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1998 Penn State

9–⁠3 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Joe Paterno, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1998, game by game: won vs. No. 21 Southern Miss 34–6; won vs. Bowling Green 48–3; won at Pittsburgh 20–13; lost at No. 1 Ohio State 9–28; won at Minnesota 27–17; won vs. Purdue 31–13; won vs. Illinois 27–0; lost at No. 22 Michigan 0–27; won vs. Northwestern 41–10; lost at No. 13 Wisconsin 3–24; won vs. Michigan State 51–28; won vs. Kentucky 26–14+45−27Won 34–6 vs. No. 21 Southern Miss+28No. 21 Southern MissWon 48–3 vs. Bowling Green+45Bowling GreenWon 20–13 at Pittsburgh+7PittsburghLost 9–28 at No. 1 Ohio State-19No. 1 Ohio StateWon 27–17 at Minnesota+10MinnesotaWon 31–13 vs. Purdue+18PurdueWon 27–0 vs. Illinois+27IllinoisLost 0–27 at No. 22 Michigan-27No. 22 MichiganWon 41–10 vs. Northwestern+31NorthwesternLost 3–24 at No. 13 Wisconsin-21No. 13 WisconsinWon 51–28 vs. Michigan State+23Michigan StateWon 26–14 vs. Kentucky+12Kentucky
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vs21Southern MissW 34–⁠658%
Sep 12vsBowling GreenW 48–⁠387%
Sep 19atPittsburghW 20–⁠1365%
Oct 3at1Ohio StateL 9–⁠2836%
Oct 10atMinnesotaW 27–⁠1769%
Oct 17vsPurdueW 31–⁠1369%
Oct 31vsIllinoisW 27–⁠092%
Nov 7at22MichiganL 0–⁠2740%
Nov 14vsNorthwesternW 41–⁠1086%
Nov 21at13WisconsinL 3–⁠2443%
Nov 28vsMichigan StateW 51–⁠2863%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsKentuckyOutback BowlW 26–⁠1467%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kentucky 26–⁠14 in the Outback Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 40th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 13
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 13
  7. Wk 7: 12
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 10
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 19
  12. Wk 12: 16
  13. Wk 13: 23
  14. Wk 14: 22
  15. Wk 15: 22
  16. Final: 17

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
9–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠3 5th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 7
Points
317–⁠183
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1681 +60 this season
SP+ rating
22.2 No. 11 of 112; offense No. 34, defense No. 4
SRS
16.9 No. 13 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Fran Ganter
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Sandusky
Captains
Shawn Lee, Joe Nastasi, Brad Scioli and Floyd Wedderburn
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1999

The 1999 draft
Rd 5Brad Scioli DEIndianapolis Colts
Rd 5Floyd Wedderburn OTSeattle Seahawks

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 1 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.