

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Florida  | 7  | 3  | 0  | 7 | 17
Florida St  | 21  | 3  | 21  | 7 | 52

### Vs. Auburn (Sugar Bowl)

[edit]

Florida State vs. Auburn  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• #4 Seminoles | 10 | 3| 0| 0 | 13
#7 Tigers | 0 | 7| 0| 0 | 7

* Date: January 2
* Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
* Game start: 7:45 p.m. CST
* Elapsed time: 3:11
* Game attendance: 61,934
* Game weather: Indoors
* Referee: John Soffey
* TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf

| Scoring summary

1| 9:48| FSU| Dayne Williams 2-yard run (Richie Andrews kick)| FSU 7–0
5:57| FSU| Bill Mason 35-yard field goal| FSU 10–0
2| 11:00| FSU| Bill Mason 31-yard field goal| FSU 13–0
4:09| AUB| Walter Reeves 20-yard pass from Reggie Slack (Win Lyle kick)| FSU 13–7

Main article: 1989 Sugar Bowl

See also: 1988 Auburn Tigers football team

[15]

## 1989 NFL Draft

[edit]

Main article: 1989 NFL draft

Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club

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Deion Sanders | Cornerback | 1 | 5 | Atlanta Falcons
Sammie Smith | Running back | 1 | 9 | Miami Dolphins
Pat Tomberlin | Guard | 4 | 99 | Indianapolis Colts
Marion Butts | Running back | 7 | 183 | San Diego Chargers
Victor Floyd | Running back | 11 | 287 | San Diego Chargers
Stan Shiver | Defensive back | 12 | 310 | Green Bay Packers

[16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Seminoles regroup, rout Southern Miss, 49–13". The Orlando Sentinel. September 11, 1988. Retrieved March 28, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ "Fake punt with 1:33 to go helps FSU beat Clemson". The Miami Herald. September 18, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "FSU tames Tulane, 48–28, as Sammie gains 212 yards". The Miami Herald. October 2, 1988. Retrieved February 7, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Parker sparkles in FSU's 45–21 victory over East Carolina". Tallahassee Democrat. October 16, 1988. Retrieved March 5, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Ferguson is lone sore spot as Florida St. romps, 66–3". The Miami Herald. October 23, 1988. Retrieved July 7, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Seminoles destroy South Carolina 59–0". The Palm Beach Post. November 6, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "20-point period fires up FSU, 41–14". The Miami Herald. November 13, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Big plays by FSU bury Gators, 52–17". The Miami Herald. November 27, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "'Prime Time' steals the show". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 3, 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "1988 Football - Year in Review".
11. ^ "Florida State 1988 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
12. ^ NoleFan.Org
13. ^ "MIAMI CRUSHES FLORIDA STATE". Chicago Tribune. September 4, 1988. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
14. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1988 Sep 18. Retrieved 2017-Aug-27.
15. ^ "SUGAR BOWL: FLORIDA STATE 13, AUBURN 7 : In Prime Time, Sanders and Florida State Stop Auburn Short". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1989. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
16. ^ "1989 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 23, 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Florida State Seminoles football

Venues|

* Centennial Field (1947–1949)
* Doak Campbell Stadium (1950–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Florida Cup
* Clemson
* Florida
* Miami
* Virginia

Culture & lore|

* Osceola and Renegade
* The War Chant
* Marching Chiefs
* FSU Hymns
* Sod Cemetery
* Wide Right I
* Wide Right II
* 1993 'Game of the Century'
* Choke at Doak
* 2015 Georgia Tech game
* Bob Crenshaw Award
* Tomahawk chop

People|

* Alumni
* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders
* Annual awards

Seasons|

* 1902
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* 1947
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*[Conf]: Conference record
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