CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1998 Michigan State

6–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Nick Saban.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1998, game by game: lost vs. Colorado State 16–23; lost at Oregon 14–48; won vs. No. 10 Notre Dame 45–23; lost at Michigan 17–29; won vs. Central Michigan 38–7; won vs. Indiana 38–31; lost at Minnesota 18–19; won vs. Northwestern 29–5; won at No. 1 Ohio State 28–24; lost vs. Purdue 24–25; won vs. Illinois 41–9; lost at No. 23 Penn State 28–51+32−34Lost 16–23 vs. Colorado State-7Colorado StateLost 14–48 at Oregon-34OregonWon 45–23 vs. No. 10 Notre Dame+22No. 10 Notre DameLost 17–29 at Michigan-12MichiganWon 38–7 vs. Central Michigan+31Central MichiganWon 38–31 vs. Indiana+7IndianaLost 18–19 at Minnesota-1MinnesotaWon 29–5 vs. Northwestern+24NorthwesternWon 28–24 at No. 1 Ohio State+4No. 1 Ohio StateLost 24–25 vs. Purdue-1PurdueWon 41–9 vs. Illinois+32IllinoisLost 28–51 at No. 23 Penn State-23No. 23 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsColorado StateL 16–⁠2340%
Sep 5atOregonL 14–⁠4840%
Sep 12vs10Notre DameW 45–⁠2346%
Sep 26atMichiganL 17–⁠2929%
Oct 3vsCentral MichiganW 38–⁠777%
Oct 10vsIndianaW 38–⁠3171%
Oct 24atMinnesotaL 18–⁠1961%
Oct 31vsNorthwesternW 29–⁠574%
Nov 7at1Ohio StateW 28–⁠2419%
Nov 14vsPurdueL 24–⁠2557%
Nov 21vsIllinoisW 41–⁠986%
Nov 28at23Penn StateL 28–⁠5137%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Penn State 51–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 43rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 23

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
6–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 23
Points
336–⁠294
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1581 +17 this season
SP+ rating
14.1 No. 27 of 112; offense No. 24, defense No. 35
SRS
9.3 No. 28 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gary Tranquill
Defensive coordinator
Chris Cosh
Captains
Garett Gould, Sedrick Irvin, Jason Strayhorn, Amp Campbell, Sorie Kanu and Courtney Ledyard
Offense
Pro set
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1999

The 1999 draft
Rd 1Dimitrius Underwood DEMinnesota Vikings
Rd 4Sedrick Irvin RBDetroit Lions

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 6 second team

First team

  • Jason StrayhornCCoaches-1; Media-1

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 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin7–⁠111–⁠16
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠12
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠312
Purdue6–⁠29–⁠424
Penn State5–⁠39–⁠317
Michigan State4–⁠46–⁠6
Minnesota2–⁠65–⁠6
Indiana2–⁠64–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠63–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠63–⁠8
Northwestern0–⁠83–⁠9

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