1983 Kentucky Wildcats football team

The 1983 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Jerry Claiborne, the Wildcats scored 228 points while allowing 237 points.^[1]

1983 Kentucky Wildcats football
Hall of Fame Classic Bowl, L 20–16 vs. West Virginia
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	6–5–1 (2–4 SEC)
Head coach	Jerry Claiborne (1st season)
Home stadium	Commonwealth Stadium
Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Auburn $	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 4 Georgia	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	1
No. 6 Florida	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
Tennessee	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Alabama	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Ole Miss	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	1
Mississippi State	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
LSU	0	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

After a 4–0 start, Kentucky finished the regular season 6–4–1 before playing in the 1983 Hall of Fame Classic and losing to No 18 West Virginia, 20–16. The improvement from 1982's 0–10–1 mark was, at the time, an NCAA record for most improvement in wins from one season to the next.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	Central Michigan*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 31–14	51,232	^[2]
September 10	Kansas State*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 31–12	56,123	^[3]
September 17	Indiana*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	W 24–13	56,825	^[4]
September 24	Tulane*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 26–14	57,424	^[5]
October 8	No. 7 Auburn	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	L 21–49	57,989	^[6]
October 15	LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 21–13	77,765	^[7]
October 22	at No. 7 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	L 21–47	82,122	^[8]
October 29	Cincinnati*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	T 13–13	57,789	^[9]
November 5	at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	W 17–8	41,000	^[10]
November 12	at No. 14 Florida	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	L 7–24	73,192	^[11]
November 19	Tennessee	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	L 0–10	57,985	^[12]
December 22	vs. No. 18 West Virginia*	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Hall of Fame Classic)	L 20–16	42,000	^[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14]

Team players in the 1984 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
John Grimsley	Linebacker	6	141	Houston Oilers

^[15][16]

References

1. "1983 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
2. "Kentucky's fast finish flattens Central, 31–14". Lansing State Journal. September 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Wildcats fall to Kentucky". The Salina Journal. September 11, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "UK hands IU first loss". Sunday Herald-Times. September 18, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Wildcats top Tulane 26–14". The Advocate-Messenger. September 25, 1983. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "No. 7 Auburn runs over outmanned UK". The Park City Daily News. October 9, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Jenkins' tosses lead Kentucky past LSU". The Paducah Sun. October 16, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "UK has its moment, but day is Georgia's". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 23, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Adams provides a spark as UK ties Cincinnati". The Courier-Journal. October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Kentucky defeats Vanderbilt, 17–8". The Park City Daily News. November 6, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Gators bounce back, rip 'Cats". The Pensacola News-Journal. November 13, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "UT Vols take 10–0 win". Kingsport Times-News. November 20, 1983. Retrieved August 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Hostetler finally gets warmed up". Birmingham Post-Herald. December 23, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.168, 209
15. "1984 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com". from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
16. 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.166