CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1998 Southern Miss

7–⁠5 (5–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Jeff Bower.

Schedule and results

Southern Miss in 1998, game by game: lost at No. 13 Penn State 6–34; lost vs. No. 17 Texas A&M 6–24; won vs. Louisiana 55–0; lost at Tulane 7–21; won vs. Louisville 56–21; won at Army 37–13; won vs. East Carolina 41–7; lost at Alabama 20–30; won at Houston 21–15; won vs. Memphis 45–3; won at Nevada 55–28; lost vs. Idaho 35–42+55−28Lost 6–34 at No. 13 Penn State-28No. 13 Penn StateLost 6–24 vs. No. 17 Texas A&M-18No. 17 Texas A&MWon 55–0 vs. Louisiana+55LouisianaLost 7–21 at Tulane-14TulaneWon 56–21 vs. Louisville+35LouisvilleWon 37–13 at Army+24ArmyWon 41–7 vs. East Carolina+34East CarolinaLost 20–30 at Alabama-10AlabamaWon 21–15 at Houston+6HoustonWon 45–3 vs. Memphis+42MemphisWon 55–28 at Nevada+27NevadaLost 35–42 vs. Idaho-7Idaho
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5at13Penn StateL 6–⁠3442%
Sep 19vs17Texas A&ML 6–⁠2459%
Sep 26vsLouisianaW 55–⁠087%
Oct 3atTulaneL 7–⁠2139%
Oct 10vsLouisvilleW 56–⁠2171%
Oct 17atArmyW 37–⁠1360%
Oct 24vsEast CarolinaW 41–⁠765%
Oct 31atAlabamaL 20–⁠3056%
Nov 7atHoustonW 21–⁠1565%
Nov 14vsMemphisW 45–⁠384%
Nov 21atNevadaW 55–⁠2854%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsIdahoHumanitarian BowlL 35–⁠4271%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Idaho 42–⁠35 in the Humanitarian Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 21

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
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠1 2nd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked peak No. 21
Points
384–⁠238
Coach
Jeff Bower
Elo
1608 −12 this season
SP+ rating
12.4 No. 29 of 112; offense No. 28, defense No. 37
SRS
8.8 No. 31 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Larry Kueck
Defensive coordinator
John Thompson
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple

1998 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tulane6–⁠012–⁠07
Southern Miss5–⁠17–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠27–⁠5
East Carolina3–⁠36–⁠5
Houston2–⁠43–⁠8
Army2–⁠43–⁠8
Cincinnati1–⁠52–⁠9
Memphis1–⁠52–⁠9

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