1988 record 5-6 (2-5 SEC) Home stadium Commonwealth Stadium | Head coach Jerry Claiborne | |
 | ||
Conference Southeastern Conference | ||
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. 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.
Season
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.
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.