CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1988 LSU

8–⁠4 (6–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Mike Archer, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

LSU in 1988, game by game: won vs. No. 11 Texas A&M 27–0; won at Tennessee 34–9; lost at Ohio State 33–36; lost at No. 17 Florida 6–19; won vs. No. 4 Auburn 7–6; won vs. Kentucky 15–12; won vs. Ole Miss 31–20; won at No. 18 Alabama 19–18; won at Mississippi State 20–3; lost vs. No. 3 Miami 3–44; won vs. Tulane 44–14; lost vs. No. 17 Syracuse 10–23+30−41Won 27–0 vs. No. 11 Texas A&M+27No. 11 Texas A&MWon 34–9 at Tennessee+25TennesseeLost 33–36 at Ohio State-3Ohio StateLost 6–19 at No. 17 Florida-13No. 17 FloridaWon 7–6 vs. No. 4 Auburn+1No. 4 AuburnWon 15–12 vs. Kentucky+3KentuckyWon 31–20 vs. Ole Miss+11Ole MissWon 19–18 at No. 18 Alabama+1No. 18 AlabamaWon 20–3 at Mississippi State+17Mississippi Sta…Lost 3–44 vs. No. 3 Miami-41No. 3 MiamiWon 44–14 vs. Tulane+30TulaneLost 10–23 vs. No. 17 Syracuse-13No. 17 Syracuse
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs11Texas A&MW 27–⁠060%
Sep 17atTennesseeW 34–⁠958%
Sep 24atOhio StateL 33–⁠3660%
Oct 1at17FloridaL 6–⁠1952%
Oct 8vs4AuburnW 7–⁠651%
Oct 15vsKentuckyW 15–⁠1278%
Oct 29vsOle MissW 31–⁠2078%
Nov 5at18AlabamaW 19–⁠1847%
Nov 12atMississippi StateW 20–⁠382%
Nov 19vs3MiamiL 3–⁠4447%
Nov 26vsTulaneW 44–⁠1485%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs17SyracuseHall of Fame BowlL 10–⁠2345%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Syracuse 23–⁠10 in the Hall of Fame Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 8: 19
  8. Wk 9: 16
  9. Wk 10: 13
  10. Wk 11: 13
  11. Wk 12: 12
  12. Wk 13: 11
  13. Wk 14: 16
  14. Wk 15: 16
  15. Wk 16: 16
  16. Final: 19

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.

Southeastern Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Auburn

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 7
Points
249–⁠204
Coach
Mike Archer
Elo
1653 −3 this season
SP+ rating
13.8 No. 22 of 102; offense No. 48, defense No. 10
SRS
10.2 No. 25 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Ed Zaunbrecher
Defensive coordinator
Pete Jenkins
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1989

The 1989 draft
Rd 1Eric Hill LBPhoenix Cardinals
Rd 2Ralph Norwood OTAtlanta Falcons
Rd 3Greg Jackson DBNew York Giants
Rd 4Mike Mayes DBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Ron Sancho LBKansas City Chiefs

All-SEC

4 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1988 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1988 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Auburn6–⁠110–⁠28
LSU6–⁠18–⁠419
Georgia5–⁠29–⁠315
Alabama4–⁠39–⁠317
Florida4–⁠37–⁠5
Tennessee3–⁠45–⁠6
Ole Miss3–⁠45–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠55–⁠6
Vanderbilt2–⁠53–⁠8
Mississippi State0–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.