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 2023 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 448 consecutive games.[ 4]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 3 Montana State * W 69–069,121 [ 5]
September 10 7:00 p.m. at Ole Miss No. 18 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 3:30 p.m. 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 7:30 p.m. at No. 5 Florida State * ESPN L 17–5262,693 [ 15]
vs. Illinois * ESPN W 14–1048,218 [ 16]
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
[ 1]
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
^ 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 .