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American college football season
The 1988 Florida Gators football team represented the
University of Florida during the
1988 NCAA Division I-A football season . The season was
Galen Hall 's fifth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Hall's 1988 Florida Gators finished with a 7–5 overall record and a
Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 4–3, tying for fourth place among the ten SEC teams.
[1]
The Gators started the 1988 season 5–0 and were ranked as high as No. 14. During an October game against the
Memphis State Tigers , star running back
Emmitt Smith injured his knee and was unable to play for a month. Florida lost the Memphis State contest and the next three as well, with the Gator offense unable to score a single touchdown while Smith was sidelined. The offense under coordinator
Lynn Amadee struggled all season, with Gator quarterbacks combining to throw three touchdowns and 17 interceptions,
[2] leading one Florida sports columnist to dub the offense the "Amadeeville Horror".
[3] Defensive tackle
Trace Armstrong was All-SEC in 1988, setting a new school, single-season record for tackles for a loss with nineteen, including seven sacks. In both 1987 and 1988, walk-on safety
Louis Oliver was an All-American.
As of the conclusion of the 2022 season, Florida's 16-0 loss to Auburn on October 29, 1988 is the last time the Gators suffered a shutout, and Florida has scored in an all time NCAA record 436 consecutive games.
[4]
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 3
Montana State * W 69–069,121
[5]
September 10 at
Ole Miss W 27–1542,000
[6]
September 17
Indiana State * Florida Field Gainesville, FL W 58–070,147
[7]
September 24
Mississippi State No. 20 Florida Field Gainesville, FL W 17–073,138
[8]
October 1 No. 14
LSU No. 17 Florida Field Gainesville, FL (
rivalry )
CBS W 19–674,264
[9]
October 8
Memphis State * No. 14 Florida Field Gainesville, FL L 11–1773,194
[10]
October 15 at
Vanderbilt No. 20
TBS L 9–2441,000
[11]
October 29 No. 9
Auburn Florida Field Gainesville, FL (
rivalry ) ESPN L 0–1675,199
[12]
November 5 vs. No. 19
Georgia TBS L 3–2681,958
[13]
November 12 at
Kentucky W 24–1951,191
[14]
November 26 at No. 5
Florida State * ESPN L 17–5262,693
[15]
December 29 vs.
Illinois * ESPN W 14–1048,218
[16]
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from
AP Poll released prior to the game
[1]
Roster
1988 Florida Gators football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Rankings
References
^
a
b
2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
Archived 2015-12-08 at the
Wayback Machine , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
^
"1988 Florida Gators Stats" .
^
"Brent Pease Gators offense is worse than Jeff Bowden's ever was at FSU - tribunedigital-orlandosentinel" . Archived from
the original on March 4, 2016.
^
"Florida vs. Oregon State - College Football Game Recap - December 17, 2022" .
^
"Gators chew up 'Cats" . The Independent-Record . September 4, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Trick play helps Gators trip Ole Miss, 27–15" . The Pensacola News-Journal . September 11, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Florida freshman helps Gators blitz ISU" . The Indianapolis Star . September 18, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"96-yard run keys Florida win over MSU" . Enterprise-Journal . September 25, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Gator defense intercepts LSU" . The Commercial Appeal . October 2, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Memphis State shocks Gators" . The Bradenton Herald . October 9, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Power of gold helps Vanderbilt down Florida" . The Jackson Sun . October 16, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Tigers maul Gators 16–0" . The Palm Beach Post . October 30, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Punchless UF crumbles 26–3 to Bulldogs" . St. Petersburg Times . 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 .
^
"Big plays by FSU bury Gators, 52–17" . The Miami Herald . November 27, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Smith's TDs lift Gators" . Birmingham Post-Herald . December 30, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
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