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1998 Florida

10–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Steve Spurrier, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida in 1998, game by game: won vs. The Citadel 49–10; won vs. UL Monroe 42–10; lost at No. 6 Tennessee 17–20; won vs. Kentucky 51–35; won at Alabama 16–10; won vs. No. 11 LSU 22–10; won vs. Auburn 24–3; won vs. No. 11 Georgia 38–7; won at Vanderbilt 45–13; won vs. South Carolina 33–14; lost at No. 5 Florida State 12–23; won vs. No. 18 Syracuse 31–10+39−11Won 49–10 vs. The Citadel+39The CitadelWon 42–10 vs. UL Monroe+32UL MonroeLost 17–20 at No. 6 Tennessee-3No. 6 TennesseeWon 51–35 vs. Kentucky+16KentuckyWon 16–10 at Alabama+6AlabamaWon 22–10 vs. No. 11 LSU+12No. 11 LSUWon 24–3 vs. Auburn+21AuburnWon 38–7 vs. No. 11 Georgia+31No. 11 GeorgiaWon 45–13 at Vanderbilt+32VanderbiltWon 33–14 vs. South Carolina+19South CarolinaLost 12–23 at No. 5 Florida State-11No. 5 Florida StateWon 31–10 vs. No. 18 Syracuse+21No. 18 Syracuse
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsThe CitadelW 49–⁠1093%
Sep 12vsUL MonroeW 42–⁠1088%
Sep 19at6TennesseeL 17–⁠2046%
Sep 26vsKentuckyW 51–⁠3578%
Oct 3atAlabamaW 16–⁠1069%
Oct 10vs11LSUW 22–⁠1068%
Oct 17vsAuburnW 24–⁠382%
Oct 31vs11GeorgiaW 38–⁠763%
Nov 7atVanderbiltW 45–⁠1389%
Nov 14vsSouth CarolinaW 33–⁠1493%
Nov 21at5Florida StateL 12–⁠2338%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs18SyracuseOrange BowlW 31–⁠1062%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Syracuse 31–⁠10 in the Orange Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 116 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 2
Points
380–⁠165
Coach
Steve Spurrier
Elo
1789 +87 this season
SP+ rating
24.1 No. 5 of 112; offense No. 26, defense No. 5
SRS
20.4 No. 5 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Carl Franks
Defensive coordinator
Bob Stoops
Offense
Fun and gun
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1999

The 1999 draft
Rd 1Jevon Kearse DETennessee Titans
Rd 1Reggie McGrew DTSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Mike Peterson LBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 2Johnny Rutledge LBArizona Cardinals
Rd 3Zach Piller OGTennessee Titans
Rd 3Tony George DBNew England Patriots
Rd 3Travis McGriff WRDenver Broncos
Rd 5Terry Jackson RBSan Francisco 49ers

All-SEC

4 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1998 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1998 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tennessee8–⁠013–⁠01
Florida7–⁠110–⁠25
Georgia6–⁠29–⁠314
Arkansas6–⁠29–⁠316
Mississippi State6–⁠28–⁠5
Alabama4–⁠47–⁠5
Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠5
Ole Miss3–⁠57–⁠5
LSU2–⁠64–⁠7
Auburn1–⁠73–⁠8
Vanderbilt1–⁠72–⁠9
South Carolina0–⁠81–⁠10

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