1988 Kentucky Wildcats football team

American college football season

1988 Kentucky Wildcats football

Conference| Southeastern Conference
Head coach|

* Jerry Claiborne (7th season)

Home stadium| Commonwealth Stadium

Seasons

<- 1987

1989 ->

1988 Southeastern Conference football standings

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 19 LSU \+  | 6  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
No. 8 Auburn \+  | 6  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 10  | - | 2  | - | 0
No. 15 Georgia | 5  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 17 Alabama | 4  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
Florida | 4  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 5  | - | 0
Tennessee | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Ole Miss | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Kentucky | 2  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Vanderbilt | 2  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Mississippi State | 0  | - | 7  | - | 0 |  |  | 1  | - | 10  | - | 0

* \+ - Conference co-champions

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Wildcats scored 217 points while allowing 208 points.[1][2] This was Jerry Claiborne's seventh season as Kentucky's head coach. The Wildcats finished 5–6, one victory shy of bowl eligibility; the highlight of the season was an upset of #11 ranked Georgia.

Kentucky opened with a win against Central Michigan, then lost at #7 Auburn and Indiana before beating Kent State. Losses to #12 Alabama and at #19 LSU followed. Next were wins against #11 Georgia, Southern Illinois and Vanderbilt, then losses to Florida and at Tennessee.[3]

The victory over Georgia was the season's high point. Running back Alfred Rawls, a Georgia native, had 128 yards and a touchdown rushing and linebacker Randy Holleran had 13 tackles; #11 Georgia was held to 224 yards of total offense.[4]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 3| Central Michigan*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 18–7| 41,736| [5]
September 10| at No. 7 Auburn|

* Jordan-Hare Stadium
* Auburn, AL

| L 10–20| 67,000| [6]
September 17| at Indiana*|

* Memorial Stadium
* Bloomington, IN (rivalry)

| L 15–36| 51,077| [7]
September 24| Kent State*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 38–14| 47,989| [8]
October 1| No. 12 Alabama|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| L 27–31| 53,442| [9]
October 15| at No. 19 LSU|

* Tiger Stadium
* Baton Rouge, LA

| L 12–15| 71,418| [10]
October 22| No. 11 Georgia|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 16–10| 50,416| [11]
October 29| Southern Illinois*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 24–10| 50,093| [12]
November 5| Vanderbilt|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY (rivalry)

| W 14–13| 44,105| [13]
November 12| Florida|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY (rivalry)

| L 19–24| 50,191| [14]
November 19| at No. 11 Tennessee|

* Neyland Stadium
* Knoxville, TN (rivalry)

| L 24–28| 90,353| [15]

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

[16][17]

## Team players in the 1989 NFL Draft

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Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club

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David "D. J." Johnson | Defensive back | 7 | 174 | Pittsburgh Steelers
Ivy Joe Hunter | Running back | 7 | 182 | Indianapolis Colts
Chris Chenault | Linebacker | 8 | 222 | Cincinnati Bengals
Charlie Darrington | Tight end | 9 | 233 | Washington Redskins

[18][19]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1988 Kentucky Wildcats results". Archived from the original on October 6, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
2. ^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.209
3. ^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.168, 209
4. ^ Story, Mark, UK football's greatest wins at Commonwealth, Lexington Herald-Leader, September 4, 2011
5. ^ "Chips drop fumblefest, 18–7". Detroit Free Press. September 4, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Tigers won't celebrate 20–10 victory". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. September 11, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "IU captures the Barrel". The Times-Mail. September 18, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Kentucky overpowers Kent, 38–14". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 25, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "UK left with tears after Tide rushes in with crusher at 0:10". The Courier-Journal. October 2, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "LSU drains Kentucky again". The Paducah Sun. October 16, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Georgia gets the blues". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 23, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ Fowler, Scott (October 30, 1988). "UK finally awakens to knock off SIU 24-10". The Courier-Journal. p. C1. Retrieved January 1, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Clark's kick, VU fall short 14–13". The Tennessean. November 6, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "Gators find an offense and victory". Tallahassee Democrat. November 13, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "UK ends year of near-misses with 28–24 loss to Tennessee". The Courier-Journal. November 20, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ "College Football Reference". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
17. ^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.168
18. ^ "1989 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
19. ^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.166

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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
* Big Blue Nation

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
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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