1988 Louisville Cardinals football team

1988 Louisville Cardinals football
Conference	Independent
Record	8–3
Head coach	Howard Schnellenberger (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Rick Lantz (3rd season)
Home stadium	Cardinal Stadium
Seasons ←  1987 1989  →

1988 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame		–		–				12	–	0	–	0
No. 2 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Florida State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 5 West Virginia		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 13 Syracuse		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Army		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Louisville		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Northern Illinois		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Akron		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Penn State		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Tulane		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulsa		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Boston College		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1988 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cardinals, led by fourth-year head coach Howard Schnellenberger, participated as independents and played their home games at Cardinal Stadium.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	at Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	L 16–27	30,457	[1]
September 10	Wyoming	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	L 9–44	29,105	[2]
September 17	Memphis State	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY (rivalry)	W 29–18	22,476	[3]
September 24	at North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	W 38–34	49,900	[4]
October 1	at Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	L 23–30	17,584	[5]
October 8	Tulsa	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	W 9–3	24,381	[6]
October 15	Virginia	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	W 30–28	30,142	[7]
October 22	at Tulane	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA	W 38–35	24,824	[8]
October 29	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH (The Keg of Nails)	W 21–6	19,193	[9]
November 5	Virginia Tech	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	W 13–3	21,107	[10]
November 12	Western Kentucky	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	W 35–17	31,636	[11]
Homecoming

^{[12] [13] [14]}

Roster

1988 Louisville Cardinals football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 15 Jay Gruden Sr QB 7 Browning Nagle So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 99 Ted Washington So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Howard Schnellenberger Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Maryland struggles past Louisville". Greensboro News & Record. September 4, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Louisville's mistakes pave way for Cowboys". The Paducah Sun. September 11, 1988. Retrieved May 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "U of L uses ground attack to beat Memphis State". Messenger-Inquirer. September 18, 1988. Retrieved May 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "U of L rallies past Tar Heels". The State Journal. September 25, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Gandy (or was it Biondi?) swims in at 1:12, sinks Cards". The Courier-Journal. October 2, 1988. Retrieved March 28, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Cards make good on Tulsa turnovers". The Park City Daily News. October 9, 1988. Retrieved May 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Bell's field goal lets U of L cry joyfully, 30–28". The Courier-Journal. October 16, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "U of L is 'pushed to limit' before Tulane falls 38–35". The Courier-Journal. October 23, 1988. Retrieved February 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Gruden leads U of L 21–6 over Cincinnati". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 30, 1988. Retrieved May 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Nothing Hokie about it as U of L prevails 13–3". The Courier-Journal. November 6, 1988. Retrieved February 2, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Louisville thumps the Hilltoppers". The State Journal. November 13, 1988. Retrieved May 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "1988 Louisville Cardinals Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
13. "Louisville – 2018 Football Media Guide – page 204". www.guide.provations.com. University of Louisville. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
14. "Louisville – 2018 Football Media Guide – page 194". www.guide.provations.com. University of Louisville. Retrieved January 5, 2019.