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1988 Florida State

11–⁠1, coached by Bobby Bowden, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 1988, game by game: lost at No. 6 Miami 0–31; won vs. Southern Miss 49–13; won at No. 3 Clemson 24–21; won vs. Michigan State 30–7; won at Tulane 48–28; won vs. Georgia Southern 28–10; won vs. East Carolina 45–21; won vs. Louisiana Tech 66–3; won at No. 15 South Carolina 59–0; won vs. Virginia Tech 41–14; won vs. Florida 52–17; won vs. No. 7 Auburn 13–7+63−31Lost 0–31 at No. 6 Miami-31No. 6 MiamiWon 49–13 vs. Southern Miss+36Southern MissWon 24–21 at No. 3 Clemson+3No. 3 ClemsonWon 30–7 vs. Michigan State+23Michigan StateWon 48–28 at Tulane+20TulaneWon 28–10 vs. Georgia Southern+18Georgia SouthernWon 45–21 vs. East Carolina+24East CarolinaWon 66–3 vs. Louisiana Tech+63Louisiana TechWon 59–0 at No. 15 South Carolina+59No. 15 South CarolinaWon 41–14 vs. Virginia Tech+27Virginia TechWon 52–17 vs. Florida+35FloridaWon 13–7 vs. No. 7 Auburn+6No. 7 Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3at6MiamiL 0–⁠3137%
Sep 10vsSouthern MissW 49–⁠1380%
Sep 17at3ClemsonW 24–⁠2148%
Sep 24vsMichigan StateW 30–⁠775%
Oct 1atTulaneW 48–⁠2874%
Oct 8vsGeorgia SouthernW 28–⁠1096%
Oct 15vsEast CarolinaW 45–⁠2191%
Oct 22vsLouisiana TechW 66–⁠392%
Nov 5at15South CarolinaW 59–⁠059%
Nov 12vsVirginia TechW 41–⁠1492%
Nov 26vsFloridaW 52–⁠1783%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs7AuburnSugar BowlW 13–⁠751%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Auburn 13–⁠7 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 1
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 6
  8. Wk 8: 5
  9. Wk 9: 7
  10. Wk 10: 6
  11. Wk 11: 5
  12. Wk 12: 5
  13. Wk 13: 5
  14. Wk 14: 5
  15. Wk 15: 4
  16. Wk 16: 4
  17. Final: 3

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1988.

Led the nationDeion Sanders: punt return average (15.2)

Jim Thorpe AwardDeion Sanders, CB

Consensus All-AmericanDeion Sanders, CB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 1
Points
455–⁠172
Coach
Bobby Bowden
Elo
1805 +110 this season
SP+ rating
29.5 No. 4 of 102; offense No. 3, defense No. 13
SRS
24.8 No. 4 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Wayne McDuffie
Defensive coordinator
Mickey Andrews
Captains
Chip Ferguson, Deion Sanders and Alphonso Williams
Offense
I formation, Pro set
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1989

The 1989 draft
Rd 1Deion Sanders DBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 1Sammie Smith RBMiami Dolphins
Rd 4Pat Tomberlin OGIndianapolis Colts
Rd 7Marion Butts RBSan Diego Chargers