1988 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1988 Illinois Fighting Illini football
All-American Bowl, L 10–14 vs. Florida
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record6–5–1 (5–2–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGene Dahlquist (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorLou Tepper (1st season)
MVPKeith Jones
Captains
  • Glenn Cobb
  • Mark McGowan
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1988 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Michigan $ 7 0 19 2 1
Michigan State 6 1 16 5 1
Illinois 5 2 16 5 1
Iowa 4 1 36 4 3
No. 20 Indiana 5 3 08 3 1
Purdue 3 5 04 7 0
Ohio State 2 5 14 6 1
Northwestern 2 5 12 8 1
Wisconsin 1 7 01 10 0
Minnesota 0 6 22 7 2
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach John Mackovic, the Illini compiled a 6–5–1 record, tied for third place in the Big Ten Conference, and lost to Florida in the 1988 All-American Bowl.

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Jeff George with 2,257 passing yards, running back Keith Jones with 1,108 rushing yards, and Steve Williams with 523 receiving yards.