CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

The 1998 season

Tennessee finished No. 1 in the final AP poll, 13–⁠0 under Phillip Fulmer, after it beat Florida State 23–⁠16 in the Fiesta Bowl. The biggest game by the rankings: No. 1 Tennessee 23, No. 2 Florida State 16 (Jan 4, 1999). Two Division I-A teams finished unbeaten. 47 ranked teams lost to unranked or lower-ranked opponents.

Heisman Trophy: Ricky Williams, RB, Texas, who also won the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Doak Walker.

The Heisman vote: Ricky Williams 2,355 points, Michael Bishop 792
PlayerPoints1st2nd3rd
Ricky Williams RB, Texas2,3557149131
Michael Bishop QB, Kansas State79241250169
Cade McNown QB, UCLA69628217178
Tim Couch QB, Kentucky52726153143
Donovan McNabb QB, Syracuse232135485
Daunte Culpepper QB, UCF6751130
Champ Bailey CB, Georgia556821
Torry Holt WR, NC State442822
Joe Germaine QB, Ohio State4321115
Shaun King QB, Tulane3811113

First-, second- and third-place votes (3, 2 and 1 points), from the season’s Wikipedia article, as published.

Scoreboards

Final AP poll

1TennesseeSoutheastern Conference
2Ohio StateBig Ten
3Florida StateAtlantic Coast Conference
4ArizonaPac-10
5FloridaSoutheastern Conference
6WisconsinBig Ten
7TulaneConference USA
8UCLAPac-10
9Georgia TechAtlantic Coast Conference
10Kansas StateBig 12
11Texas A&MBig 12
12MichiganBig Ten
13Air ForceWestern Athletic Conference
14GeorgiaSoutheastern Conference
15TexasBig 12
16ArkansasSoutheastern Conference
17Penn StateBig Ten
18VirginiaAtlantic Coast Conference
19NebraskaBig 12
20MiamiBig East
21MissouriBig 12
22Notre DameIndependent
23Virginia TechBig East
24PurdueBig Ten
25SyracuseBig East

Biggest upsets

Nov 7, 1998Michigan State 28, 1Ohio State 24
Sep 12, 1998NC State 24, 2Florida State 7
Dec 5, 1998Miami 49, 3UCLA 45
Dec 29, 1998Purdue 37, 4Kansas State 34
Nov 27, 1998Texas 26, 6Texas A&M 24
Oct 31, 1998Texas 20, 7Nebraska 16
Oct 17, 199825Georgia Tech 41, 7Virginia 38
Sep 5, 199822Notre Dame 36, 5Michigan 20
Nov 21, 1998Mississippi State 22, 9Arkansas 21
Nov 28, 1998USC 10, 9Notre Dame 0
Sep 12, 1998Michigan State 45, 10Notre Dame 23
Oct 10, 199818Texas A&M 28, 2Nebraska 21

Ranked teams that lost as the betting favorite, the longest shots first, with the winner’s odds on the line; before lines are on file, ranked teams beaten by unranked or lower-ranked ones.

The AP poll, week by week

The AP poll’s top 10 in 1998, week by week1510152025Wk 1Wk 3Wk 5Wk 7Wk 9Wk 11Wk 13Wk 15FinalKansas State: Wk 1 No. 6, Wk 2 No. 5, Wk 3 No. 5, Wk 4 No. 5, Wk 5 No. 5, Wk 6 No. 5, Wk 7 No. 4, Wk 8 No. 4, Wk 9 No. 4, Wk 10 No. 4, Wk 11 No. 2, Wk 12 No. 2, Wk 13 No. 2, Wk 14 No. 2, Wk 15 No. 4, Final No. 1010 Kansas StateGeorgia Tech: Wk 1 unranked, Wk 2 unranked, Wk 3 unranked, Wk 4 unranked, Wk 5 unranked, Wk 6 unranked, Wk 7 No. 25, Wk 8 No. 20, Wk 9 No. 23, Wk 10 No. 23, Wk 11 No. 22, Wk 12 No. 21, Wk 13 No. 17, Wk 14 No. 12, Wk 15 No. 12, Final No. 99 Georgia TechUCLA: Wk 1 No. 7, Wk 2 No. 6, Wk 3 No. 4, Wk 4 No. 3, Wk 5 No. 4, Wk 6 No. 3, Wk 7 No. 2, Wk 8 No. 2, Wk 9 No. 2, Wk 10 No. 3, Wk 11 No. 3, Wk 12 No. 3, Wk 13 No. 3, Wk 14 No. 3, Wk 15 No. 6, Final No. 88 UCLATulane: Wk 1 unranked, Wk 2 unranked, Wk 3 unranked, Wk 4 unranked, Wk 5 unranked, Wk 6 No. 25, Wk 7 No. 24, Wk 8 No. 22, Wk 9 No. 19, Wk 10 No. 15, Wk 11 No. 14, Wk 12 No. 12, Wk 13 No. 11, Wk 14 No. 9, Wk 15 No. 10, Final No. 77 TulaneWisconsin: Wk 1 No. 20, Wk 2 No. 17, Wk 3 No. 14, Wk 4 No. 14, Wk 5 No. 13, Wk 6 No. 12, Wk 7 No. 9, Wk 8 No. 9, Wk 9 No. 9, Wk 10 No. 8, Wk 11 No. 8, Wk 12 No. 13, Wk 13 No. 10, Wk 14 No. 8, Wk 15 No. 9, Final No. 66 WisconsinFlorida: Wk 1 No. 3, Wk 2 No. 3, Wk 3 No. 2, Wk 4 No. 8, Wk 5 No. 8, Wk 6 No. 6, Wk 7 No. 5, Wk 8 No. 5, Wk 9 No. 6, Wk 10 No. 5, Wk 11 No. 4, Wk 12 No. 4, Wk 13 No. 8, Wk 14 No. 7, Wk 15 No. 7, Final No. 55 FloridaArizona: Wk 1 No. 24, Wk 2 No. 21, Wk 3 No. 16, Wk 4 No. 16, Wk 5 No. 14, Wk 6 No. 10, Wk 7 No. 16, Wk 8 No. 14, Wk 9 No. 13, Wk 10 No. 10, Wk 11 No. 9, Wk 12 No. 8, Wk 13 No. 7, Wk 14 No. 6, Wk 15 No. 5, Final No. 44 ArizonaFlorida State: Wk 1 No. 2, Wk 2 No. 2, Wk 3 No. 11, Wk 4 No. 10, Wk 5 No. 9, Wk 6 No. 8, Wk 7 No. 6, Wk 8 No. 6, Wk 9 No. 5, Wk 10 No. 6, Wk 11 No. 5, Wk 12 No. 5, Wk 13 No. 4, Wk 14 No. 4, Wk 15 No. 2, Final No. 33 Florida StateOhio State: Wk 1 No. 1, Wk 2 No. 1, Wk 3 No. 1, Wk 4 No. 1, Wk 5 No. 1, Wk 6 No. 1, Wk 7 No. 1, Wk 8 No. 1, Wk 9 No. 1, Wk 10 No. 1, Wk 11 No. 7, Wk 12 No. 7, Wk 13 No. 5, Wk 14 No. 5, Wk 15 No. 3, Final No. 22 Ohio StateTennessee: Wk 1 No. 10, Wk 2 No. 8, Wk 3 No. 6, Wk 4 No. 4, Wk 5 No. 3, Wk 6 No. 4, Wk 7 No. 3, Wk 8 No. 3, Wk 9 No. 3, Wk 10 No. 2, Wk 11 No. 1, Wk 12 No. 1, Wk 13 No. 1, Wk 14 No. 1, Wk 15 No. 1, Final No. 11 Tennessee
The top 10 of the final AP poll and where each stood every week before it; a gap is a week out of the Top 25. Hover or tab to a line for its weeks.

Climbed

  1. ArizonaNo. 24 → No. 4
  2. Tulaneunranked → No. 7
  3. Georgia Techunranked → No. 9
  4. WisconsinNo. 20 → No. 6
  5. Air Forceunranked → No. 13

Fell

  1. Arizona StateNo. 8 → unranked
  2. LSUNo. 9 → unranked
  3. NebraskaNo. 4 → No. 19
  4. West VirginiaNo. 11 → unranked
  5. North CarolinaNo. 12 → unranked

From the season’s first AP poll (the preseason poll) to the final one.

National leaders

Passing yardsTim Rattay (Louisiana Tech)4,943 yds
Passing touchdownsTim Rattay (Louisiana Tech)46 TD
Passer ratingShaun King (Tulane)183.3
Rushing yardsRicky Williams (Texas)2,124 yds
Rushing touchdownsRicky Williams (Texas)27 TD
Yards per carryReuben Droughns (Oregon)7.4
ReceptionsTroy Edwards (Louisiana Tech)140 catches
Receiving yardsTroy Edwards (Louisiana Tech)1,996 yds
Yards per catchKevin Coffey (Virginia)25.3
Receiving touchdownsTroy Edwards (Louisiana Tech)27 TD
PointsTroy Edwards (Louisiana Tech)188 pts
Points per gameTroy Edwards (Louisiana Tech)15.7
Total offenseTim Rattay (Louisiana Tech)4,865 yds
Total offense per gameTim Rattay (Louisiana Tech)403.3
Punt return averageDavid Allen (Kansas State)22.1
Kickoff return averageBroderick McGrew (North Texas)32.6

The NCAA’s official leaders. From Wikipedia’s yearly NCAA leader lists for passing, rushing, receiving, scoring, total offense and returns.

Conference champions

Division I-A

Atlantic Coast Conference
Florida State and Georgia Tech (shared)
Big 12
Texas A&M
Big East
Syracuse
Big Ten
Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin (shared)
Big West
Idaho
Conference USA
Tulane
Mid-American Conference
Marshall
Pac-10
UCLA
Southeastern Conference
Tennessee
Western Athletic Conference
Air Force

Division I-AA

Atlantic 10
Richmond
Atlantic 10 Conference
Massachusetts
Big Sky Conference
Montana
Gateway Football Conference
Western Illinois
Ivy League
Pennsylvania
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Georgetown
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Florida A&M and Hampton (shared)
Northeast Conference
Monmouth and Robert Morris (shared)
Ohio Valley Conference
Tennessee State
Patriot League
Lehigh
Pioneer Football League
Drake
Southern Conference
Georgia Southern
Southland Conference
Northwestern State
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Southern

Division II and below

Eastern Football Conference
UAlbany
Gulf South Conference
West Georgia
North Central Conference
Northern Colorado

From each program’s Wikipedia article, with the conference’s name that season. Titles come from the articles of today’s FBS and FCS programs, so a title shared with a school outside them lists only one champion.

Consensus All-Americans

27 playersAll 6 selectors’ teams

Players picked by enough of the major selectors to count as consensus, shown in bold in Wikipedia’s 1998 All-America article. Every selector’s teams, first to last, are on the 1998 All-America teams page.

The 1998 awards

Every award

Player of the year

By position

Defensive player of the year

Scholarship and character

Coaches

The champion’s staff

Every title staff

Tennessee 17 on the staff list

  • Phillip Fulmerhead coach
  • David Cutcliffeoffensive coordinator, assistant head coach, quarterbacks (part of the season)
  • Randy Sandersrunning backs, recruiting coordinator (part of the season)
  • Pat Washingtonwide receivers
  • Mark Bradleytight ends, assistant offensive line
  • Mike Barryoffensive line
  • John Chavisdefensive coordinator, linebackers
  • Dan Brooksdefensive line
  • Kevin Ramseydefensive backs
  • Steve Caldwellspecial teams, defensive ends
Support staff (7)

Strength and conditioning

  • John Stucky assistant athletic director for Physical development

Operations and recruiting

  • Condredge Holloway UT assistant athletic director for football operations
  • David Blackburn assistant athletic director, football Administrator, Compliance
  • Scott Altizer senior services administrative assistant, high school relations

Sports medicine and nutrition

  • Mike Rollo head trainer

Equipment

  • Roger Frazier head equipment manager
  • Max Parrott assistant equipment manager

The staff as the school listed it that season, roles in the source’s words (students and graduate assistants left out). Names link to coach pages where we have one, else to Wikipedia. Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages.

Final BCS standings

1Tennessee12–⁠0
2Florida State11–⁠1
3Kansas State11–⁠1
4Ohio State10–⁠1
5UCLA10–⁠1
6Texas A&M11–⁠2
7Arizona11–⁠1
8Florida9–⁠2
9Wisconsin10–⁠1
10Tulane11–⁠0
11Nebraska9–⁠3
12Virginia9–⁠2
13Arkansas9–⁠2
14Georgia Tech9–⁠2
15Syracuse8–⁠3

The last standings of the season, released December 7: the Bowl Championship Series’ formula of polls and computer rankings that matched No. 1 and No. 2 in the title game, 1998–⁠2013. From Wikipedia’s season rankings article (CC BY-SA); records as it lists them.

Bowls and playoff

Scoreboard
Dec 19, 1998North Carolina 20, San Diego State 13Las Vegas Bowl
Dec 23, 1998Marshall 48, Louisville 29Motor City Bowl
Dec 25, 199816Air Force 45, Washington 25Oahu Bowl
Dec 25, 1998Colorado 51, 21Oregon 43Aloha Bowl
Dec 26, 199823Missouri 34, West Virginia 31Insight.com Bowl
Dec 29, 199824Miami 46, NC State 23MicronPC Bowl
Dec 29, 1998Purdue 37, 4Kansas State 34Alamo Bowl
Dec 29, 1998Virginia Tech 38, Alabama 7Music City Bowl
Dec 30, 19985Arizona 23, 14Nebraska 20Holiday Bowl
Dec 30, 1998Idaho 42, Southern Miss 35Humanitarian Bowl
Dec 31, 199819Georgia 35, 13Virginia 33Peach Bowl
Dec 31, 1998Ole Miss 35, Texas Tech 18Independence Bowl
Dec 31, 1998TCU 28, USC 19Sun Bowl
Dec 31, 199810Tulane 41, BYU 27Liberty Bowl
Jan 1, 199912Georgia Tech 35, 17Notre Dame 28Gator Bowl
Jan 1, 199915Michigan 45, 11Arkansas 31Citrus Bowl
Jan 1, 19993Ohio State 24, 8Texas A&M 14Sugar Bowl
Jan 1, 199922Penn State 26, Kentucky 14Outback Bowl
Jan 1, 199920Texas 38, 25Mississippi State 11Cotton Bowl
Jan 1, 19999Wisconsin 38, 6UCLA 31Rose Bowl
Jan 2, 19997Florida 31, 18Syracuse 10Orange Bowl
Jan 4, 19991Tennessee 23, 2Florida State 16Fiesta Bowl