CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1998 Arizona

12–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by Dick Tomey, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Arizona in 1998, game by game: won at Hawai’i 27–6; won at Stanford 31–14; won vs. Iowa 35–11; won at San Diego State 35–16; won at No. 20 Washington 31–28; lost vs. No. 3 UCLA 28–52; won at Oregon State 28–7; won vs. UL Monroe 45–7; won vs. No. 12 Oregon 38–3; won vs. Washington State 41–7; won at California 27–23; won vs. Arizona State 50–42; won vs. No. 14 Nebraska 23–20+38−24Won 27–6 at Hawai’i+21Hawai’iWon 31–14 at Stanford+17StanfordWon 35–11 vs. Iowa+24IowaWon 35–16 at San Diego State+19San Diego StateWon 31–28 at No. 20 Washington+3No. 20 WashingtonLost 28–52 vs. No. 3 UCLA-24No. 3 UCLAWon 28–7 at Oregon State+21Oregon StateWon 45–7 vs. UL Monroe+38UL MonroeWon 38–3 vs. No. 12 Oregon+35No. 12 OregonWon 41–7 vs. Washington State+34Washington StateWon 27–23 at California+4CaliforniaWon 50–42 vs. Arizona State+8Arizona StateWon 23–20 vs. No. 14 Nebraska+3No. 14 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atHawai’iW 27–⁠671%
Sep 12atStanfordW 31–⁠1459%
Sep 19vsIowaW 35–⁠1167%
Sep 24atSan Diego StateW 35–⁠1667%
Oct 3at20WashingtonW 31–⁠2842%
Oct 10vs3UCLAL 28–⁠5251%
Oct 17atOregon StateW 28–⁠763%
Oct 24vsUL MonroeW 45–⁠787%
Oct 31vs12OregonW 38–⁠356%
Nov 7vsWashington StateW 41–⁠782%
Nov 14atCaliforniaW 27–⁠2373%
Nov 27vsArizona StateW 50–⁠4274%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs14NebraskaHoliday BowlW 23–⁠2044%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 23–⁠20 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Pac-10.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 24
  2. Wk 2: 21
  3. Wk 3: 16
  4. Wk 4: 16
  5. Wk 5: 14
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 7: 16
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 9: 13
  10. Wk 10: 10
  11. Wk 11: 9
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 7
  14. Wk 14: 6
  15. Wk 15: 5
  16. Final: 4

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1998.

Consensus All-AmericanChris McAlister, CB

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Pac-10
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 4
Points
439–⁠236
Coach
Dick Tomey
Elo
1729 +169 this season
SP+ rating
16.3 No. 22 of 112; offense No. 22, defense No. 30
SRS
14.9 No. 19 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Dino Babers
Defensive coordinator
Rich Ellerson
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1999

The 1999 draft
Rd 1Chris McAlister DBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 4Edwin Mulitalo OGBaltimore Ravens
Rd 5Yusuf Scott OGArizona Cardinals
Rd 7Mike Lucky TEDallas Cowboys

1998 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA8–⁠010–⁠28
Arizona7–⁠112–⁠14
Oregon5–⁠38–⁠4
USC5–⁠38–⁠5
Washington4–⁠46–⁠6
Arizona State4–⁠45–⁠6
California3–⁠55–⁠6
Oregon State2–⁠65–⁠6
Stanford2–⁠63–⁠8
Washington State0–⁠83–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.