CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1998 Ohio State

11–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by John Cooper, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 1998, game by game: won at No. 11 West Virginia 34–17; won vs. Toledo 49–0; won vs. No. 21 Missouri 35–14; won vs. No. 7 Penn State 28–9; won at Illinois 41–0; won vs. Minnesota 45–15; won at Northwestern 36–10; won at Indiana 38–7; lost vs. Michigan State 24–28; won at Iowa 45–14; won vs. No. 11 Michigan 31–16; won vs. No. 8 Texas A&M 24–14+49−4Won 34–17 at No. 11 West Virginia+17No. 11 West VirginiaWon 49–0 vs. Toledo+49ToledoWon 35–14 vs. No. 21 Missouri+21No. 21 MissouriWon 28–9 vs. No. 7 Penn State+19No. 7 Penn StateWon 41–0 at Illinois+41IllinoisWon 45–15 vs. Minnesota+30MinnesotaWon 36–10 at Northwestern+26NorthwesternWon 38–7 at Indiana+31IndianaLost 24–28 vs. Michigan State-4Michigan StateWon 45–14 at Iowa+31IowaWon 31–16 vs. No. 11 Michigan+15No. 11 MichiganWon 24–14 vs. No. 8 Texas A&M+10No. 8 Texas A&M
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5at11West VirginiaW 34–⁠1760%
Sep 12vsToledoW 49–⁠078%
Sep 19vs21MissouriW 35–⁠1475%
Oct 3vs7Penn StateW 28–⁠964%
Oct 10atIllinoisW 41–⁠088%
Oct 17vsMinnesotaW 45–⁠1589%
Oct 24atNorthwesternW 36–⁠1081%
Oct 31atIndianaW 38–⁠781%
Nov 7vsMichigan StateL 24–⁠2881%
Nov 14atIowaW 45–⁠1479%
Nov 21vs11MichiganW 31–⁠1659%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs8Texas A&MSugar BowlW 24–⁠1457%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas A&M 24–⁠14 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Big Ten champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Michigan and Wisconsin

Jim Thorpe AwardAntoine Winfield Sr., CB

Consensus All-AmericanAntoine Winfield, CB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
430–⁠144
Coach
John Cooper
Elo
1800 +136 this season
SP+ rating
30.8 No. 1 of 112; offense No. 11, defense No. 3
SRS
27.4 No. 1 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Mike Jacobs
Defensive coordinator
Fred Pagac
Captains
Joe Germaine, Jerry Rudzinski and Antoine Winfield
Most valuable player
Joe Germaine
Offense
Singleback
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1999

The 1999 draft
Rd 1David Boston WRArizona Cardinals
Rd 1Antoine Winfield DBBuffalo Bills
Rd 1Andy Katzenmoyer LBNew England Patriots
Rd 2Joe Montgomery RBNew York Giants
Rd 4Joe Germaine QBSt. Louis Rams
Rd 4Damon Moore DBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 6Brent Bartholomew PMiami Dolphins
Rd 6Dee Miller WRGreen Bay Packers

All-Big Ten

8 first team, 5 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 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.