CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1998 Wisconsin

11–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Barry Alvarez, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 1998, game by game: won at San Diego State 26–14; won vs. Ohio 45–0; won vs. UNLV 52–7; won vs. Northwestern 38–7; won at Indiana 24–20; won vs. Purdue 31–24; won at Illinois 37–3; won at Iowa 31–0; won vs. Minnesota 26–7; lost at No. 15 Michigan 10–27; won vs. No. 16 Penn State 24–3; won vs. No. 6 UCLA 38–31+45−17Won 26–14 at San Diego State+12San Diego StateWon 45–0 vs. Ohio+45OhioWon 52–7 vs. UNLV+45UNLVWon 38–7 vs. Northwestern+31NorthwesternWon 24–20 at Indiana+4IndianaWon 31–24 vs. Purdue+7PurdueWon 37–3 at Illinois+34IllinoisWon 31–0 at Iowa+31IowaWon 26–7 vs. Minnesota+19MinnesotaLost 10–27 at No. 15 Michigan-17No. 15 MichiganWon 24–3 vs. No. 16 Penn State+21No. 16 Penn StateWon 38–31 vs. No. 6 UCLA+7No. 6 UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atSan Diego StateW 26–⁠1449%
Sep 12vsOhioW 45–⁠066%
Sep 19vsUNLVW 52–⁠786%
Sep 26vsNorthwesternW 38–⁠769%
Oct 3atIndianaW 24–⁠2063%
Oct 10vsPurdueW 31–⁠2462%
Oct 17atIllinoisW 37–⁠382%
Oct 24atIowaW 31–⁠063%
Nov 7vsMinnesotaW 26–⁠784%
Nov 14at15MichiganL 10–⁠2736%
Nov 21vs16Penn StateW 24–⁠357%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6UCLARose BowlW 38–⁠3138%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UCLA 38–⁠31 in the Rose Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 14
  5. Wk 5: 13
  6. Wk 6: 12
  7. Wk 7: 9
  8. Wk 8: 9
  9. Wk 9: 9
  10. Wk 10: 8
  11. Wk 11: 8
  12. Wk 12: 13
  13. Wk 13: 10
  14. Wk 14: 8
  15. Wk 15: 9
  16. Final: 6

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 Ohio State

2 consensus All-AmericansAaron Gibson, OT; Tom Burke, DE

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 6
Points
382–⁠143
Coach
Barry Alvarez
Elo
1715 +186 this season
SP+ rating
22.5 No. 10 of 112; offense No. 29, defense No. 6
SRS
19.8 No. 7 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Brad Childress
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Cosgrove
Captains
Bob Adamov, Cecil Martin, Chris McIntosh and Donnel Thompson
Most valuable player
Bob Adamov and Tom Burke
Offense
Smashmouth
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1999

The 1999 draft
Rd 1Aaron Gibson OTDetroit Lions
Rd 3Tom Burke DEArizona Cardinals
Rd 6Cecil Martin RBPhiladelphia Eagles

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 2 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.