88 Days to Kickoff - Dawg Post Countdown

ATHENS - It was about three decades ago longtime UGA coach and athletic director Vince Dooley was seriously considering a run for political office. 

That was the background heading into his final season in Athens. Dooley’s 25 years as head coach are still the longest in school history. His near 40 years of work at Georgia is quite rare. That 1988 season was full of potential - it had wins over Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Florida. But the bizarre 16-10 loss at Kentucky prevented Dooley from leaving his job as head man in Athens as an SEC champion. It would have been his seventh conference crown. 

The 1988 season wrapped up with Georgia winning its 9th contest of the season, ending the year ranked 15th and Dooley’s 201st victory. That came when the No. 19 Bulldogs took out Michigan State 34-27 in the 1989 Mazda Gator Bowl on January 1, 1989 at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. 

Other notable 88s in the history of the Bulldogs…

Eli Maricich scored a touchdown on an 88-yard punt return during Georgia’s 21-14 loss at North Carolina on October 1, 1949 at Kennan Stadium in Chapel Hill.

Top UGA players to ever wear the No. 88

TE Norris Brown
WR Brice Hunter