PROFILBARU.COM

1988 Kentucky Wildcats football
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
v t e	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

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
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

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

^ "1988 Kentucky Wildcats results". Archived from the original on October 6, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.209
^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.168, 209
^ Story, Mark, UK football's greatest wins at Commonwealth, Lexington Herald-Leader, September 4, 2011
^ "Chips drop fumblefest, 18–7". Detroit Free Press. September 4, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tigers won't celebrate 20–10 victory". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. September 11, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "IU captures the Barrel". The Times-Mail. September 18, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Kentucky overpowers Kent, 38–14". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 25, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "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.
^ "LSU drains Kentucky again". The Paducah Sun. October 16, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Georgia gets the blues". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 23, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ 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.
^ "Clark's kick, VU fall short 14–13". The Tennessean. November 6, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gators find an offense and victory". Tallahassee Democrat. November 13, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "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.
^ "College Football Reference". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.168
^ "1989 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.166