1988 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

1988 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Mike Gottfried (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Dickens (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple pro-style
Defensive coordinator	John Fox (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium (Capacity: 56,500)

1988 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	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 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:00 p.m.	Northern Iowa		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 59–10	35,755
September 17	7:00 p.m.	No. 18 Ohio State		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN	W 42–10	56,500
September 24	12:00 p.m.	No. 11 West Virginia	No. 16	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (Backyard Brawl)	JP Sports	L 10–31	55,978
October 1	12:00 p.m.	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	JP Sports	L 31–34	32,000
October 8	7:00 p.m.	No. 5 Notre Dame		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 20–30	56,500
October 15	1:30 p.m.	Temple		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 42–7	32,832
October 22	1:30 p.m.	Navy		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 52–6	34,230
November 5	12:00 p.m.	Rutgers		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	JP Sports	W 20–10	20,051
November 12	3:30 p.m.	at Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	W 14–7	85,701
November 19	1:00 p.m.	at NC State		Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC	JP Sports	L 3–14	39,300
December 3	4:30 p.m.	at No. 18 Syracuse		Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	ESPN	L 7–14	49,860
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Coaching staff

1988 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
	Coaching Staff Mike Gottfried – Head Coach Jack Harbaugh – Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Mike Dickens – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks John Fox – Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Tommie Liggins – Run Coordinator/Running Backs Steve Coury – Wide Receivers Frank D'Alonzo – Defensive Line Bill Meyers – Offensive Line Scott O'Brien – Special Teams Sal Sunseri – Linebackers			Support Staff Alex Kramer – Administrative Assistant Bud Ratliff – Recruiting Coordinator Paul "Rocky" Alt – Graduate Assistant John Cervino – Graduate Assistant Bill D'Ottavio – Graduate Assistant Frank Gansz, Jr. – Graduate Assistant Skip Peete – Graduate Assistant			Strength and Conditioning Staff Buddy Morris – Strength Coordinator Ray Oliver – Conditioning

Roster

{{American football roster/Header | year = 1988 | team = Pittsburgh Panthers | teamcolors = f | offensive_players = |- | style="text-align:center;" | OT | style="text-align:center;" | 62 | style="text-align:left;" | Roman Matusz | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;" | Jr |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | OT | style="text-align:center;" | 71 | style="text-align:left;" | Tom Ricketts | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;" | Sr |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | C | style="text-align:center;" | 55 | style="text-align:left;" | Bryan Schoch | style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;" | So |-

| style="vertical-align:top;" |

Head coach

• Mike Gottfried

Coordinators/assistant coaches

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Legend

• (C) Team captain
• (S) Suspended
• (I) Ineligible

• Injured
• Redshirt

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Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Burt Grossman	Defensive End	1	8	San Diego Chargers
Tom Ricketts	Guard	1	24	Pittsburgh Steelers
Mark Stepnoski	Center	3	57	Dallas Cowboys
Vernon Kirk	Tight End	9	242	Los Angeles Rams
Cornell Holloway	Defensive Back	10	256	Cincinnati Bengals
Brandon Derry	Linebacker	10	258	Pittsburgh Steelers