1998 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 1998 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the college football season of 1998–99. The team's head coach was Mike DuBose, who was entering his second year at Alabama. They played their home games at both Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama and competed in the West Division of the Southeastern Conference. They improved upon a 4–7 record from the 1997 season by finishing the 1998 campaign with a 7–5 record and an appearance in the Music City Bowl. The win against Ole Miss during the season marked Alabama's first ever overtime victory.

1998 Alabama Crimson Tide football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
1998 record7–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorNeil Callaway (1st year as OC 2nd overall)
Co-offensive coordinatorCharlie Stubbs (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorEllis Johnson (2nd year)
Captain
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
(Capacity: 83,818)
Legion Field
(Capacity: 83,091)
1998 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Eastern Division
No. 1 Tennessee x$#  8 0     13 0  
No. 5 Florida %  7 1     10 2  
No. 14 Georgia  6 2     9 3  
Kentucky  4 4     7 5  
Vanderbilt  1 7     2 9  
South Carolina  0 8     1 10  
Western Division
Mississippi State xy  6 2     8 5  
No. 16 Arkansas x  6 2     9 3  
Alabama  4 4     7 5  
Ole Miss  3 5     7 5  
LSU  2 6     4 7  
Auburn  1 7     3 8  
Championship: Tennessee 24, Mississippi State 14
    1. BCS National Champion
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
  • % BCS at-large representative
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 56:00 p.m.BYU*ESPNW 38–3183,818
September 1211:30 a.m.VanderbiltJPSW 32–783,091
September 265:00 p.m.at ArkansasNo. 22ESPN2L 6–4251,763
October 311:30 a.m.No. 8 Florida
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
JPSL 10–1683,818
October 102:00 p.m.Ole Miss
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)
PPVW 20–17 OT83,818
October 172:00 p.m.East Carolina*
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
PPVW 23–2280,079
October 242:30 p.m.at No. 3 TennesseeCBSL 18–35107,289
October 312:00 p.m.Southern Miss*
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
PPVW 30–2083,818
November 72:30 p.m.at LSUCBSW 22–1680,522
November 1411:30 a.m.at Mississippi StateJPSL 14–2640,517
November 216:30 p.m.Auburn
ESPNW 31–1783,091
December 294:00 p.m.vs. Virginia Tech*ESPNL 7–3841,600
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[1]

Coaching staff

Name Position Consecutive seasons at Alabama
Mike DuboseHead coach2nd
Neil CallawayOffensive coordinator/Offensive line coach2nd
Ronnie CottrellAssistant head coach/Tight end1st
Charlie StubbsQuarterback coach1st
Dabo SwinneyWide receivers coach6th
Ivy WilliamsRunning backs coach4th
Ellis JohnsonDefensive coordinator/Outside linebackers coach2nd
Charlie HarbisonCornerbacks coach1st
Jeff RouzieSpecial teams coordinator/Inside linebackers coach8th
Jackie ShippDefensive line coach1st
Reference:[2]

Game summaries

BYU

1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 0 14 10 7 31
Crimson Tide 14 10 0 14 38

The Crimson Tide debut a new east side upper deck and 81 new sky boxes in Bryant-Denny Stadium which set the attendance mark to 83,818. This record-breaking crowd watched as Shaun Alexander scored five touchdowns as the Crimson Tide held on to beat BYU.

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total
Commodores 7 0 0 0 7
Crimson Tide 7 7 11 7 32

Alabama would score 32 unanswered points after Vanderbilt took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter to win its first conference game of the year. The Alabama defense held Vanderbilt to -33 rushing yards and forced three interceptions. The Alabama offense was led by Shaun Alexander who rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total
#22 Crimson Tide 3 3 0 0 6
Razorbacks 0 14 7 21 42

Despite only trailing by eight at the half, Alabama would be shut out in the second half and lose by 36 points. This would be the largest margin of defeat since the 1957 Iron Bowl.

Florida

1 2 3 4 Total
#8 Gators 6 7 3 0 16
Crimson Tide 3 0 7 0 10

Despite being outgained by over 200 yards, Alabama had an opportunity driving at the end of the game to try and win but, a late interception by Andrew Zow would give Florida the win. Florida had 6 possession inside the Alabama 12 yard line 3 resulting in turnovers, 3 resulting in field goals that kept Alabama in the game.

Ole Miss

1 2 3 4OT Total
Rebels 0 7 7 30 17
Crimson Tide 3 7 0 73 20

A 22-yard game-winning field goal by Ryan Pflugner in overtime gave the Crimson Tide its first overtime victory in its second try. The Rebels, who tied it late in the 4th quarter with a field goal to force overtime, threw an interception on their first possession which put Alabama in a score and win scenario.

East Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total
Pirates 0 0 19 3 22
Crimson Tide 14 7 2 0 23

Despite having a 21–0 lead at the half, a blocked extra point ran back for two points in the third quarter was the difference in the second half for Alabama. East Carolina outscored Alabama 22–2 in the second half but, never could take the lead away from Alabama.

Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total
Crimson Tide 3 0 8 7 18
#3 Volunteers 7 7 7 14 35

Tennessee for the 4th year in a row beat Alabama in what was a close game up until Peerless Price ran a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown after the Crimson Tide had cut the lead to three. Alabama would not get closer than the ten point lead after that.

Southern Miss

1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Eagles 7 3 7 3 20
Crimson Tide 3 17 7 3 30

Behind a career-high 361 yards passing from Andrew Zow, the Crimson Tide amassed 499 yards of offense as they beat Southern Miss in their final game at Bryant-Denny Stadium this season.

LSU

1 2 3 4 Total
Crimson Tide 0 0 7 15 22
Tigers 0 6 10 0 16

The Crimson Tide trailed 16–7 with less than 3 minutes to go in the game when they were able to score a touchdown with 2:24 left making the score 16–14. Alabama would recover an onside kick and drive down the field and with 38 seconds to go in the game Andrew Zow hit Michael Vaughn on a deflected pass in the end zone and with the two point conversion Alabama led 22–16. An interception by Marcus Spencer would seal one of the greatest comebacks in Alabama History. This game was also the first time both teams came into the game not ranked since 1990.

Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total
Crimson Tide 0 0 14 0 14
Bulldogs 0 17 3 6 26

J.J. Johnson broke a Mississippi State school record for rushing yards in a game at 237 as Mississippi State would win its third straight meeting over Alabama. Despite a 20–0 deficit in the third quarter, Alabama rallied to cut the lead to six but that was as close as they could get.

Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 10 7 0 0 17
Crimson Tide 0 14 7 10 31

Despite trailing 17–0 in the second quarter, Alabama would score the final 31 points of the game to win the Iron Bowl. Four turnovers for Auburn helped the Crimson Tide get back and eventually pull away from Auburn. This would be the last Iron Bowl ever to be played at Legion Field in Birmingham.

Virginia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total
Hokies 0 7 0 0 7
Crimson Tide 7 3 14 14 38

The first ever Music City Bowl had an exciting first half with Alabama trailing Virginia Tech 10–7 at the half. The second half was all Virginia Tech as they would outscore the Crimson Tide 28–0 to beat Alabama. The lose would end the Crimson Tide season at 7–5.

References

  1. "1998 Alabama Crimson Tide Football". Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  2. 1998 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 2
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.