1988 Kentucky Wildcats football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Head coach
Home stadiumCommonwealth Stadium
Seasons
← 1987
1989 →
1988 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 3Central Michigan*
W 18–741,736[5]
September 10at No. 7 Auburn
L 10–2067,000[6]
September 17at Indiana*
L 15–3651,077[7]
September 24Kent State*
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 38–1447,989[8]
October 1No. 12 Alabama
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
L 27–3153,442[9]
October 15at No. 19 LSU
L 12–1571,418[10]
October 22No. 11 Georgia
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 16–1050,416[11]
October 29Southern Illinois*
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 24–1050,093[12]
November 5Vanderbilt
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY (rivalry)
W 14–1344,105[13]
November 12Florida
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY (rivalry)
L 19–2450,191[14]
November 19at No. 11 Tennessee
L 24–2890,353[15]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[16][17]

Team players in the 1989 NFL Draft

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
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

  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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