1988 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

1988 The Citadel Bulldogs football
I-AA First Round, L 20–38 vs. Georgia Southern
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	8–4 (5–2 SoCon)
Head coach	Charlie Taaffe (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Option
Home stadium	Johnson Hagood Stadium
Seasons ←  1987 1989  →

1988 Southern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Furman +^	6	–	1	–	0			13	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Marshall +^	6	–	1	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
No. 14 The Citadel ^	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Appalachian State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Chattanooga	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
VMI	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
East Tennessee State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Western Carolina	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1988 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Bulldogs were led by second-year head coach Charlie Taaffe and played their home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium. They played as members of the Southern Conference, as they have since 1936. In 1988, The Citadel made its first appearance in the I-AA playoffs.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	at Appalachian State		Conrad Stadium Boone, NC	L 14–38	13,428	[1]
September 10	Presbyterian *		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	W 35–9
September 17	at Duke *		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	L 17–41	12,400
September 24	Navy *		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	W 42–35	20,754
October 1	at Western Carolina		Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	W 27–21
October 15	Chattanooga		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	W 23–17	16,457
October 22	Boston University *		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	W 24–13
October 29	East Tennessee State	No. 18	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	W 48–21
November 5	No. 1 Marshall	No. 19	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	W 20–3	20,011
November 12	vs. VMI	No. 12	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA (Military Classic of the South)	W 31–20	20,000	[2]
November 19	at No. 5 Furman	No. 9	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC (rivalry)	L 17–30	16,460	[3]
November 26	at No. 2 Georgia Southern *	No. 14	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 20–38
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^[4]

References

1. "Appalachian opens title defense by overwhelming Citadel 38–14". The State. September 4, 1988. Retrieved November 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
2. "VMI falls to Citadel in Classic". The Times and Democrat. November 13, 1988. Retrieved February 4, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Furman clinches share of title by topping Citadel". The Index-Journal. November 20, 1988. Retrieved September 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. The Citadel Football - 2011 Media Guide. The Citadel. p. 154. Retrieved 2012-06-28.