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1998 Tulane

12–⁠0 (6–⁠0 Conference USA), coached by Tommy Bowden, then Chris Scelfo (interim, bowl game), finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tulane in 1998, game by game: won at Cincinnati 52–34; won at SMU 31–21; won vs. Navy 42–24; won vs. Southern Miss 21–7; won vs. Louisville 28–22; won at Rutgers 52–24; won vs. Louisiana 72–20; won at Memphis 41–31; won at Army 49–35; won vs. Houston 48–20; won vs. Louisiana Tech 63–30; won vs. BYU 41–27+52Won 52–34 at Cincinnati+18CincinnatiWon 31–21 at SMU+10SMUWon 42–24 vs. Navy+18NavyWon 21–7 vs. Southern Miss+14Southern MissWon 28–22 vs. Louisville+6LouisvilleWon 52–24 at Rutgers+28RutgersWon 72–20 vs. Louisiana+52LouisianaWon 41–31 at Memphis+10MemphisWon 49–35 at Army+14ArmyWon 48–20 vs. Houston+28HoustonWon 63–30 vs. Louisiana Tech+33Louisiana TechWon 41–27 vs. BYU+14BYU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atCincinnatiW 52–⁠3438%
Sep 12atSMUW 31–⁠2153%
Sep 26vsNavyW 42–⁠2465%
Oct 3vsSouthern MissW 21–⁠761%
Oct 17vsLouisvilleW 28–⁠2280%
Oct 24atRutgersW 52–⁠2478%
Oct 31vsLouisianaW 72–⁠2092%
Nov 7atMemphisW 41–⁠3177%
Nov 14atArmyW 49–⁠3576%
Nov 21vsHoustonW 48–⁠2086%
Nov 26vsLouisiana TechW 63–⁠3074%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsBYULiberty BowlW 41–⁠2763%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat BYU 41–⁠27 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 25
  2. Wk 7: 24
  3. Wk 8: 22
  4. Wk 9: 19
  5. Wk 10: 15
  6. Wk 11: 14
  7. Wk 12: 12
  8. Wk 13: 11
  9. Wk 14: 9
  10. Wk 15: 10
  11. Final: 7

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.

Conference USA champions6–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationShaun King: passer rating (183.3)

Record
12–⁠0
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Conference USA
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 7
Points
540–⁠295
Coach
Tommy Bowden, then Chris Scelfo (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1704 +193 this season
SP+ rating
15.4 No. 25 of 112; offense No. 3, defense No. 82
SRS
12.2 No. 26 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Rich Rodriguez
Defensive coordinator
Rick Smith
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1999

The 1999 draft
Rd 2Shaun King QBTampa Bay Buccaneers

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.