The 1988 All-American Bowl was a post-season American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

Legion Field Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

between the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and the

University of Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

on December 29, 1988. The game was the final contest of the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 14–10 victory for Florida.

Game summary

Head Coach John Mackovic led Illinois to a 6-4-1 record and a third-place finish in the Big Ten, reaching the All-American Bowl against the successful

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

team from Florida. On the first play from scrimmage, Florida freshman Emmitt Smith ran 55 yards for a touchdown. Illinois tied the score on a 30-yard run by Keith Jones in the second quarter. After a fourth-quarter Doug Higgins field goal gave Illinois a three-point lead, Smith scored his second touchdown with less than four minutes remaining to give the Gators the victory.

Scoring summary

Statistical summary

Team Statistics (Rushing-Passing-Total): UI - 55-194-249; UF - 187-69-256. Individual Statistical Leaders Rushing (Att.-Yds.-TD): UI - Jones 18-88-1; UF - Smith 28-159-2. Passing (Att.-Comp.-Int.-TD-Yds.): UI - Jeff George 37-20-2-0-194; UF - Kyle Morris 12-6-2-0-50. Receiving (No.-Yds.-TD): UI - Mike Bellamy 5-49-0; Steven Williams 5-49-0; UF - Terence Barber 4-29-0.

References

All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985. In 1986, the National Football Foundatio ...

All-American Bowl Florida Gators football bowl games Illinois Fighting Illini football bowl games

December 1988 sports events in the United States {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub