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1998 Tennessee

13–⁠0 (8–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Phillip Fulmer, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1998, game by game: won at No. 17 Syracuse 34–33; won vs. No. 2 Florida 20–17; won vs. Houston 42–7; won at Auburn 17–9; won at No. 7 Georgia 22–3; won vs. Alabama 35–18; won at South Carolina 49–14; won vs. UAB 37–13; won vs. No. 10 Arkansas 28–24; won vs. Kentucky 59–21; won at Vanderbilt 41–0; won vs. No. 25 Mississippi State 24–14; won vs. No. 2 Florida State 23–16+41Won 34–33 at No. 17 Syracuse+1No. 17 SyracuseWon 20–17 vs. No. 2 Florida+3No. 2 FloridaWon 42–7 vs. Houston+35HoustonWon 17–9 at Auburn+8AuburnWon 22–3 at No. 7 Georgia+19No. 7 GeorgiaWon 35–18 vs. Alabama+17AlabamaWon 49–14 at South Carolina+35South CarolinaWon 37–13 vs. UAB+24UABWon 28–24 vs. No. 10 Arkansas+4No. 10 ArkansasWon 59–21 vs. Kentucky+38KentuckyWon 41–0 at Vanderbilt+41VanderbiltWon 24–14 vs. No. 25 Mississippi State+10No. 25 Mississippi Sta…Won 23–16 vs. No. 2 Florida State+7No. 2 Florida State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5at17SyracuseW 34–⁠3349%
Sep 19vs2FloridaW 20–⁠1754%
Sep 26vsHoustonW 42–⁠790%
Oct 3atAuburnW 17–⁠961%
Oct 10at7GeorgiaW 22–⁠349%
Oct 24vsAlabamaW 35–⁠1883%
Oct 31atSouth CarolinaW 49–⁠1486%
Nov 7vsUABW 37–⁠1393%
Nov 14vs10ArkansasW 28–⁠2476%
Nov 21vsKentuckyW 59–⁠2183%
Nov 28atVanderbiltW 41–⁠091%
Dec 5Bowls & playoffvs25Mississippi StateSEC Championship GameW 24–⁠1473%
Jan 4Bowls & playoffvs2Florida StateFiesta BowlW 23–⁠1646%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Florida State 23–⁠16 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Southeastern Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Consensus All-AmericanAl Wilson, LB

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearPhillip Fulmer, coach

Broyles AwardDavid Cutcliffe, coach

Record
13–⁠0
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
431–⁠189
Coach
Phillip Fulmer
Elo
1831 +152 this season
SP+ rating
25.5 No. 4 of 112; offense No. 15, defense No. 7
SRS
22.3 No. 4 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
David Cutcliffe
Defensive coordinator
John Chavis
Captains
Shawn Bryson, Jeff Hall, Mercedes Hamilton and Al Wilson
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

Drafted in 1999

The 1999 draft
Rd 1Al Wilson LBDenver Broncos
Rd 2Peerless Price WRBuffalo Bills
Rd 3Shawn Bryson RBBuffalo Bills
Rd 6Steve Johnson DBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 6Jeff Hall KWashington Redskins
Rd 7Corey Terry LBIndianapolis Colts

All-SEC

5 first team, 3 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.